Canal Street / Clark Street Historic District

DESCRIPTION:

BUILDINGS IN THE CANAL STREET-CLARK STREET NEIGHBORHOOD HISTORIC DISTRICT

1. 13 Canal Street, circa 1896
2. 15 Canal Street, circa 1895
3. 17 Canal Street, circa 1870
4. 19 Canal Street, circa 1910
5. 21-23 Canal Street, circa 1850 (Mack's Grocery/Sportmans Lounge)
6. 25 Canal Street, circa 1900
7. 29 C-anal Street, circa 1870
8. 45 Canal Street, circa 1935 (Ed's Diner)
9. 52 Canal Street, circa 1930
10. 48-50 Canal Street, circa 1865
11. 46 Canal Street, circa 1840
12. 44 Canal Street, circa 1840
13. 42 Canal Street, circa 1840
14. 40 Canal Street, circa 1855
15. 36 Canal Street, circa 1860
16. 32 Canal Street, circa 1830
17. 26 Canal Street, circa 1850
18. 22-24 Canal Street, circa 1830
18A. 22-24 Canal Street, Garage, circa 1925
19. 12 Canal Street, circa 1850 (Winslow Ward House, aka. Cobblestone House)
20. 10 Canal Street, circa 1850-51 (First Universalist Church)
21. 6 Canal Street, circa 1850
22. 4 Canal Street, circa 1870
23. 2 Canal Street, circa 1911 (The Abbott)
24. 71 Clark Street, circa 1883
25. 67 Clark Street, circa 1860
25A. 67 Clark Street, Garage, circa 1930
26. 59 Clark Street~ circa 1920
27. 55-57 Clark Street, circa 1890
28. 51 Clark Street, circa 1890
29. 47 Clark Street, circa 1855
30. 43 Clark Street, circa 1885
31. 33-35 Clark Street, circa 1910
32. 31 Clark Street, circa 1850
33. 21-27 Clark Street, circa 1870
34. 17 Clark Street, circa 1840
34A. 17 Clark Street, Garage, circa 1925
35. 82 Clark Street, circa 1840
35A. 82 Clark Street, Garage, circa 1920
36. 80 Clark Street, circa 1860
37. 78 Clark Street, circa 1855
38. 76 Clark Street, circa 1855
39. 72 Clark Street, circa 1910
39A. 72 Clark Street~ Garage, circa 1930
40. 70 Clark Street, circa 1900
41. 60 Clark Street, circa 1910
42. 58 Clark Street, circa 1910
43. 56 Clark Street, circa 1900
44. 54 C-lark Street, circa 1850
45. 50 Clark Street, circa 1840
46. 48 Clark Street, circa 1900
46A. 48 Clark Street, Barn, circa 1930
47. 46 Clark Street, circa 1885
48. 42 Clark Street, circa 1880
49. 40 Clark Street, circa 1900
50. 38 Clark Street, circa 1840
51. 34 Clark Street, circa 1880
51A. 34 Clark Street, Barn/Garage, circa 1910
52. 30 Clark Street, circa 1830
53. 28 Clark Street, circa 1860
54. 16 Lawrence Street, circa 1850
54A. 16 Lawrence Street, Garage, circa 1930
55. 15 Lawrence Street, circa 1850
55A. 15 Lawrence Street, Garage, circa 1900
56. 18 Clark Street, circa 1840
57. 16 Clark Street, circa 1900
58. 14 Clark Street, circa 1845
59. 14 Estabrook Street, circa 1840
59A. 14 Estabrook Street, Garage, circa 1940
60. 9 Estabrook Street, circa 1840
61. 15 Estabrook Street, circa 1840
62. 6 Clark Street, circa 1850
63. 9 Eels Court, circa 1880
64. 10 South Main Street, circa 1870
65. 14 South Main Street, circa 1870
66. 3 Lawrence Street, circa 1860

DESCRIPTION
The Canal Street-Clark Street Neighborhood Historic District comprises 62 primary historic and ten secondary historic structures in a small, generally well preserved neighborhood near the Town's center at the base of Main Street. Although residential buildings dominate, this District has one example of ecclesiastical architecture and a few commercial enterprises, most of which are found in adapted historic structures or in additions to these structures. The buildings, displaying a range of historic architectural styles, were constructed between about 1830 and 1935. These styles include Colonial Revival, Greek Revival, Classical Revival, Gothic Revival and Queen Anne and are conveyed in their vernacular interpretations. Residential buildings are primarily 1-1/2 stories with gable front orientation, clapboard sheathing and slate roof. However, there is a range of building type, scale and size which gives great architectural diversity to the District. One highly unusual building for Vermont is built of cobblestones. Vernacular design is found in the physical planning of the neighborhood as well, resulting in a dense concentration of buildings on small plots with shallow setbacks from the narrow streets. The simplicity of design and the small to moderate size of the houses reflect the needs, means and taste of the working-class community that this District has supported from its beginning to the present. Few modern intrusions disrupt the prevailing nineteenth and twentieth century character of the Historic District. In addition, the aesthetic exterior deterioration of many of the buildings detract little from their historic integrity. Only four buildings are considered noncontributing, three of which are due to alterations. During its development, the District maintained its character as a working-class residential community, occupying tightly juxtaposed buildings in an array of architectural styles and designs.

Encompassing five streets, an elongated rectangle outlines the District. The northeast corner is marked by the junction of South Main Street from the southeast and Canal Street (Route 5) from the southwest. At this intersection is a parking lot bounded by Canal Street and the Whetstone Brook. This brook winds through the Town, dividing it into northern and southern sections. Within the District, the Whetstone Brook flows parallel to Canal Street to the base of Main Street, where the Main Street Bridge crosses it a the cascades. It then flows to the Connecticut River which extends perpendicular to the District along Main Street. Marking the corner of Canal and South Main Streets is the Abbott Block (#23), a three-story apartment. On the other side of Canal Street is a three-story, wood frame Queen Anne house (#1) which is situated on a ledge above the parking lot.

South Main Street, which descends southerly, forms the eastern border of the District. Two streets and a dead end earthen lane lead away perpendicularly from South Main Street to the west. Estabrook Street, a narrow, one way street, bisects the eastern side of the District and connects with the lower end of Clark Street, a C-shaped way beginning and ending on Canal Street. Lawrence Street, also a one-way route, joins perpendicularly with South Main Street and intersects with Clark Street where it makes the turn to point west along the lower curve of the street. Both Estabrook and Lawrence follow a small incline. Eels Court, a short earthen path the width of one car, meets South Main Street, centered between Estabrook and Canal Streets. It gives access to one house (#63).

