This photograph shows the completed product of extensive reconstruction along College Street. The project on College Street accomplished three things: replacement of the road surface, a reconstruction of the curbs parallel to Fletcher Free Library, and the construction of 30” gutters.

For the replacement of the road, a 2” layer of stone-filled-sheet asphalt was placed on top of a concrete base, which bears the load of the vehicles, 6” deep; the construction of the road cost a grand total of $6,000.46. [1] Prior to the curb reconstruction, water would flow down from the South Union Street and South Winooski Avenue intersections and create drainage problems on both sides of the street parallel to the Fletcher Free Library. [2] Heavy rain storms frequently caused the catch basins to become obstructed. [3] To combat this problem, the curb parallel to the Fletcher Free Library was raised to create a slight slope toward South Winooski Avenue. The excavated areas of curb and gutter were then removed using a hand-shovel, which resulted in a significantly higher price than a similar North Winooski avenue project that used a power shovel. [4]

The structures visible from left to right are: 230/232 College Street, 234-240 College Street, the College Street Congregational Church, and the Fletcher Free Library. The remarkably high turnover of tenants in 230/232 College Street indicates its use as an apartment building. The entire building sat vacant in 1952 before ultimately being razed in 1953/1954.[5] 234-240 College Street was constructed in the 1890’s; F. L. Austin and Z. T. Austin both designed and built the three story structure.[6] Through the trees, the oriels on the second and third floor on the front-façade are partially visible. According to the Vermont Historic Sites and Structures Survey, the early tenants of the building primarily worked in the downtown business district.[7]

The Congregational Church was designed in the Gothic Revival style by Boston architect J. D. Toyle; construction was completed in 1866 at a cost of approximately $40,000-$50,000.[8] According to the Vermont Sites and Structures Survey, the yellow stone was most likely derived from the large hill in Winooski that borders the Colchester town line.[9] Flying buttresses can be seen separating the corner bell tower from the center structure.

[1] City of Burlington, Vermont, Sixty-fifth Annual Report of the City of Burlington, Vermont: For the Year Ended December 31, 1929 (Burlington, VT: Lane Press Inch, 1929), 230.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid, 231.

[5] Burlington City Directory (Burlington, VT: Free Press Printers, 1952), 292.

[6] Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, Vermont Historic Sites and Structures Survey. Burlington: College Street, 1979. (Found at the University of Vermont Library, Special Collections.)

[7] Ibid.

[8] Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, Vermont Historic Sites and Structures Survey. Burlington: College Street, 1979. (Found at the University of Vermont Library, Special Collections.)

[9] Ibid.

Significant changes have occurred to this particular section of College Street. From left to right, the following building locations are as follows: 222 College Street, 230 College Street, 234-240 College Street, the Congregational Church and the Fletcher Free Library. Prior to the visible structure, a smaller building stood in its place at 222 College Street. The location was previously inhabited by a series of gas stations before ultimately sitting vacant in 1979 and disappearing from the Burlington Directory the following year (most likely razed in 1980). [1] The structure visible in this photograph is currently the home of Roxy Merrill’s Cinemas and first appears in the Burlington Directories as a Nickelodeon Cinemas in 1984.[2]

The prior building at 230 College Street sat vacant in 1952 before ultimately being razed in 1953/1954. [3] The new 230 College Street building was constructed circa 1966. As it has been since its inception, the building is commercial in use. Its first tenants were the Western Union Telegraph Company and the Travelers Insurance Company.[4] 234-240 College Street remains residential apartments. Visible in the background is the massive 20,000 square foot addition to the Fletcher Free Library. [5] Plagued by controversy, the redeveloped library was finally dedicated on January 4, 1981.[6]

[1] Burlington City Directory (Burlington, VT: Free Press Printers, 1979), 535.

[2] Burlington City Directory (Burlington, VT: Free Press Printers, 1984), 403.

[3] Burlington City Directory (Burlington, VT: Free Press Printers, 1952), 292.

[4] Burlington City Directory (Burlington, VT: Free Press Printers, 1966), 647.

[5] David J. Blow, Historical Guide to Burlington Neighborhoods: Volume II, ed. Lilian Baker Carlisle (Burlington, VT: Queen City Printers Inc., 1997), 25.

[6] Ibid.