"Waterfront Yacht Club Slip, Burlington, VT," The Hugh C. Leighton Co., Made in Germany, 1909. Special Collections, University of Vermont Library.
This postcard shows a view of the Lake Champlain Yacht Club slip looking south towards the College Street dock. The photograph was taken from the J. R. Booth Lumber yards. The steeply-pitched roof of the yacht club is visible in the background on the right side.
"ECHO Lake Aquarium and Burlington Community Boathouse," taken by Kate Lepore on October 16, 2012.
A photograph of the Burlington Community Boathouse on the College Street dock looking south. The ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center is silhouetted in the mid-ground to the left.
"Lake Champlain Yacht Club, Burlington, VT," The Hugh C. Leighton Co., made in Germany, 1907. Special Collections, University of Vermont Library.
This postcard shows a view of the Lake Champlain Yacht Club looking west across Lake Champlain. The photograph was taken from the foot of College Street.
"Burlington Community Boathouse," taken by Kate Lepore on October 16, 2012.
A photograph of the Burlington Community Boathouse on the College Street dock looking west across Lake Champlain towards the Adirondack Mountains.
"Lake Champlain Yacht Club, Burlington, VT," The Metropolitan News Co., made in Germany, 1906. Special Collections, University of Vermont Library.
This postcard shows a view of the Lake Champlain Yacht Club looking east onto the Burlington waterfront. The photograph was taken from Lake Champlain. Smoke can be seen rising in the mid-ground on the left from the lumber industry buildings.
"Burlington Community Boathouse, Facing East," taken by Kate Lepore on October 20, 2012.
A photograph of the Burlington Community Boathouse on the College Street dock looking east towards the Burlington shore.
"Lake Champlain Yacht House, Burlington, VT," The Metropolitan News Co., made in Germany. Special Collections, University of Vermont Library.
This postcard from the early twentieth century shows a view of the Lake Champlain Yacht Club looking southwest across Lake Champlain. The photograph was taken from the floating barges to the north of the yacht club that contained small boathouse storage sheds.
"Burlington Community Boathouse and Docks," taken by Kate Lepore on October 16, 2012.
A photograph of the Burlington Community Boathouse on the College Street dock looking southwest across Lake Champlain. The seasonal boat docks are visible in the foreground.
"Burlington, VT, Yacht Club and Harbor," The Hugh C. Leighton Co., made in Germany, 1910. Special Collections, University of Vermont Library.
This postcard shows a view of the Lake Champlain Yacht Club looking southwest across Lake Champlain. The photograph was taken from the floating barges that contained small boathouse storage sheds. A sailboat approaching the yacht club dock is visible in the mid-ground.
"Burlington Community Boathouse with Breakwater," taken by Kate Lepore on October 16, 2012.
A photograph of the Burlington Community Boathouse on the College Street dock looking southwest across Lake Champlain. A speedboat is visible in the mid-ground docked at the Boathouse seasonal dock.
"The Harbor, Burlington, VT," C.H. Bessey, made in Germany. Special Collections, University of Vermont Library.
This postcard from the early twentieth century shows a view looking southwest to the Lake Champlain Yacht Club house from Battery Park. The foliage of Battery Park frames the view along the foreground. To the right of the yacht club is a floating barge of boat sheds. In the background the breakwater is visible spanning along the waterfront.
"Waterfront Park from Battery Park," taken by Kate Lepore on October 16, 2012.
A photograph of the Burlington waterfront looking southwest towards the Burlington Community Boathouse. The foliage of Battery Park obstructs the view of the shoreline. A small portion of the Waterfront Park is visible through the trees on the right side of the mid-ground. The breakwater recedes into the distance across the Lake.