The southwestern corner of the District is defined by the western bend in Clark Street. The junction of Elm and Canal Streets, just after the perpendicular intersection of the end of Clark and Canal Streets, forms the northwestern corner. Ed's Diner (#8) is the furthest building in this direction.

Another earthen right of way extends at a right angle from the paved Clark Street to the south. This road extends to the base of a steep embankment which rises to Prospect Street. The land rises sharply, beginning its ascent about 200 feet to the rear of the Clark Street properties. This area is wooded with deciduous trees, creating a protective barrier which curves around and tapers down along,the western edge of Clark Street to Canal Street. The terrain makes another sudden change on the north side of Canal Street as the grade of the land drops sharply down to the Whetstone Brook from the rear of the few buildings on that side of the street. The drop is so sheer from the edge of Canal Street that no houses were built for over 300 feet between Ed's Diner (#8) at 45 Canal Street and 29 Canal Street (#7). The cliff and brook banks are thickly vegetated. The terrain of the District acreage is level except for small inclines on Estabrook and Lawrence Streets and a gently graded entrance to Main Street, beginning at the entrance to Clark Street. Also on Clark Street, two houses (#'s 49 and 50) are raised on a small ledge.

The evolution of the District took place over a century. During this time a limited variety of architectural styles were used. Greek Revival and Colonial Revival styles were most frequently followed in their vernacular expressions. Only one building (#l) exhibits the high styling of Queen Anne detail. This dwelling has been restored to its original tri-color treatment with minor modern alterations. Another house (#50) displays an abundance of artfully applied Greek Revival details. Some form of Queen Anne detailing appears on most buildings, usually as a full width facade porch.

Except for a few isolated examples of three-story tenements, most of the structures are 1-1/2 or 2-1/2 stories in height with an array of forms and scales. While single family houses originally comprised most of this type, many have been converted to multi-family dwellings. The few outbuildings include automobile garages and barns, most likely once used for carriages, horses or domestic livestock.

Gable front, 1-1/2 story, sidehall plan is the dominant building type. Even with the large number of houses that follow this plan, there are not clusters of identical structures which would suggest workers' housing. This dominant type is varied stylistically for each house and is interspersed among other building types in the District, forming a unique and architecturally diverse mixture. This occurs on Clark Street (#'s 44-47) and on Canal Street with several vernacular examples (#'s 11-14). On Clark Street, the four neighboring houses are gable front, 1-1/2 story, sidehall plan with small setbacks and 1-1/2 story Queen Anne porches spanning the facades. The dates on the buildings range from c. 1840 to c. 1900. On Canal Street, houses date more closely between c. 1840 to c. 1855. Three of these low slung houses are 1-1/2 story, gable front with similar appointments; two of which have facade Queen Anne style porches. They were conceivably constructed by the same builder. The other house (#14) has comparable proportions but is eaves front. All the houses adhere to the same setback dimensions from the asphalt sidewalk which extends along both sides of Canal Street.

Only one ecclesiastical building is located in the District. Formerly the First Universalist Church, this building (#20) towers above the street on the lower end of Canal Street. Tightly wedged between houses on three sides, this church brought height to the domestic scale of the neighborhood in the 1850's. In 1933, the steeple was removed. Like other buildings in the District, the church has clapboard sheathing and a slate roof. Three-story tenements were later added, affirming the population and land-use density of the area. These five structures (#'s 1, 4, 23, 57 and 66) were erected between c. 1886 and c. 1911. They also tampered with the small scale of the residential buildings dominating the streetscape.

While the prevalent construction technique is wood frame, only two historic buildings and one ell are of masonry or stone construction. These are the Abbott (#23), the Cobblestone House (#19) and the long three-story apartment wing on #66. Cobblestone construction is unique to southeastern Vermont. Its popularity is concentrated in Western New York and the Great Lakes region. The white quartzite cobbles are said to have been gathered from the floor of the Whetstone Brook. Clapboard, although in a few cases replaced or covered with aluminum, novelty vinyl or asbestos siding, was favored as the predominant sheathing material. Slate was the favored roofing cover. Slate was popular in the Brattleboro Area due to the prominence of the Guilford slate quarries nearby which were active during the height of the District building construction period.

Although simplified in their vernacular appearance, design elements on these structures are for the most part retained. Exceptions are a few examples of more recent siding and altered or removed door and window surround features. New sash windows, doors and frames as well as metal storm windows and door hoods also exist in some cases. However, these buildings still fundamentally exhibit the careful workmanship of their original craftsmen and builders. The District as a whole has experienced some deterioration because of the lack of maintenance. This has created a general run down and shabby look for the area despite the presence of a few well kept houses and properties. Regardless of this condition, the architectural elements are largely intact even where balustrade and other details are missing.

The dense concentration of buildings reflects the vernacular organic planning of the District. Reinforcing this type of planning was sporadic growth. Early buildings are intermingled with later structures as land was subdivided. Small, irregularly shaped plots are typical of organic vernacular growth as are the narrow streets such as Estabrook, Lawrence and Clark. Because of this, detached buildings are close together, often leaving only a few inches between outer walls and lot boundaries. This gives the area a sense of urban neighborhood. The compactness is particularly evident in the small blocks between Canal, Estabrook and Lawrence Streets. Due to the congestion and lack of space, the setback pattern is close to the curb, or street if there is no sidewalk, with buildings facing directly onto the street. However, a few structures do have a moderate to deep setbacks, or are hidden from the street because of the irregular land division. These few have small front and side door yards. This informal plan, along with the assortment of facade heights and roof lines, results in a variegated streetscape. The lack of open space has limited the number of trees to shade the streets. Lower shrubbery cloak the houses in warm months. Dense woods surround the District to the south and west and on the brook embankments to the north.

Vernacular planning and architecture of the District make it unique, but do not isolate it from its surroundings. To the west are additional examples of vernacular houses, although larger and not as concentrated. Prospect Street, overlooking the District from the south, and South Main Street to the east, are other residential areas with comparably dated houses. On the northeast corner, new commercial development has occurred.

