St. Johnsbury Historic District | |
Location | U.S. 5 and U.S. 2, St. Johnsbury, Vermont |
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Coordinates | 44°25′6″N72°1′2″W / 44.41833°N 72.01722°W |
Area | 3 acres (1.2 ha) |
Architectural style | Mid 19th Century Revival, Late Victorian |
NRHP reference No. | 80000424 [1] |
Added to NRHP | April 17, 1980 |
The St. Johnsbury Historic District encompasses much of the historic civic and commercial center of St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Representing a significant expansion of the Railroad Street Historic District and the St. Johnsbury Main Street Historic District, it captures the historical tension and competition between Main Street and Railroad Street for primacy as the town's most important civic and commercial areas. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. [1]
The town of St. Johnsbury was settled in the late 18th century, and was at first organized primarily on a high terrace above the Passumpsic River, where its Main Street is now located. This area developed as a residential and civic hub, with some commercial development, in the first half of the 19th century. The arrival of railroad lines in the 19th century prompted major development in the "lower district", now Railroad Street, as a commercial center organized around the railroads. During the second half of the 19th century this development competed with Main Street for economic primacy, and elements of a commercial corridor began to take grow on Eastern Avenue, the main through road between Main and Railroad Streets. Railroad Street benefited from the ongoing railroad activity, while Main Street benefited in no small measure from the activities of the Fairbanks family, whose Fairbanks Scale Works, located northwest of Main Street on the banks of the Sleepers River, was the town's largest employer. [2]
The historic district is geographically roughly an H shape, reflecting its historical development. The eastern leg is Railroad Street, running north-south from Portland Street to Depot Square. This area includes the Railroad Street Historic District, centered on the junction of Railroad and Eastern, but is primarily extended to the north. The western leg is on Main Street, extending from Mt. Pleasant Street in the north to Vine Street in the south. These are joined by the main east-west through corridor, which includes Eastern Avenue between Main and Railroad, and extends west of Main on Western Avenue to Barker Street. The Railroad Street area has a fine collection of late 19th and early 20th-century commercial architecture, while the Main Street area is more diverse, with a large measure of housing and civic buildings. Fully one quarter of the buildings on Main Street were designed by a single architect, Lambert Packard, who also designed some of the buildings on Railroad Street and Eastern Avenue. The Main Street area is also home to two of St. Johnsbury's best-known institutions, the St. Johnsbury Atheneum, a National Historic Landmark, and the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium; both of these were created through the philanthropy of the Fairbanks family. [2]
Selected buildings in the district:
Wells River is a village in the town of Newbury in Orange County, Vermont, United States. The population was 431 at the 2020 census. The village center is located at the junction of U.S. Routes 5 and 302.
St. Johnsbury is the shire town of Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,364. St. Johnsbury is situated on the Passumpsic River and is located approximately six miles northwest of the Connecticut River and 48 miles (77 km) south of the Canada–U.S. border.
The Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium is a combination natural science museum, history museum, and planetarium located in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. It was founded in 1890 by businessman, politician, naturalist, and collector Franklin Fairbanks. The museum and its buildings are on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
The Greenwich Avenue Historic District is a historic district representing the commercial and civic historical development of the downtown area of the town of Greenwich, Connecticut. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 31, 1989. Included in the district is the Greenwich Municipal Center Historic District, which was listed on the National Register the year before for the classical revival style municipal buildings in the core of Downtown. Most of the commercial buildings in the district fall into three broad styles, reflecting the period in which they were built: Italianate, Georgian Revival, and Commercial style. The district is linear and runs north–south along the entire length of Greenwich Avenue, the main thoroughfare of Downtown Greenwich, between U.S. Route 1 and the New Haven Line railroad tracks.
The former Spaulding School Building is a historic structure that has overlooked the city of Barre, Vermont, United States, since 1891. It now houses the Vermont History Center, the home of the Vermont Historical Society.
Lambert Packard (1832-1906) was an American architect from St. Johnsbury, Vermont.
