STATE OF VERMONT SURVEY NUMBER: 0418-41 Division for Historic Preservation (Assigned by VDHP) ☒ 1 National Life Drive, Floor 6 Listed in State Register Date: 11/22/93 Montpelier, VT 05602 HISTORIC SITES & STRUCTURES SURVEY Individual Property Survey Form PRESENT FORMAL NAME: Russell Niquette House ORIGINAL FORMAL NAME: Dr. Richardson House COUNTY: Chittenden PRESENT USE: Multi-family TOWN: Winooski ORIGINAL USE: House ADDRESS: 41 East Allen Street ARCHITECT/ENGINEER: unknown COMMON NAME: n/a BUILDER/CONTRACTOR: unknown PROPERTY TYPE: House converted to multi-family DATE BUILT: ca. 1872 OWNER: Winooski Block LLC ACCESSIBILITY TO PUBLIC: PHYSICAL CONDITION OF STRUCTURE: Yes ☐ No ☒ Restricted ☐ Good ☒ Fair ☐ Poor ☐ LEVEL OF SIGNIFICANCE: STYLE: Greek Revival / Italianate / Colonial Revival Local ☒ State ☐ National ☐ GENERAL DESCRIPTION: Structural System: 1. Foundation: Stone☒ Brick☐ Concrete☐ Concrete Block☐ 2. Wall Structure a. Wood Frame: Post & Beam☐ Plank☐ Balloon☐ Platform☒ b. Load Bearing Masonry: Brick☐ Stone☐ Concrete☐ Concrete Block☐ c. Metal: Iron☐ Steel☐ d. Other: 3. Wall Cladding: Clapboard☒ Board & Batten☐ Wood Shingle☐ Shiplap☐ Novelty☐ Asbestos Shingle☐ Aluminum Siding☐ Asphalt Shingle☐ Vinyl Siding☒ Brick Veneer☐ Stone Veneer☐ Other: vertical plank 4. Roof Structure Truss: Wood☒ Iron☐ Steel☐ Concrete☐ Other: Wood rafters 5. Roof Covering: Slate☒ Wood Shingle☐ Asphalt Shingle☐ Sheet Metal☐ Built Up☐ Rolled☐ Tile☐ Standing Seam☐ Other: 6. Engineering Structure: 7. Other: Appendages: Porches☒ Towers☐ Cupolas☐ Dormers☐ Chimneys☒ Sheds☐ Ells☒ Wings☐ Bay Window☐ Other: Roof Styles: Gable☒ Hip☐ Shed☒ Flat☐ Mansard☐ Gambrel☐ Jerkinhead☐ Saw Tooth☐ With Monitor☐ With Bellcast☐ With Parapet☐ With False Front☒ Other: Number of Stories: 2 1/2 Entrance Location: facade Number of Bays: 3 x 2 Approximate Dimensions: 40 x 35 Criteria for Eligibility: A: Historic☐ B: Person☐ C: Architectural☒ D: Archeological☐ Integrity: Location☒ Design☒ Setting☐ Materials☒ Workmanship☒ Feeling☒ Assoc.☒ Areas of Significance: Community Planning and Development, Architecture

ADDITIONAL ARCHITECTURAL OR STRUCTURAL DESCRIPTION:

Forty-one East Allen Street is a wood frame, two story, 3 x 2 bay, eaves front house with vinyl sided walls and a slate covered gable roof. The building is supported on a cut stone foundation, and offset brick chimneys extend through the roof at each gable end. The building is situated on the north side of East Allen between Main Street and Barlow Street. The setting of the building has changed dramatically since its ca. 1872 construction, now located near the northeast tip of the central traffic circle within a developing downtown core of multistory buildings. The south-facing façade closely fronts VT Route 15, a main traffic artery connecting downtown Winooski with Interstate 89. Directly across the street is the modern, four-story VSAC building. Behind the building is a public parking lot. Directly east is a vacant lot, the site of a previous building appearing in historic maps. The setting is further discussed in the Statement of Significance and Evaluation of Integrity sections of this report.