Of the 66 primary buildings in the District, 62 are considered contributing. Ten secondary historic structures are present. Three of the four noncontributing structures (#'s 5, 9, and 10) serve commercial purposes. #9 is a modern building. The other three buildings have been altered to the extent where their historic character has been lost. Facade changes and additions detract from original use and appearance. One, a Greek Revival commercial block (#5) has a long, restaurant wing which partially hides the facade. Another, a gable front commercial block (#10), is appended with a one-story extension. The upper stories remain intact on these two examples.

The Canal Street-Clark Street Neighborhood Historic District retains its historic and architectural integrity despite a few modern intrusions and occasional deterioration. This integrity, complemented by an array of vernacular architecture and planning, captures the essence of the Canal Street-Clark Street neighborhood residential pocket.

Descriptions follow of the individual buildings in the District. Numbers correspond to the attached map.

1. 13 Canal Street; circa 1896.
The main gable front block of this three-story, wood frame apartment residence is 3 x 2 bays with a long, seven-bay, three-story rear wing. The entire c. 1896 structure is sheathed in clapboards with some shingle detail, and is based on a brick foundation. The roof on the main block is slate while that of the rear extension is covered with asphalt shingles. There are wide gable roofs over the two bays on the side faces and a double bay gable surmounting the left and middle front bays. The right side gable slopes eaves front to the main facade. From the overhanging eaves of these three large gables suspends fance scroll screen truss work with small central hanging pendants and scroll brackets. Behind the screen in the gable peak is curved, fanned stick work and a small rectangular centered Queen Anne window. Situated on the cornerboards, large curved scroll brackets support the plain cornice at each corner on the main block.

On the left bay of the facade is a three-story gable front bay window pavilion. The overhanging eaves and plain cornice are decorated with a smaller version of the scroll screen truss and gable peak stick work. The bay is canted on the lower two floors and rectangular on the third floor and is divided and outlined with plain board courses and trim. The two lower stories have paired windows separated with wide mullions on the front and narrow windows on each side. On the third tier, there are three banded windows with wide mullions. All windows have simple cornice lintels and 1/1 sash unless noted. Bands of fish scale shingles run between stories on the bay pavilion. Below the windows on the first floor are four raised panels; two in the front and one on each side. Carved consoles with small pendants hang from the base of the third story over the side canted windows of the second story bay window.

In the central bay, a small gable-roofed porch with horizontal paneling in the peak covers the entrance which is flanked by narrow pilasters with a central raised narrow strip on top of engaged blocks. The roof is supported on small square posts with new metal railings in place of wooden balustrades. Above the door on the upper two floors are single replacement windows set in plain wide surrounds. In the right bay are paired and mullioned 1/1 sash windows on all three floors. Below the window on the first floor is a sign attributing the building to William, a crayon portrait artist, dating 1896. (In 1896 when this building was constructed, the address was 3 Canal Street.)

On the east elevation in each bay below the truss and gable peak decorations are small fish scale shingled hip-roofed hoods over double 1/1 sash windows. Below the third story windows is a fish scale-shingled flared skirt that also acts as a hood to the second story windows. The same treatment appears on the first floor, creating a continuous vertical bay. Three small brackets support these skirts/roofs, alternating with the windows. The west side of the main block is divided by two bands of fish scale shingles bordered with plain board trim between the stories as a continuation from the bay pavilion. Being three bays deep, the windows are 2/2 sash and set in plain surrounds, except for the front windows on the first and second floors which are 1/1 sash.

The seven-bay, three-story hip roof ell has the first bay being of smaller 1/1 sash windows, and the others are 2/2 sash. Windows are topped with simple cornice lintels, and the overhanging eave has a plain roof line. A shed roof dormer with overhanging eaves, Queen Anne window, and two brackets in both corners below the roofline projects above the fourth bay from the roof ridge to the middle of the slope. Another shed roof dormer with two Queen Anne windows and the same bracket treatment projects from the rear roof slope. Also on the rear is an open, three-story, shed roof porch. A brick chimney rises from the center ridge of this ell. Two interior brick chimneys also rise from the center gable of the main block.

The size and the elaborate truss work gives this structure a grand appearance and makes a stunning corner for the District. The Queen Anne style ornament on this apartment building is the closest example of high style of all the buildings in the District.

2. 15 Canal Street; circa 1895.
This 2-1/2 story, tri-gable ell multi-family wood frame house has Colonial Revival and Queen Anne style details. Gable front and left sidehall plan, this c. 1895 residence has a 2-1/2 story right ell. The roof is sheathed in slate, and the structure sits on a brick foundation. The major facade feature is a 2-1/2 story bay window pavilion with hip roof which is divided into stories by a block section with flared skirt acting as a roof to the lower story. It is sheathed in aluminum siding like the rest of the house.

Within the steep gable peak with cornice returns is a small four-light window to the left of the bay window. On the second floor, the bay is flanked by a 1/1 sash on the right and on the left a double sash Queen Anne with colored lights. The first floor has a 1/1 sash window to the right of the bay and a shed roof Queen Anne Style porch over the left side door. The porch has turned posts, turned valance and a turned spindle balustrade only on the right side. A hip roof, two-story porch fronts the side ell. The second story has wood board and screen, and the first story is enclosed with a central wooden door with nine light window flanked by 9/1 sash windows in the front facade. The side ell has a 2/2 sash in the gable peak. There are 2/2 sash windows in the rear bay on both floors and a double 2/2 sash window in each of the first bays. On the rear side ell is a shed-roofed, two-story porch with turned posts and balustrade with turned spindles on the open second floor and side entrance with three adjacent 6/1 sash windows on top of an aluminum-sided base. Soffits are lined with horizontal bands. The left side has a gable peak flush with the wall and 1/1 sash windows.

3. 17 Canal Street; circa 1870.
This 2-1/2 story, wood frame, gable front, sidehall plan, late Greek Revival Style residence with cross gable ell sits in a dense row of four residential buildings and tenement blocks at the base of Canal Street. The roof surfaces are sheathed in slate and metal. The body of the house is covered in synthetic siding. A one-story bay window with hip roof occupies the left two bays on the main facade, which measures three bays across. The bay window has a front 2/2 sash window and two elongated single-light windows on the sides. The right sidehall entrance has a simple cornice and plain wide board surrounds.

Simple molded cornice and returns accent the house. Windows are 2/2 sash set in surrounds similar to those used around the door. The single window set high in the gable peak is also 2/2 sash.