Lake Champlain Yacht Club
The foot of College Street has been a central hub of waterfront activity ever since the mid-1800s. Therefore it is surprising to consider that as late as 1853, the dock at the foot of College Street did not yet exist. (1) In fact, in the early 1850s many elements of the waterfront that are recognizable today were not yet built. Lake Street and much of the land west of it were not in existence as of 1853. (2) The section of land west of Lake Street was created by adding fill into Lake Champlain to extend the waterfront westward. At the time, Burlington was one of the leading lumber importers in the United States. It is reasonable to believe that the addition of thousands of feet of waterfront property was to the advantage of the lumber companies in order to allow for more storage and processing of the lumber in a convenient location for transportation. The region west of Lake Street was supplemented onto the waterfront sometime between 1853 and 1869. (3) The dock at the foot of College Street appears to have been constructed during this time frame as well, evidenced by the lumber warehouse located on the dock depicted in the 1869 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Burlington. (4) The use of the College Street dock shifted to suit maritime needs in 1873, when it served as a steamboat dock for the transportation of lumber across Lake Champlain. (5) In 1885, the steamboat company had two buildings on the College Street dock that were used as a freight depot and a passenger depot. (6) The area directly south of the College Street dock was designated as lumber yard storage and had a small rectangular building at the edge of the shore line that was used as a drying house for lumber production. (7)
Planning for the Lake Champlain Yacht Club was underway in 1887. In May a meeting was held to designate the roles of members for particular positions of governance within the club and to discuss possible events to be hosted by the Lake Champlain Yacht Club. On the date of the meeting, the club was already a popular entity with two hundred members. Many of the members of the Lake Champlain Yacht Club emerged from the Sharpie Yacht Club, which ended with the creation of the Lake Champlain Yacht Club. (8) In 1888, the Lake Champlain Yacht Club house was built and located on the College Street dock. (9) The initial yacht club had two peaked sections of steeply-pitched roof and triangular dormer windows extending from the west facing and north facing facades. Although only open during the summer months, the club proved to be a popular organization with many heavily attended events for the residents and tourists of the Burlington area. One of the most trafficked events of the season was the Annual Regatta, which featured multiple boat races for various sized vessels. The results of each year's boat races were featured in the Burlington Weekly Free Press. The first Annual Regatta races of the Lake Champlain Yacht club were described as being "the finest races yet had on the lake". (10) Apart from the regular events and activities of the Lake Champlain Yacht club members, another entity was located in the club house. As of 1889, Mr. Charles R. Archambeault, janitor for the Lake Champlain Yacht Club, offered boat rentals to the public by the day or week. (11) Mr. Archambeault continued to rent boats out until the Lake Champlain Yacht Club was no longer located at the College Street dock.
While the Yacht Club was located on the College Street dock, it suffered two detrimental fires that led to the rebuilding of the club house twice. The first fire to the Lake Champlain Yacht Club house occurred in November of 1901. (12) The origin of the fire could not be determined, but the severity of the fire was such that the building was burnt to the ground. A reporter for the Burlington Weekly Free Press described the scene as follows:
All that remains of the imposing structure is a bare frame-work of charred timber surrounding a heap of ruins and supporting what remains of the roof. Here and there in the charred pile are portions of the interior furnishings which were not completely annihilated. What was once a bicycle is now contained in a mass of tangled iron partially melted and run together. The splendid brass cannon used in tiring salutes is a shapeless mass of melted metal. The work of the fire was complete. (13)
The Yacht Club was rebuilt on the same site and served as the club house until a second fire struck in July of 1911. (14) The origins of the second fire were also unknown and left the building completely devastated. The yacht club rebuilt their house for a second time at the College Street dock.
The Lake Champlain Yacht Club continued their Annual Regatta traditions and many other club events and festivities at the College Street dock until 1936 when the club house was sold to the Green Mountain Adirondack Ferry Company and the yacht club relocated to Shelburne Bay. (15) After two years of occupying the former Lake Champlain Yacht Club house, the Green Mountain Ferry Company sold the property to The Champlain Transportation Company in 1938. (16) In 1949, the former club house was listed as being vacant in the Burlington City Directory. (17) Sometime between the 1949 listing and 1960, the club house and the dock were taken out of commission. According to the Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of 1942-1960, the College Street dock was no longer in existence. (18)
In 1949, the area south of the former College Street dock that was previously used for lumber yard storage and had once hosted a lumber drying house, became home to a new square building which was used as a U.S. Navy and Marine Corps training center and storage facility. (19) The training and storage facility continued to be utilized by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps until 1988, when the Community and Economic Development Office of Burlington began negotiating to move the Navy's facility to an alternate location, and redevelop the existing building for a public entity. (20) In 1995, the former Navy training and storage facility became the Lake Champlain Basin Science Center. (21) The Basin Science Center was transformed into the present-day ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center during the late 1990s and early twenty first century. Today the ECHO Lake Aquarium offers a multitude of learning experiences for children and adults year round.