Exterior The building was constructed as a single-family home and doctors office ca. 1872 and has since been converted to apartments. A 1 ½ story, gable roofed ell with east-facing full width dormer extends from the northwest corner of the building and appears to be original, retaining its clapboard siding. A one- story, shed-roofed addition with clapboard siding extends northerly behind the ell and appears on the early maps indicating it was added soon after or contemporaneously with the building’s construction. Most of the modern alterations are located behind the main block at the intersection with the ell, constructed to provide access to the apartments. Here, the east plane of the north block’s roof extends down to cover a one-story room connected to a modern wood deck with stained wood railing. The second floor is accessed by a covered exterior staircase ascending to a small covered porch sheltering the second-floor entrance. The building has two chronologically separated layers of exterior features. The original design combined Greek Revival style and Italianate style detailing on the main block and ell. Extant Greek Revival features include peaked, molded drip caps over the windows, and a centered paneled entrance door with sidelights. Extant Italianate detailing includes molded eaves with pairs of scrolled brackets extending below the facia onto curved-plank facia extensions. The second layer constructed in the 1940s dramatically changed the façade by adding a two-story, Colonial Revival style porch. The porch’s first story extends across the façade and curves around the west elevation to meet the ell that projects west of the main block. Paired and tripled Doric columns support a wood clad beam under the porch’s molded eaves. The porch substructure is fronted by a flagstone veneer with wide, pronounced mortar joints. The single-bay, second-story porch has a pedimented roof, curved metal railing, and is supported by two, full-height Doric columns resting on stone bases. The entrance is further highlighted by stone steps with iron railings and guarded by carved stone lions. A second porch with Doric columns was added to the west side of the rear addition. The original windows are thought to have been altered during the ‘colonial revivalization’ of the building by replacing the original sash with the current 9/9 sash and adding 30-light windows on the first floor prominently flanking the façade main entrance. Interior The interior has been converted to four apartments, two on each floor, which caused the removal of the historic stairs and separation of the floors. Extant historic features are located primarily in the front, first floor apartment including the interiors of the front door and sidelights and 30-light façade windows. Considerable trim has also been retained in the apartments though some of it has been relocated within the modified floorplans. New kitchens and baths have been built for each apartment, wall surfaces are varied featuring a mix of plaster and sheetrock.

RELATED STRUCTURES: (Describe) n/a

STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE:

East Allen Street (VT Route 15) is among Winooski’s oldest roads, constructed by Ira Allen’s work crews in the late 1700s to connect the growing settlement he founded at the falls to Essex. Allen’s house was located approximately where the traffic circle is now, and a small scattering of early settler’s houses bordered East Allen Street (then Essex Road) where #41 now stands. Following Allen’s departure from Winooski in 1803, much of the land on the Winooski side of the falls was purchased by entrepreneur John Warren Weaver who ran a dry goods store where the Winooski Block now stands and after whom the lane east of the Winooski Block is named. Mills at the falls in the early 1800s were small in scale and concentrated on the Burlington side, run by the Catlin family. A large fire destroyed the Catlin mill works in 1838 and would cause cased a shift in textile production back to the Winooski side.

High demand for wool in the early 19th century led to dramatically higher prices and over one million sheep on Vermont farms by 1830. Entrepreneurs sought to exploit the most advantageous sites at the Winooski Falls to power textile mills that would process the wool. Innovations in milling machinery made specialization efficient and highly lucrative. Among the many larger mills to be constructed at the falls to take advantage of the advances was the Burlington Woolen Mill Company mill, the largest in Vermont. In his book The Great Falls on the Onion River: A History of Winooski Vermont, author Vincent Feeney discusses the mill and references the mill investors’ solicitations to potential suppliers for one million bricks and hundreds of thousands of board feet of lumber for its construction. The mill was completed in 1838 though construction on ancillary buildings continued through 1850. The mill’s construction furthered a wave of commercial expansion, immigration, and a transition of the falls village from rural settlement to an urban industrial center. Nine Streets were laid out on Company land in the 1840s that would form Winooski’s downtown core, concentrated in the area between the river and Vermont Central railroad tracks. Essex Road was improved and renamed Allen Street. Barlow Street was named after one of Company’s founders. Main Street was laid out as far north as what is now LaFountain Street. The population at the falls rose dramatically in part through immigration from Europe and Canada, fueling economic activity and the variety of shops and businesses constructed along Main Street up to Allen Street.