A single bay, two-story, cross gable extends to the west from the left rear of the main gable block. This ell is one bay deep with molded cornice and returns in the gable peak. There are no windows on the gable end, but there is one window on each story of the south face. A four bay, one-story gable ell extends to the east from the right rear corner of the main block. The first and fourth bays are occupied by single-leaf doors. The middle bays are 2/2 sash windows, like the rest of the house. A narrow dormer with a 2/2 sash window rises above the second bay from the left. A shed roof porch spans the length of the main block from the facade to this right (east) ell. Brick chimneys rise from the main block just off-center on the left slope and from the center peak of the one-story ell.

4. 19 Canal Street; circa 1910.
This three-story, 5x3 bay, wood frame apartment building from c. 1910 was erected around the same time as the Abbott block (#23) at the foot of Canal Street. The building is sheathed in clapboards and has a brick foundation. This large, flat-roofed, central entrance structure has some Colonial Revival details but presents them in a vernacular interpretation, common in this District. Such stylistic details are illustrated in the large flat-roofed entry porch which has large square columns sheltering the entrance. This door is flanked by fourteen-light, 2/ 3 length sidelights with panels on the lower portion. The extended transom above the door has side sections with four lights and a middle portion the width of the door which has fourteen lights arranged in two rows. Windows on the first and second floors are 1/1 sash while most of the third floor windows are 9/1 sash. Two two-story bay windows fill the outer front bays and have narrow side and front 1/1 sash windows. These two-story projections are topped with a wide frieze band, small dentils and a flat roof. Narrow board trim, bordering the bay window on both sides and topped with small cornice raps, extends above the roof line of the bay extension and end before the roofline of the main facade.

The second and fourth bays have paired windows on all three levels. Above the entry on the second floor is a Palladian type window without the elliptical light; all three sections are 1/1 sash, with a wider window in the center. The third story has a hip roof bay window resting on small carved brackets. A slightly molded continuous cornice forms the lintel for the windows. An exaggerated molded cornice with wide two-part frieze and small dentals runs along the facade and reaches two bays deep on the east and west faces of the building. At this point the roof drops just below this entablature, which is a small parapet on the sides, to a shed roof with simple molded cornice over the third rear bay. A new wooden walkway c. 1970 has been added along the right side of the building.

5. 21-23 Canal Street (Mack's Grocery/Sportsman's Lounge); circa 1850.
The storefront of this 1-1/2 story, wood frame, gable front c. 1850 commercial block with a slate-shingled roof has been partially obscured by an intrusive one-story extension front from the adjoining Sportsman's Lounge to the east which qualifies the structure as noncontributing. The storefront has an off-center entrance flanked by large plate glass windows set in clapboard facade. The rest of the historic structure is also sheathed in clapboards. The door is approached from a cement platform extending the length of the facade. Two 2/2 sash windows in the gable peak have cornice caps. Similar Greek Revival styling is seen in the molded cornice and frieze of the gable peak. A shed roof dormer extends from the roof peak attaching with flush facades to the neighboring building to the west (#6). Apartments on the second floor and to the rear of the building, now vacant, suggest earlier residential uses.

Sportsman's Lounge dating c. 1920 is a one-story, multi-bay flat roofed extension to the east, sitting on a cement block foundation. On the far east end is an informal wooden service dock A canted entrance opens onto the cement platform in the front of Mack's Grocery. The facade has new 8/8 sash windows and paneling. The upper paneled portion of the ell extends in front of the store-front, situated above the plate glass windows, creating an overhanging porch supported on thin metal poles.

Set in a commercially-zoned strip along Canal Street, these and adjacent lots served as a gas station and restaurant during the early decades of this century.

6. 25 Canal Street; circa 1900.
This two-story, flat-roofed, wood frame, clapboarded, commercial block now has only one storefront. Providing apartment dwellings, this c. 1900 building originally had two storefronts but the first floor and living space above. The central paired doors, which are set in the canted section in a recessed polygonal entry reached by cement steps, are flanked by two narrow full-length windows. All four recessed bays of the entry are topped with blind panels. A !large plate glass window storefront is situated in the right bay of this three-bay structure, whereas the original window in the left bay has been replaced with novelty board and a centered 1/1 sash window. This alteration occurred c. 1950. Next to the right storefront is a single pedestrian door with a 2/1 sash window directly above it on the second floor. All other windows are 2/1 sash. On the second floor, there is one window centered in the left bay, two in the right bay, and a bank of three windows set in paneling in the central bay. This triple window is raised to touch the board trim that marks the top of the second floor. The facade is divided into three horizontal bands with wooden belt courses and paneling. Similar vertical board trim also demarcates the central bay bordering the entire portal and reaching up to the gabled peak atop the narrow parapet band. Together these horizontal and vertical courses divide the facade into rectangular forms.

In the third tier of the facade (of which part is the parapet) the central bay is filled with shingles in alternate rows laid with staggered butts, a vernacular Queen Anne detail. Lining the top of the facade is a plain cornice with wide frieze. Above this is a centered gable peak filled with imbrecated shingles. The frieze and gable compose most of the parapet.

A two-story, two-bay deep, rear gable ell, with side brick chimney and same circa date as the main block, drops below the foundation level down the steep cliff to the Whetstone Brook. The main block joins the ell on the western face with a canted cutout in the rear left corner to accommodate an entryway to a door on the front face of the ell which extends to just beyond the western face of the main block. The eastern wall of the main block attaches to the side wall of its neighbor (#5) so that their facades are flush.

7. 29 Canal Street; circa 1870.
Standing alone with an empty lot to the right and a steep drop to the Whetstone Brook on the left, this two-story, 5x2 bay, eaves frame c. 1870 house follows a Georgian floor plan. Clapboards sheath the residence which sits on a brick foundation. Two central interior peak brick chimneys rise from the slate roof. With large overhanging eaves, this structure has vernacular Italianate detailing condensed in the widely spaced brackets beneath the cornice line. Except for simple molded cornice window lintels and simple but exaggerated cornice returns, the residence has plain board trim. All windows are 2/2 sash in plain surrounds. The central entrance has double leaf wooden doors with rounded arch windows in the upper half and panel on the lower half. A new replacement gable door hood and a left side walkway with railing, both constructed of wooden 2x4 boards, have been added within the last five years. This walkway on the west side provides egress to a rear 2-1/2 story shed roof ell situated on the northwestern corner of the main block.

