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233 Pearl Street Former Name: T.R. Fletcher House Current Name: Fenix House Built: ca. 1814 |
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The rich history of 233 Pearl Street dates back to 1814 and appears on the 1830 A.B. Young Map.(1) Home to a number of prominent businessmen, this Federal style, three-by-three bay, two- and-a-half story brick building has acted as both residence and shop to many. In 1850, T. R. Fletcher, one of Burlington's original directors of the Pioneer Mechanics shop, lived here. In 1860, lumber dealer C.H. Blodgett purchased the home.
The property changed ownership several times, often housing several different tenants, until 1921, when the Vermont Tuberculosis Association moved in. They remained until 1929, when, according to the Burlington City directory, the Hillcrest Food Shop opened its doors. The shop only lasted 2 years, leaving the building vacant until 1934. From that date until 1949, the house had many different residents and sometimes acted as a home, physicians office, apartment building or business. It lay vacant between the years 1949 to 1951, when Theodore Harwood, a local physician, purchased it. Again the house changed hands in 1968 and remained under the ownership of Richard Lipson until well into the 1980s. It is now the office of Mr. Aaron J. Goldberg, attorney at law with an apartment on the second story.(3) Inspite of the many owners, this building remains relatively unchanged. As evident in the 1936 black and white photograph, few additions have been made. The shutters that appear as part of the building's facade in 1936 have since been removed and the lot located on the northern side of the house is now parking for the office.(4) The ten panel door with arched surrounds and a semi-circular fanlight are early 20th century additions, possibly from the Queen Anne period. Its massing, an almost square block with paired end chimneys, is very typical of the Federal style homes being built on Pearl Street in the early 1800s. |
247 Pearl Street - The Bailey-Hyde House
Sources:
(1) State of Vermont Division of Historic Preservation: Historic Sites and Structures Survey, 1977.
(2) Burlington City Directory, 1884
(3) Burlington City Directories, 1866-1975.
(4) McAllister Historic Photograph Collection, 1936
From
1871 until 1902, Mr. N.K. Brown owned the home. Brown, a well-known
proprietor of medicines, used 233 Pearl Street as his residence
and business office for his shop known as Brown's Bronchial,
located at 115 St. Paul Street. Although his business changed
names over the next 30 years, the property remained under his
jurisdiction. Mr. Brown does not appear in the Burlington City
directories after 1902, when the house was sold.(2)