In the 1860s and 1870s the Burlington Woolen Mill experienced unprecedented prosperity, a period that Feeney describes as “Winooski’s Golden Age”. The flood of new residents to work in the expanding mills spurned a demand for new homes and professional services in the expanding village. Comparing the attached 1869, 1890, and later Sanborn maps its is clear that new, larger homes and businesses began to replace earlier buildings constructed along East Allen Street. The Winooski Block was built in 1868 changing the complexion of the intersection of Allen and Main Streets to commercial. The need for a centrally located hotel was soon apparent and the Stevens House was built the same year on Main Street close to the bridge. It burned in the late 1800s. The attached Beers map shows the site when #41 now stands owned by L.R. Pratt; the configuration of the house indicates that it may have been removed, or possibly moved back to form the ell of the current house constructed by 1890 for physician Dr. J.H. Richardson. Richardson was the first resident of the house and lived and operated his medical practice there until about 1900. The need for doctors in the mill- stoked village area is highlighted in the attached 1890 map showing Doctor Richardson flanked on East Allen Street by Doctors Peck and Patenaude. The house was subsequently purchased by attorney and well-known Winooski resident Russell Niquette in the early 1940s. Niquette added his own architectural statement to the house, emboldening the façade with the expansive, two-story Colonial

Revival style porch and replacement wood sash. The success of Winooski’s professionals ensconced in the row of impressive homes on the north side of East Allen was tied to the success of the growing village, and more directly and somewhat precariously to the success of the mills at the falls.

Winooski’s fortunes shifted when a drop in demand for wool, unionization, and a large-scale strike idled the last of the big mills in 1954, portending a period of economic distress and decline in the city. In response, a large area of the downtown core was recommended by the City in the 1960s for an urban renewal project as part of the national Model Cities program funded by the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. The initial renewal zone extended along the banks of the river for several blocks east and west of Main Street and extending north to East Allen Street to include the Winooski Mill building and Winooski Block. A smaller section was ultimately selected for the project encompassing the area directly south of #41 East Allen to the edge of the river, although the Winooski Bock and Winooski Mill building were not included. Demolition began in 1973 to raise buildings in the urban renewal zone effectively isolating a truncated group of buildings between the cleared zone and the RR tracks, including #41 East Allen. After successive developers pulled out of the renewal development, a large parking lot and shopping center were constructed across from #41. A second wave of urban renewal began in 2003 with construction of the downtown traffic circle and multistory mixed-use buildings to the east. Today, the urban renewal area has been infilled with closely spaced, four and five story mixed-use blocks, effectively remaking the downtown core. The layers of development since the 1970s have reconstituted Winooski’s downtown from a low-rise mixed-use neighborhood that had been dependent on the mills, to a vibrant, concentrated city core focused on commerce, technology, and tourism. The hundreds of units of added downtown have fueled an expanding number of shops and restaurants. Many of the houses along the East Allen gateway into downtown have been removed for development consistent with the city’s master plan and desire to increase downtown density and housing options. Others have been adaptively reused for commerce or converted to multi-family use. Architecture: Stylistically, #41 East Allen Street is a hybrid, mixing the Greek Revival and Italianate styles in its original ca. 1872 construction, and adding a transformational layer of the Colonial Revival style in the 1920s. As such, it represents an evolution of styles rather than a single expression and its architectural value can be viewed across a range of interpretations. One could argue that the intense Colonial Revivalization of the facade overwhelmed and corrupted the intricacies of the original Italianate style and muddled the historic message. Others may opine that that while bold, the changes represent an effort that was relatively common at the time to modernize buildings. A good percentage of Colonial Revival porches were added to older buildings in Vermont with this objective. Indeed, Vermont architect Louis Sheldon Newton was well known for his designs to modernize older buildings in the Colonial Revival style. Moreover, the National Register criteria suggest that architectural changes over 50 years old can possess significance in their own right, and the author accepts that this is the case here. That said, the breadth and nature of the changes appear to diminish the 1870s architecture in a way that degrades its link to Winooski’s Golden Age as described by Vincent Feeney.