8. Ed's Diner (45 Canal Street); circa 1935.
Sheathed mostly in plywood, this c. 1935 diner has a barrel-vaulted roof and an entrance vestibule with a flat roof attached on the western end. A metal roof covers the vaulted section and tar shingles roof the vestibule. Facing south onto Canal Street, this roadside diner on the western corner of the District, at the intersection of Elm and Canal Streets, directly abuts the sidewalk and hugs a steep cliff. The cliff falls down to the Whetstone Brook. There is a rear wing that is sunken below the floor level of the main block and is covered in clapboard and tarpaper roofing. The roof of this extension is at the floor level of the main vaulted block. The clapboard wall of the wing suggest that this was the original sheathing material of the building before the new plywood wall covering, c. 1955.

The main central door is flanked on the left by a full-length stained plywood panel adjoining a pair of modern double-light windows with metal frames. Surrounding the windows is board trim, and segmentally-arched wooden valances hang over the top of the windows. The door has a large metal handle and a square window in the upper half with single panel above and two similar panels below. To the right of this door is the same window treatment in a wider bay with two windows separated with a plain board overlaid mullion. Below the windows, the south and east faces are covered with stained plywood panels with applied thick x-motif stickwork in a lighter color; the rear face is sheathed in plain plywood.

On the eastern end, which is two bays deep, in the first bay is a double-light modern window like those on the facade. In the second bay is a larger window of the same type. Below this sliding service window is a counter braced with wooden 2x4 boards. This counter is part of an outdoor eating area to the right of the diner. Attached to the east end of the diner, and almost the same in length, is a wooden deck, c. 1955, for sitting and eating, with three tables and built-in benches along the railing. All outdoor furniture is made of 2x4 wood boards. Half of the front railing is open, providing access to the deck.

The vestibule on the western end has a central entrance door on the facade. This full length door, which is similar to the open door, is flanked by plywood panels accented with vertical board trim. The western face has four small windows closely arranged in a line; three with four lights and one with two lights. All have wood frames and mullions, unlike the rest of the windows which have metal frames. Below the windows on the western face is plywood with board trim but no x-motif stick work.

Two pipe chimneys with cone caps stick up from the main vaulted roof. A square detached chimney, slightly tapered on top, extends from the lower wing above the roof line of the street-level block; it is attached with thin metal braces to the rear of the main block. There are no steps to the structure, except for a barely raised door stoop, as it sits on the sidewalk level. Just under the roof line the rakeboard is dotted with white lights encased in small circular opaque plastic covers. A modern square light is centered above the main door on the vaulted block. The interior has tiled floor and a long counter with stools. A modern electric sign rises above the diner on thin, metal posts. Another wooden painted sign sits on top of the vaulted roof facing the street.

9. 52 Canal Street; circa 1930.
This modern noncontributing structure is situated on the corner of Canal Street and the end of Clark Street and is speculated to be a former service station because of the two garage bays with pull-up overhead doors on the left half of the facade. The building's deep set back, which provides parking spaces, also suggests this function. Newly covered in T-111 siding, the commercial building has a false metal mansard parapet. A convex clear greenhouse extension encases the storefront next to a modern glass pedestrian door. From the southern face rises a modern, 1-1/2 story asymmetrical plywood addition, c. 1970. Standard Oil owned this property in the 1930s and maintained it as a gas station.

10. 48-50 Canal Street; circa 1865.
This gable front, wood frame, 2-1/2 story commercial block dating c. 1865 is noncontributing due to a one-story extension to the west and an altered storefront. The entire original structure sits on a stone foundation and is sheathed in clapboards with a slate roof. The main block has a wide gable with simple returns and a denticulated cornice. Detailed with plain trim, the historic portion of the building has small 1/1 sash windows; two in the gable peak and two each centered on the outer thirds of the facade on the second floor. The main block is two bays deep with denticulation under the molded cornices along the side eaves and two 1/1 sash windows on the second floor, east face only. A two-story rear gable wing attaches flush with the east side of the main block. The first floor main facade has been completely altered with one modern triple bay window in the left bay. On the right half of the facade is a recessed entryway with two single leaf doors next to one modern single light window.

The extension has plate glass windows, a garage bay, a single pedestrian doorway flush with the facade, and a diagonally recessed triple door on the main block. A shingled pent roof spans the extension and the main block above the first story storefronts. The building and the side extension have a deep setback from the street to allow for an asphalt parking area.

11. 46 Canal Street; circa 1840.
This 1-1/2 story, gable front, c. 1840 vernacular wood frame house follows a sidehall plan but has uneven fenestration. This clapboard-sheathed residence carries a slate roof. A Queen Anne style porch with low hipped roof, which extends the length of the facade, has turned posts, serpentine brackets and open work but no balustrade. Narrow corner pilasters accent the body of the house and fluted pilasters surround the left side door. A single-light transom tops the door between the pilasters. All windows are 4/1 sash and have simple surrounds. One window is flanked by louvered shutters, centered in the front gable peak. A gable dormer with two small adjacent windows extends from the peak in the middle of the east roof slope. The dormer has cornice returns like the main gable, which has a molded cornice. The main block has two wings to the rear: the first wing is one-story with a gable roof and peak chimney; the rear gable ell is 1-1/2 stories. On the main block, the chimney is on the middle right side of the roof. This small house is similar to its neighbor (#12) in form, but differs in stylistic detail.

12. 44 Canal Street; circa 1840.
With broad gable front to the street, this c. 1840 1-1/2 story, wood frame, sidehall plan house carries a slate shingled roof and clapboard sheathing. Featured Greek Revival detail can be seen foremost in the left doorway which is enhanced by fret work in the flanking pilasters. A transom surmounts the door. Greek Revival detail appears in a vernacular version on the overhanging molded cornice and returns. An L-shaped, one-story Gothic Revival style porch ranges across the main facade around to the left. This slightly shed roof, asphalt shingled porch has chamfered posts and delicate cutout design brackets. This porch on the east side ends in the middle of the east wall of the main block at which point, under the same roof, extends an enclosed portion for three bays. One 6/6 sash window faces north onto the porch. A gable dormer with slate roof extends from the roof peak on the east slope of the main gable. It is detailed with a flush molded cornice and one 6/6 sash window. All windows on the main block are 6/6 sash and have plain surrounds. There is one window mounted in the front gable peak. Three bays across on the main facade, the two windows to the right of the entrance are also of this type. A chimney reaches from off-center near the peak on the right side.

