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University Green Area Heritage Study

Historic Burlington Research Project - HP 206

Historic Preservation Program - University of Vermont
About the project
List of buildings and objects
About the University Green
About buildings on:
University Place
Main Street
South Prospect Street
South Williams Street
Pearl Street
Colchester Avenue
College Street

Area map
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440 College Street

440 College Street is a two-story structure built in the Colonial Revival style. Ornamented simply with a gambrel roof and a chimney on the northern elevation, the building lacks the stone detailing found on surrounding structures.


440 College Street, photograph by Lucy K. Hamer, 2011

The original construction date of the building is unclear, as it is not listed in the Burlington City Directory until 1971.(1) Maps dating from 1912, however, confirm the building's existence.(2) It is possible that the structure was built around the same time as the residence of Edward J. Booth at 438 College Street, serving as a supplemental structure to his home, but there is no definitive evidence to support this theory.

In 1971, the building was listed as 438 ½ College Street, inhabited by the Jeanne-Mance Convent.(3) Between 1975 and 1986, it was occupied by the Sisters of Providence Convent and between 1987and 1996, it was listed as belonging to the Daughters of Charity.(4-7) During this time, the structure is continuously referred to as 438 ½ College Street. In 1997, the building became the property of the University of Vermont, along with 438 College Street.(8) It was after this acquisition that it was renumbered as 440 College Street and has since served as the home of the Institutional Studies and Financial Analysis and Budgeting (FAB) Departments for UVM.(9)

In August of 2004, renovations were completed to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, adding a wheelchair ramp, as well as making the building usable to house the two aforementioned academic departments. Under architect Brad Rabinowitz, this renovation was carried out using historic materials, including ten oak doors salvaged from previous renovations of the Waterman Building.(10)

Text by Lucy Hamer

(1) Burlington City Directory 1971 (Springfield, MA: H.A. Manning Co., 1971), 625.
(2) Insurance Map of Burlington, Vermont, October 1912, Sanborn Map Company, New York, Special Collections, University of Vermont Library.
(3) Burlington City Directory 1972 (Springfield, MA: H.A. Manning Co., 1972), 625.
(4) Burlington City Directory 1975 (Springfield, MA: H.A. Manning Co., 1975) 351.
(5) Burlington City Directory 1986 (Bellows Falls, VT: H.A. Manning Co., 1986), 379.
(6) Burlington City Directory 1987 (Bellows Falls, VT: H.A. Manning Co., 1987), 349.
(7) NYNEX Yellow Pages 1996/7 (Burlington, VT: NYNEX Information Resources Co., 1996/7), 63.
(8) Floor Plans at Acquisition 1997, Drawing Drawer 9, Drawing 331, Courtesy of Campus Planning Services.
(9) NYNEX Yellow Pages 1996/7, 63.
(10) "Completed Projects: 440 College Street," University of Vermont, accessed October 1, 2011, http://www.uvm.edu/~arch/?Page=projects/440college.html&SM=pastprojectsmenu.html.