The Brattleboro Downtown Historic District encompasses most of the central business district of the town of Brattleboro, Vermont. Extending along Main Street between Whetstone Brook and a junction with Pultney Road and Linden and Walnut Streets, this area includes many of the town's prominent civic and institutional buildings. The area's development took place primarily in the 19th century, with surviving buildings from both the 18th and early 20th centuries. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, and was enlarged in 2004 to include Plaza Park and the Holstein Building on the south side of Whetstone Brook.
The Fair Haven Green Historic District encompasses the village green of Fair Haven, Vermont, and the heterogeneous collection of civic, commercial, and residential buildings that line it and adjacent streets. The area was developed mainly following the arrival of the railroad in 1848 and the subsequent expansion of marble and slate quarries in the area. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The Poultney Main Street Historic District encompasses the commercial and residential historic core of the village of Poultney, Vermont. Centered on Main Street and East Main Street, between College Avenue and St. Raphael's Catholic Church, the district includes a diversity of architectural styles, as well as civic, religious, and commercial functions spanning a period of more than 100 years. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
The Wallingford Main Street Historic District encompasses the historic portions of the village of Wallingford, Vermont. An essentially linear district extending along Main Street on either side of School Street, it has a well-preserved array of 19th and early-20th century residential, commercial, and civic buildings. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.
The Bethel Village Historic District encompasses the historic core of the village of Bethel in the town of Bethel, Vermont, USA. The L-shaped district extends along Main and Church Streets, including many of the village's commercial and civic buildings, as well as a significant number of 19th and early 20th-century residences. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, and was slightly enlarged in 1990.
The Wells River Graded School is a historic school building on United States Route 5 in the Wells River village of Newbury, Vermont. Built in 1874, it is one of the state's finest examples of Second Empire architecture. Now in commercial use, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
The City Hall Park Historic District encompasses one of the central economic, civic, and public spaces of the city of Burlington, Vermont. Centered on City Hall Park, the area's architecture encapsulates the city's development from a frontier town to an urban commercial center. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The Downtown Essex Junction Commercial Historic District encompasses the historically railroad-dominated portion of downtown Essex Junction, Vermont. Aligned along the south side of Railroad Avenue and adjacent portions of Main Street, the area underwent most of its development between 1900 and 1940, when Essex Junction served as a major regional railroad hub. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.
The St. Albans Historic District encompasses most of the historic commercial core of the city of St. Albans, Vermont. The district includes the historic town common, which acts as its focal center, and commercial and civic architecture dating from the early 19th to early 20th centuries. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The Maple Street–Clarks Avenue Historic District encompasses a historic 19th-century immigrant neighborhood of St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Located northwest of the downtown area on a sloping hillside, it consists of tenements and single-family houses built for Irish and French Canadian immigrants, sometimes grouped in ways that facilitated the support of large extended families. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
The Railroad Street Historic District encompasses a cluster of commercial and railroad-related buildings at the traditional late 19th-century heart of St. Johnsbury, Vermont. It includes five commercial buildings and the town's 1883 union depot, and is reflective of the town's importance as a major railroad junction in northern New England. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. It was subsumed by the larger St. Johnsbury Historic District in 1980.
The Shearer and Corser Double House is a historic house at 592 Summer Street in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Built as a school about 1854, it has had a history of varied uses and prominent local owners, and has high quality Colonial Revival and Italianate features. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
The St. Johnsbury Main Street Historic District encompasses the historic civic and cultural center of the town of St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Organized along the town's Main Street, it includes high-quality architecture spanning the 19th and early 20th centuries, and includes the National Historic Landmark St. Johnsbury Athenaeum. Many of the district's buildings were designed by Lambert Packard, a prominent local architect. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, and was enlarged slightly in 1976. It was subsumed into the larger St. Johnsbury Historic District in 1980.
The West View Farm is a historic farm property on Hastings Road in Waterford, Vermont. The farm is unique for its distinctive round barn, built in 1903 to a design by St. Johnsbury architect Lambert Packard, and surviving 19th-century corn crib and smokehouse. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. It includes a round barn.
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