A rear one-story gable wing attaches the main block to a barn On the west face of the wing are four bays filled with 2/2 sash windows, except the second bay which has a door topped with a small shed roof hood. The two-story square barn has a slate hip roof with overhanging eaves, topped with a central square cupola also with hipped roof. The cupola is decorated on each side with an arched vent and topped with a wooden finial. The barn and cupola also have cornerboards.

13. 42 Canal Street; circa 1840.
The first of three houses in a row with similar proportions and massing, this 1-1/2 story c. 1840 residence has a broad gable front with a long, sloping roof. The wood frame structure is four bays across with an off-center entrance. The structure is now covered with aluminum siding, but the roofs are still surfaced in slate. Two long shed roof dormers extend from near the peak line. The right double bay dormer intersects the roof slope, while the left double bay dormer extends beyond the gable line to accommodate a door and window facing the street. A Gothic Revival style bargeboard in a repeated cutout arrow shape decorates the front gable peak and the gabled roof line of the enclosed entry porch. The gable has cornice returns. The entry porch has double front leaf doors with four light, half-length windows and, in the side wall, two narrow windows with two vertical lights. Most windows are 6/6 sash with simple surrounds. In the gable peak are two paired 4/4 sash windows in the same surrounds. A chimney sits off center to the left near the peak of the main gable.

A 1-1/2 story rear gable wing joins a clapboard 2-1/2 story barn with slate roof, aligned perpendicular to the rest of the dwelling. The barn has two large windows, one centered in each of the first two stories, and a small window in the gable peak on the eastern gable end. This barn may have served a storage function or as a place for domestic livestock.

14. 40 Canal Street; circa 1855.
Set back from the street and facing north, this 1-1/2 story c. 1855 Classic Cottage is five bays in the front with eaves front gable roof oriented parallel to the street. The entire wood frame structure is roofed in slate, sheathed in clapboard, and sits on a cement foundation. The central door is covered by a one-story slate gable-roofed entry porch with Queen Anne components: turned posts, valance with cutout geometric diamond designs, low balustrade, and scroll design in the gable peak. The gable peak of the porch is situated in the knee wall and touches the cave. Aside from the entry porch, the structure is simply decorated with plain window sills and lintels and slightly molded cornice returns in the gable ends. The facade windows are 6/6 sash while narrower windows on the gable ends are 9/9 sash. The fenestration is uneven so that only the first window on the first floor exits on the right (west) side. Two windows sit in each of the gable peaks. A center brick chimney rises from the peak of the main block.

A rear one-story gable roof ell joins flush with the left side of the building. Along the west face of the ell, which is three bays deep, are 6/6 sash windows. This ell attaches to a 1-1/2 story, steep, ~able front barn with slate roof. This barn, also dating c. 1855, is sheathed in board and batten siding.

15. 36 Canal Street; circa 1860.
This unusual two-story, gable-roofed wood frame residence most likely accommodated a single family when it was built c. 1860, but has been divided into a multi-family dwelling. The 5x3 main block is joined on the left side by a 1-1/2 story gable front block. All roof surfaces are covered in slate and wall surfaces are clapboard. Most windows have been replaced with early twentieth century 1/1 sash except for the right side of the window in the gable peak, which has the original 2/2 sash. The middle window on the second floor on the right gable ell side has been covered with clapboards. All windows have plain wooden surrounds. The trimwork is plain as are the cornerboards and the overhanging eaves. Five chimneys rise from the roof surfaces: two from the rear eave of the main block just below the peak; one from the right rear ell; one from the peak of the two-story rear right ell; and one from the side hip roof. A Queen Anne style porch shields the central door which is flanked by full-length sidelights. This gable front entry has a slate roof and vertical slats in the gable peak; turned posts with engaged turned posts against the wall; and a valance on the side, with turned spindles.

A recessed Queen Anne style porch runs half of the gable front block and has turned posts and brackets. The rear of this block has a door and two windows on the west side wall. It conforms to a sidehall plan in the rear, including a door with triple-light transom and an interior end gable peak chimney. From the middle of the east slope of the gable front block, a narrow gable dormer with its own small flat-capped chimney holds one 2/2 sash window. Another ell, a gable-roofed two-story structure to the rear (built concurrent with the rest of the house), which joins flush with the main block on the west face, has a small one-story gable roof ell with overhanging eaves on the rear, also flush with west face. Windows on these rear ells are 2/2 sash except for a few replacement 1/1 sash.

Another member of the community, William A. Conant, lived in this house from 1860 until he died in 1890. Conant, who manufactured violins by hand, earned great distinction and renown for his wares.

16. 32 Canal Street; circa 1830.
Divided into a multi-unit dwelling around 1950, this structure originally served as a single family residence. This 2-1/2 story, 5x2 bay, wood frame and clapboard house, which carries a slate-shingled gable roof, most likely follows a Georgian floor plan in the main block and has a long seven-bay rear ell. The shallow pitched roof has a molded cornice and returns on the gable ends and two small interior brick chimneys which rise from the rear roof slope just below the peak. Another brick chimney reaches from the center of the rear ell just off the peak on the left side Spanning the facade of the eaves front building is a one-story Queen Anne style porch which has six turned posts and cutout brackets on the posts and against the wall surface. Both the slightly hipped roof, covered in asphalt shingles and the wooden floor of the porch are sagging. Approached by cement steps, this porch projects close to the curb line. A small gable with recessed pediment-shaped panel mounts the porch roof along the cornice line and marks the central door which has half sidelights above paneling. Narrow cornerboards accent the building. Windows are 2/2 sash but many seem to have been cased in new reinforced wooden surrounds. The former second floor on the five-bay facade central window has been infilled with clapboards; all second floor window heads touch the slightly overhanging molded cornice of the roof line. Centered in each of the side gable peaks is one smaller 6/6 sash window.

A seven-bay, two-story rear gable ell joins flush with the west face of the building. This structure, which has a slate roof, clapboard sheathing and a brick foundation dates c. 1830. The ell has similar 2/2 sash windows and surround treatment, but the windows are longer than those of the main block and the fenestration on the first floor is not even with the seven bay count of the second story. A small rear gable peak window has six lights. A two-story porch, made of wide wooden board and metal screens ranges along the left side of the ell. The shed roof of the porch extends directly from the east gable slope of this rear ell. To the rear of the long extension joins a wood frame, gable front, board and batten barn with large hinged outward-swinging doors on the rear. This barn, which has a sagging slate roof, is deteriorating with missing floor and wall boards. Most likely built c. 1845, shortly after the construction of the house, this barn may have originally served as a horse barn, as suggested by the wooden stall division and upper bay loft inside. Currently it serves a storage function.