Evaluation of Integrity: Understanding whether a historic district is present is important in assessing the eligibility of a property for the State Register. Historic Preservation Consultant Liz Pritchett conducted a study in 2000 of East Allen Street properties as part of planning efforts for the proposed downtown redevelopment project, the subject of ACT 250 LUP 4C1065 (Revised). The specific focus of Ms. Pritchett’s evaluation at the time was the row of properties on the south side of East Allen Street East of Barlow Street. About these properties she stated

“today when driving through the project area the distinctive characteristics of dwellings along East Allen Street are not readily evident. The setting and overall condition of the buildings appear to have been altered since the area was reviewed in the 1970s by HUD and the State Register. Alterations and neglect of the buildings as noted above have compromised somewhat their physical integrity. Despite these impacts the integrity of the district remains intact overall due to the high concentration of contributing properties.” The concentration of properties that was key to the presence of a potential East Allen Historic District in 2000 has been substantially diminished since that time. As attached Map No. 18 shows, directly east of Main Street is the downtown traffic circle; east of the traffic circle is the modern VSAC building; between the VSAC building and Abenaki Way is a group of houses that was preapproved for demolition in the Downtown Master Plan and Act 250 LUP 4C1065, one among them, #106 East Allen, was relocated to Manhattan Drive in Burlington to build the City Lights development; east of Abenaki Way the CCV building was constructed; the four buildings east of CCV (138 – 160 East Allen) have been approved for removal as part of the 138-160 East Allen development project, and; the East Allen Street buildings east and north of #160 were considered non-contributing in the Act 250 evaluation for the 138-160 East Allen Street development project. In aggregate, the effects of increasing development along East Allen Street has been to diminish the concentration of historic properties to the point that an East Allen Street Historic District is no longer a tenable proposition. The immediate setting of subject building at 41 East Allen has also been substantially altered compared to the pre-renewal era as evidenced on Map #17. Directly south of #41 is the modern, five- story VSAC block. Directly north is a commercial parking lot. To the west is #33 East Allen which has been substantially altered and is considered non-contributing. To the east is a State Register-listed property that appears to retain its eligibility. East Allen Street (VT Route 15) itself has become a major traffic artery connecting the expanded downtown with Interstate 89 to the east. Number 41 East Allen is located less than 50 yards from the northeast entrance to the downtown traffic circle. Conclusion The above discussion confirms that the building at #41 East Allen Street appears to possess sufficient integrity to retain its listing in the State Register of Historic Places. Qualifying this assertion are several factors. First, the integrity of the building’s setting of the building in an area of intense downtown development has been severely degraded. Second, the integrity of design can be construed to have been diminished by the intense “Colonial Revivalization” that appears to overwhelm and muddle the Greek Revival and Italianate architecture linking the building to Winooski’s Golden Age of prosperity and expansion in the 1860s and 1870s. Third, the building has been partially covered in vinyl siding and converted to apartments, which has obscured original materials and altered both the interior and the east and north elevations.

REFERENCES: Walling 1857 Map of Winooski, Beers Map of Chittenden County 1869; Map of Winooski Falls 1890; Sanborn Maps of Winooski – various dates, The Great Falls on Onion River: A History of Winooski, VT; Interview with Joe Perron, Winooski Historical Society; Newspapers.com

MAP: (Indicate North in Circle) SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENT: See attached☒ Open Woodland ☐ Woodland ☐ Scattered Buildings ☐

Moderately Built Up ☐ Densely Built Up ☒ Residential ☒ Commercial ☒ Agricultural ☐ Industrial ☐ Roadside Strip Development ☐ Other:

RECORDED BY: Scott Newman

ORGANIZATION: 106 Associates

DATE RECORDED: 2/2/2020

P a g e 0 1 Determination of Eligibility - 41 East Allen Street Winooski, VT

#41

Map 01: Property location map

#41

Map 2: Property location map P a g e 0 2 Determination of Eligibility - 41 East Allen Street Winooski, VT

#41

Map 03: Property site map

Map 04: Wallings Map of Winooski Village - 1857 P a g e 0 3 Determination of Eligibility - 41 East Allen Street Winooski, VT

Map 05: Beers Map of Winooski Village1869 —detail

Map 06: Beers Map of Winooski 1869—detail P a g e 0 4 Determination of Eligibility - 41 East Allen Street Winooski, VT

