241 Loomis Street
This house is one of the iconic John Roberts houses beloved by Burlington architectural buffs. Interestingly, when the State of Vermont made its Historic Sites and Structures Survey in 1978, the house, unlike its next-door neighbor #239 Loomis, was considered noncontributing and was not listed. Asbestos siding covered the original Roberts millwork, and asphalt roof shingles had replaced the original slate.
The house had been a family home for various people for decades until a doctor bought it for his daughter to live in as a student, after which it became a student rental property. The present owner tells of his son, then a student, attending a party there. The entire first and second floors were crammed with partiers: the band was in the cellar. One can imagine the effect on the neighborhood.
Greg Chioffi bought the house in 2015, determined to restore it, a truly Herculean task. He engaged Brezzy Hill Builders of Colchester, remaining fully engaged.
Removing the asbestos siding was a full-scale hazmat operation, from removal to disposal. Happily, the original clapboard and shingle siding was underneath. Its lead paint was the next problem, dealt with by a painter from the city’s lead paint abatement program.
Mr. Chioffi was on the lookout for missing replacement parts like moldings and porch half-posts that had rotted or been removed. He had a lucky find, rescuing some half-posts on the way to the dump from another site. They were an exact fit for the footprints of the missing ones on Loomis Street. Some moldings were manufactured on-site. The house was insulated and made energy-efficient with advice from Burlington Electric and Vermont Gas Systems. Energy-efficient 2 over 2 windows were installed, since many of the original windows had already been replaced.
The inside of the house was in worse shape than the outside. The kitchen had six layers of flooring; holes had been cut in the upstairs flooring for heat access. The floors were restored; many of the original moldings and window surrounds were retained. Doors needed replacement. Landscaping was done.
The house is again a family home, contributing beautifully to its upper Loomis Street neighborhood. This restoration project won a Historic Preservation Award from Preservation Burlington in the residential category for the year 2016.
John W. Roberts was an Essex, VT native. He moved to Burlington as a young man with his wife Amelia. He is first mentioned in the city directory of 1881-1883 as a carpenter boarding at #245 North Willard Street. Child’s Gazetteer (1883) calls him a carpenter and builder employing about twenty men. By 1889-1890 the city directory lists him as a contractor and builder. Burlington was growing fast, and, as today, there was a need for affordable housing. People were speculating in real estate and housing, from the established wealthy to hardscrabble but ambitious newcomers. They bought land and built houses, either selling or renting in hopes of increasing their investment. The houses John Roberts built were ideal for this. They could be made for $900 To $1100. Roberts built over fifty houses around the city; not all of them were his classic design, but most were, in the Queen Anne stick style.
A typical John Roberts house is a one-and-a-half story cottage, gable end facing the street, patterned shingle decoration of the gable, a first-floor bay window, narrow double second-floor window, side entrance from small side porch, decorative millwork, and a patterned slate roof. Some of these features may have been altered by homeowners, but the Roberts house can still be recognized.
Urban A. Woodbury, businessman and a Mayor of Burlington, (later Governor of Vermont) owned a large tract of land on upper Loomis Street and Mansfield Avenue. He had Roberts build the three houses, #235,#239, and#241, probably circa 1889, since they are on the Hopkins 1890 map of Burlington. #239 and #241 were rental properties at first.
Urban Woodbury sold the house to William F. Fitzgerald in July of 1894. Fitzgerald owned a grocery store at 59 ½ N. Champlain Street, and lived over the store. The deed states that E. H. Vancor had been living in the Loomis Street house. Edwin Vancor was a night operator for New England Tel. and Tel., first listed at #241 in 1892. The 1894 city directory notes “Edwin H. Vancor removed to New Haven , Conn.” In September of 1894 Mr. Fitzgerald sold the house to Miss Florence Colby.
The city directory never gives a workplace for Miss Colby, but in the 1900 Burlington census she is boarding with a family, and describes her occupation as “capitalist”. Apparently , buying the house was part of her capitalist plan. After living at the house for a couple of years she seems to be renting the house, boarding out at a new place every year, and according to the Jonesville town news in the Free Press, visiting relatives there frequently. In 1902 she sold the house to Albert C. Smith, a realtor, eventually moving to Boston.
Maria Smith is listed at #241 in 1903, John Gainey in 1904. The following year Martin Barry, an employee of the nearby Mount St. Mary’s Academy, is living there with his wife Mary. The Barrys will make Loomis Street their home until 1937. Martin also worked as a watchman, and for a Captain Frank Parker on Williams Street. His widow sold the house to David J. Leonard and his daughter Catherine Lafayette. They and the next three owners used the house as rental property. One of the tenants in the early 1940’s was William A. Wheeler, custodian of UVM’s Ira Allen Chapel.
In August of 1945 Clyde and Gertrude Boiselle and their family became owner/residents. Clyde was the owner of Star Cleaning Services. Their daughter, Sister Mary Boiselle of the Sisters of Mercy, was able to keep an eye on her former home from nearby Mount St. Mary’s; she has many other memories to share.
In March of 1972 William E. McNeil and his wife Geraldine moved into #241. William was a counselor with UVM’s counseling and testing services. Gerry McNeil also was a UVM employee.
In 1987 Michael W. Breen and Andrew D. Ryan were the new owners, followed by Kevin and Brenda Leary, and, in 2001, the Moss family. At some point, the house became a rental property catering to students, which brings us back to the start of this story.
Happily, #241 Loomis Street is again a welcoming John Roberts single-family house, and a welcome contribution to the neighborhood.
Image credit: UVM
REFERENCES
Burlington City Land Records
Burlington City Directories
Chronicling America, online access to the Burlington Free Press
Vermont State Historic Sites and Structures Survey, 1978
Historic Guide to Burlington Neighborhoods: David Blow et al., Chittenden County Historical Society, Vol. II, pp. 64,65. Vol. III, pp. 134-136.
John Roberts’ Houses: A Walking Tour; Burlington VT: Tara Harrison, October 2003, Preservation Burlington
Map of the City of Burlington, Vermont: Hopkins, 1890
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of Burlington, VT, 1912 and 1919
Historic Burlington, University of Vermont Historic Preservation Program 2004
Interview with Gregory Chioffi, 2017