17. 26 Canal Street; circa 1850.
Slightly altered from its original c. 1850 appearance, this 2-1/2 story, eaves front, wood frame vernacular multi-family dwelling bears a wide tin gable roof and aluminum siding. The entire structure sits on a stone foundation, patched with concrete. It is read as vernacular because of the plain detailing, including simple but big overhanging eaves on the gable ends and plain window surrounds. Said to have had a full-length porch like that on #16, and originally having a central front entrance, the door has been converted into a large picture window framed with wide untreated barnboard. The porch was removed when the building was converted to its current multi-family capacity, c. 1950. Measuring 5x2 bays, the main block has 2/2 sash windows set in plain surrounds, unless noted. Size variation occurs on the first floor of the facade where the windows are elongated, and the side gable peaks hold smaller new 1/1 sash. Second story facade windows are placed high, with little space between the eave above. To the west, a one-story, 1x4 bay shed roof extension joins flush with the facade of the main block. This was probably built soon after the house, c. 1860. The second bay on the second floor on the west gable end had been converted into a simple door, opening onto a small modern porch, c. 1970, on top of the west wing. The porch has a plain wood rail and balusters. A rear two-story, three-bay gable ell extends flush with the left side of the main block. A new two-story, tin shed roof porch, c. 1970, made of wooden planks and metal screen, lines the west face of the rear ell.

18. 22-24 Canal Street; circa 1830.
This 1-1/2 story, 8x2 bay, wood frame, Federal duplex Classic Cottage is an eaves front gabled block with slate roof. Situated on a plot at the corner of lower Clark and Canal Streets, the low-slung clapboard c. 1830 house has a deep front yard in relation to other lots in the area. The entrances are placed in the third and sixth bays. Slab granite steps lead to the narrow doors which feature Federal details: four light transoms and wide plain architrave topped by a carved cornice. The rest of the house has plain board trim. While the doors have stylistic details, the windows have plain surrounds and simple wooden sills. Unless noted, all are 2/2 sash. Flanking the entry doors are pairs of windows with horizontal louvered shutters. Shutters flank all windows except on the rear facade. A pair of shuttered windows is centered in each of the side gable peaks.

A small, narrow, gable roof dormer asymmetrically divides the facade as it sits just to the right of center, low on the front eaves slope. The dormer has a slate roof, clapboard sides, and a small 9/9 sash window. Two large interior chimneys are unevenly placed on the peak; one to the left of center and the other centered in the right half of the roof. The building sits on a brick foundation.

A long gable ell attaches the house to a garage. Backing the main block from the east corner to the wall of the rear ell is a shed roof, Queen Anne style porch with turned posts and tiny brackets. The porch shelters three 2/2 sash windows next to a door, near the inner corner. Another door is placed in the corner on the east wall entering into the ell. From the gable peak rises a central brick chimney.

A long one-story garage is attached on a small angle pointing diagonally to the south facing Clark Street. The shed roof with asphalt covering slopes down to the rear. Unlike the rest of the dwelling, which is sheathed in clapboards, this garage has novelty wood siding. Constructed c. 1925, this four-bay community garage has paneled and glazed outward-swinging hinged doors with eight lights in the upper half of each leaf and vertical board paneling on the lower portion. The doors are almost full length with some horizontal boards separating them from the roof line. A small window with two sliding lights and simple sill is centered in the southern face of the garage.

18A. Garage (22-24 Canal Street); circa 1925. Similar to the garage attached to #18, this community garage has five bays and is located to the rear of #18 at the southeastern corner of the property. This c. 1925 shed roof garage is also sheathed in novelty siding and has asphalt roof covering. The five paneled and glazed outward-swinging hinged doors have eight lights in each leaf. The doors open onto Clark Street. The garage replicates exactly the attached garage behind which it sits. However, it has an additional bay.

Typically found in densely populated areas, multi-car "community garages" provided rental income for the owner. The two garages on this piece of property, totalling nine spaces, facilitated parking in the area which has little yard or driveway space. The crowded narrow streets made on-street parking virtually impossible.

19. Winslow Ward House (Cobblestone House), 12 Canal Street; circa 1850.
This 2x2 bay, 2-1/2 story, gable front, sidehall plan house with a slate roof is constructed of small cobblestones. These whitish stones, probably while quartzite, uniformly size and arranged in courses laid in cement matrix, form the walls and cornice. Simple detailing can be seen in the rough hewn cut granite window sills and lintels, door lintel and quoins on all four corners of this c. 1850 residence. Similar stone slabs are used for the entrance steps. The entrance is recessed with a double leaf door with windows in the upper half and panels on the bottom. Both the facade and west face windows are large, 6/6 sash, except for the window in the gable peak. Despite the heavy stone window heads and sills, the windows themselves sit in plain board frames. There are no windows on the eastern face, as the wall of the church (#20), which almost touches the Cobblestone House, prevents light from hitting this side of the building. Triple vertical slat shutters border the windows on the western face. The projecting cornice is filled with two rows of cobbles set in cement.

A low-slung, one-story rear gable wing joins the cobblestone block to a two-story gable front house, also dating c. 1850, oriented perpendicular to the cobblestone block. This small slate roof tenement wing, added shortly after the construction of the stone building, and which cuts into the second floor windows of the cobble block, is sheathed in clapboards with a wooden door next to three successive 1 / 1 sash windows in plain surrounds. Speculated to be a former barn, this wing attaches to a gable front house which faces onto the lower end of Clark Street. The upper third of the house is shingled and the rest is clapboards. Centered on the second floor are two adjacent 2/2 sash windows. A hip roof porch with three turned posts spans 3/4 of the facade starting at the right cornerboard. A small gable with recessed panel marks the entrance on the far right with a wooden door and a twelve-light window. A bay window with 2/2 sash and clapboard base fills the rest of the porch. The outer wall of this ell closely abuts the neighboring piece of property.