Map 07: Map of Winooski 1890

Map 08: Map of Winooski 1890 - detail P a g e 0 5 Determination of Eligibility - 41 East Allen Street Winooski, VT

Map 09: Sanborn Map - 1884 P a g e 0 6 Determination of Eligibility - 41 East Allen Street Winooski, VT

Map 10: Sanborn Map - 1889 P a g e 0 7 Determination of Eligibility - 41 East Allen Street Winooski, VT

Map 11: Sanborn Map - 1894 P a g e 0 8 Determination of Eligibility - 41 East Allen Street Winooski, VT

Map 12: Sanborn Map - 1899 P a g e 0 9 Determination of Eligibility - 41 East Allen Street Winooski, VT

Map 13: Sanborn Map - 1904 P a g e 1 0 Determination of Eligibility - 41 East Allen Street Winooski, VT

Map 14: Sanborn Map - 1909 P a g e 1 1 Determination of Eligibility - 41 East Allen Street Winooski, VT

Map 15: Sanborn Map - 1919 P a g e 1 2 Determination of Eligibility - 41 East Allen Street Winooski, VT

Map 16: Sanborn Map - 1926 ---

Nov.1909

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Scale of foet. �o IQQ 150 5--0 40-- JO 20- 10 O------. w I n 0 0 s k I I V e r Map 17: Annotated 1909 Sanborn Map Shows status of buildings surrounding #41 East Allen D (demo'd) C (est contributing) SR (listed) NR (listed) I 41 East Allen Street Winooski, VT

41 East Allen NECR NC NC NC NC NC NC NC NC c NC NC NC c NC NC C SR SR APPR DEMO NR NC NC SR D SR SR SR SR SR COMM DEV APPR FOR DEMO Traffic COMM Circle DEV COMM DEV

Map 18: Google Map Shows status of buildings surrounding #41 East Allen

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© 2019 Google 500 ft

© 2019 Google P a g e 1 5 Determination of Eligibility - 41 East Allen Street Winooski, VT

Photo 01: Looking east along east Allen Street (VT RT 15)

Photo 02: Looking west along East Allen Street (VT RT 15) P a g e 1 6 Determination of Eligibility - 41 East Allen Street Winooski, VT

Photo 03: Looking south, view shows # 41 (left) backdropped by VSAC building on the south side of East Allen Street

Photo 04: Looking northeast, view shows west and south elevations P a g e 1 7 Determination of Eligibility - 41 East Allen Street Winooski, VT

Photo 05: Looking northwest, view shows south and east elevations

Photo 06: Looking west, view shows east elevation P a g e 1 8 Determination of Eligibility - 41 East Allen Street Winooski, VT

Photo 07: Looking south, view shows north (rear) elevation

Photo 08: Looking southeast, view shows north and west elevations P a g e 1 9 Determination of Eligibility - 41 East Allen Street Winooski, VT

Photo 09: Looking south, view shows shed roofed addition with sliding glass door, new back deck, added shed roofed dormer, and entrance to second floor apartment.

Photo 10: (left) Looking west, view shows 1920s two-story façade porch detail Photo 11: (right) Looking northwest, view shows replacement column base and stone foundation P a g e 2 0 Determination of Eligibility - 41 East Allen Street Winooski, VT

Photo 12: Looking north, view shows façade porch and entrance door with 1/2 sidelights and flanking 30-light windows

Photo 13: Looking south, view shows entrance door detail P a g e 2 1 Determination of Eligibility - 41 East Allen Street Winooski, VT

Photo 14: Looking northeast, view shows detail of second story porch and pedimented roof

Photo 15: Looking northwest, view shows detail of first story porch with paired round columns P a g e 2 2 Determination of Eligibility - 41 East Allen Street Winooski, VT

Photo 16: View shows typical conditions inside first floor front apartment. The main entrance from the street is centered in the background with 30-light window at left.

Photo 17: View shows typical conditions inside first floor front apartment. Floors are strip hardwood and some original moldings remain in place. The central stairs were removed in the conversion. P a g e 2 3 Determination of Eligibility - 41 East Allen Street Winooski, VT

Photo 18: View shows typical conditions inside first floor front apartment. The 30-light window west of the main entrance is shown in the center background.