As of 1964, the College Street dock was still missing from the Burlington waterfront. The only indication that a dock and building had once stood there was the old rock pilings that used to support the structure. (22) A 1978 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map continued to provide evidence that the College Street dock had not yet been rebuilt. (23) In 1988, the College Street dock was reconstructed and the Burlington Community Boathouse was built on a barge to imitate the design of the last Lake Champlain Yacht Club house at that location. (24) The floating Boathouse has been under the control of the Burlington Parks and Recreation Department and from 1989 to the present has been used for a variety of community programs and events, some of which include boat rentals, bike rentals, scuba charters and lessons, as well as private parties and ceremonies. (25) In the early 1990s, the Parks and Recreation Department were developing plans for a waterfront park and promenade north of the Boathouse as well as developing the foot of College Street into a cul-de-sac. (26) Both of those projects came to fruition by the late 1990s and are enjoyed today by members of the Burlington community.
Notes
(1) Map of Burlington, Vermont (Major, NY: Presdee & Edwards, 1853).
(2) Map of Burlington, Vermont (Major, NY: Presdee & Edwards, 1853).
(3) Insurance Maps of Burlington Vermont, Chittenden County, (New York, Sanborn Map Company, 1869), Sheet 3.
(4) Insurance Maps of Burlington Vermont, Chittenden County, (New York, Sanborn Map Company, 1869), Sheet 5.
(5) Burlington City Directory, (Burlington, VT: The Free Press Association, 1873), Map.
(6) Insurance Maps of Burlington Vermont, Chittenden County, (New York, Sanborn Map Company, 1885), Sheets 7-10.
(7) Insurance Maps of Burlington Vermont, Chittenden County, (New York, Sanborn Map Company, 1885), Sheets 7-10.
(8) "The Lake Champlain Yacht Club Successfully Organized," Burlington Weekly Free Press, (Burlington, VT), May 20, 1887, Page 2.
(9) "Yacht Regatta," Burlington Weekly Free Press, (Burlington, VT), Aug. 17, 1888, Page 4.
(10) "Yacht Regatta," Burlington Weekly Free Press, (Burlington, VT), Aug. 17, 1888, Page 4.
(11) Burlington City Directory, (Burlington, VT: L.P. Waite & Co., 1888/1889), Page 55.
(12) Annual Report of the City of Burlington, Vermont, (Burlington, VT: Free Press Association, 1901), Page 156.
(13) "Club House Burned," Burlington Weekly Free Press, (Burlington, VT), Nov. 21, 9101 Page 8.
(14) Annual Report of the City of Burlington, Vermont, (Burlington, VT: Free Press Association, 1911), Page 137.
(15) Burlington City Directory, (Massachusetts: H.A. Manning Co., 1936), Page 197.
(16) Burlington City Directory, (Massachusetts: H.A. Manning Co., 1936), Page 197.
(17) Burlington City Directory, (Massachusetts: H.A. Manning Co., 1949), Page 261.
(18) Insurance Maps of Burlington Vermont, Chittenden County, (New York, Sanborn Map Company, 1942-1960), Sheets 35-36.
(19) Burlington City Directory, (Massachusetts: H.A. Manning Co., 1949), Page 261.
(20) Annual Report of the City of Burlington, Vermont, (Burlington, VT: Free Press Association, 1988), Page 52.
(21) Annual Report of the City of Burlington, Vermont, (Burlington, VT: Free Press Association, 1995), Page 34.
(22) "Old Yacht Club Site Eyed for Marina Annex," Burlington Free Press (Burlington, VT), Dec. 21, 1964.
(23) Insurance Maps of Burlington Vermont, Chittenden County, (New York, Sanborn Map Company, 1978), Sheets 35-36.
(24) Annual Report of the City of Burlington, Vermont, (Burlington, VT: Free Press Association, 1988), Page 45.
(25) Annual Report of the City of Burlington, Vermont, (Burlington, VT: Free Press Association, 1989), Page 83.
(26) Annual Report of the City of Burlington, Vermont, (Burlington, VT: Free Press Association, 1992), Page 73.