Although estimated at an earlier date of 1826, the Cobblestone House was most likely built later, c. 1850. The lack of windows on the east wall implies that the closely neighboring church, which was built in 1850-1851, was taken into consideration in the design of the Cobblestone House. Its first owner, Winslow Ward, owned a shoe store in the old Estey pump and pipe shop on the Whetstone Brook in 1846. This house represents one of two documented examples of cobblestone architecture in Vermont. This kind of construction was common in western New York and in the Great Lakes region. The origin of the stones used in this house is unknown. The abundant farmland in Brattleboro was a possible source, but more probably, the cobbles were collected from the nearby Whetstone Brook.

20. First Universalist Church, 10 Canal Street; circa 1850-1851.
This two-story, 5x5 bay, wood frame, ecclesiastical structure has a gable front roof and was built in 1850-51 as the First Universalist Church. Predominantly sheathed in clapboard, the church sits on a stone and cement foundation and has a slate roof. A small chimney rises from off-center on the left slope near the roof peak. The molded cornice, which is built in two parts and ends with short horizontal cornice extensions, is intersected by the base of the steeple tower which joins flush with the facade, straddling the roof ridge. This base is the vestige of the steeple which was removed in 1933.

The decoration is contained for the most part in the central bay, which is defined by narrow board trim--the same used for the cornerboards and baseboards. A narrow strip of stick applique, formed with two horizontal boards filled with vertical slats, spans the central bay bisecting the second story. An identical band aligns the base of the main gable peak. Between these two bands sits a blind round window with recessed vertical board paneling. In the gable peak, atop the band, is situated a small 1/1 sash window. Two heavy cutout brackets make the transition into the steeple base, which has three panels of stick work on each face: diagonal boards embracing a panel filled with vertical boards. The first floor windows are smaller than the second story side windows and are rectangular with 1/1 sash clear glass panes set in the same surrounds used on the other windows. In the first bay before the side additions is the same window treatment as on the facade with one window on each floor on both sides.

A gabled door hood with slate roof covers an enclosed central entrance. The hood has an inverted T-shaped brace and is supported by two elaborate and heavy stick brackets with trefoil cutouts and front carved pendants. The one-story enclosed entry has clapboard siding and double leaf doors with four-light windows and paneling in the lower half. This enclosed portion provides a vestibule guard against the cold weather.

Narrow, slightly shed-roofed, two-story, four-bay additions dating c. 1871 run along the west and east sides of the building, extending to the rear facade. Although two stories high, the roof slopes of the additions originate below the cornice line of the main front gable. The taller second stories of the additions are sheathed in clapboard. The first floor walls are constructed of brick. A narrow door with a stone lintel, on both side additions, faces the street to the north. There is no fenestration on the second floor front of the additions. Taller second story side 4/4 sash windows consist of textured clear glass panes set in plain surrounds with projecting sills. The top pane of these windows is pointed in the same shape as the surrounds.

Constructed in 1850-1851 for the Universalist Society, this building, although now restored to its religious usage as the Agape Chapel, performed a non-sectarian role as meeting place and home to a Grange organization for many years. The body of the church has experienced changes including side extensions to accommodate the growing membership in 1871 along with some facade alterations and the removal of the steeple in 1933 in anticipation of the conversion to a Grange Hall.

21. 6 Canal Street; circa 1850.
This 1-1/2 story, gable front, sidehall plan, wood frame, c. 1850 residence, which is sheathed in asbestos siding, has a slate and metal roof and brick foundation. A one-story, shed roof porch, spanning the facade and covering the three bays across the front, has thin chamfered posts, cutout brackets, and spindle balustrade on the front only. Missing balustrade and sections of the lattice porch skirt have been replaced with board. Crude, wide, corner pilasters and the molded cornice with returns make this a vernacular Greek Revival house. The left side hall door has 2/3 length sidelights, with two panes in each, over recessed panel. Above the door and below the porch roof on the facade wall is an applique cutout design similar to the vergeboard pattern of the neighboring house (#22). A gable wall dormer on the left (east) side cuts through the overhanging eaves. This dormer accommodates one window. A three bay continuous shed dormer extends along the west side of the main block. The four bays are filled with small 1/1 sash windows. A brick chimney rises from the rear just off-center to the left at the top of the dormer roof. On the east side of the building are three replacement 1/1 sash windows. All windows are of this kind in plain surrounds, unless noted. From the east rear corner extends a one story gable ell with steep sloping tin roof. It has a full length facade porch with shed roof. This porch has the same stylistic details and appointments used on the main porch. This ell, two bays in length, has a door in the inner bay and small single-light window in the upper portion of the other bay.

22. 4 Canal Street; circa 1870.
This 1-1/2 story, gable front, sidehall plan house is three bays across in the front, has two windows in the gable peak and has a cross gable ell projection on the right side. The c. 1870 structure, except for the porch, has a slate roof, clapboard sheathing, and a brick foundation. Elevated from the street, the house is approached via cement steps from the sidewalk. Commonly known as "The Palms", it has a mixture of vernacular style details including Gothic Revival steep gable peaks, trefoil cut out vergeboards, and a wrap around Queen Anne porch. The porch, with curved asphalt shed roof conforming to the rounded corner, is one-story with turned posts, simple brackets, and small knob spindle valance. The area between the solid rail and sagging wooden floor has been filled with plain board. The porch, the dominant feature of the house, wraps around to the right and joins a cross gable with steep roof slope. Windows and door surrounds are simple boards. The right side entrance has a blind recessed transom panel.

Like the main gable peak, the peak of the cross gable ell has trefoil cutout vergeboards. On the gable end of the ell is a polygonal bay with three 1/1 sash windows in each floor and a skirt of slate separating the stories. A door on the north side of the ell opens onto the porch. A narrow single bay gable wall dormer extends from the middle left side bay of the main block, intersecting but not breaking the cornice and overhanging eaves seen in the rest of the house. Below the dormer is a small round window. In the left side first bay, first story, is one 1/1 sash window. Behind the dormer is found an exterior end brick chimney with corbeled cap.

23. The Abbott (2 Canal Street); circa 1911.
This c. 1911 three-story, brick veneer, masonry apartment block, with Colonial Revival detail and parapet roof, contains apartments and storefronts. It dominates the northeastern corner of the District and the lot on which it sits at the junction of lower Canal and South Main Street.

Blond brick veneer covers only the east and north public faces of the building and red brick veneer sheathes the hidden rear facade and the west side. The blond brick makes the transition with wide quoins on the northwest and southeast corners. The building is a block shape with a central recessed portion eight bays wide along the facade, totalling fourteen bays across the front and three bays deep for the entire structure.

The raised basement floor conforms to the sloping site and reaches its lowest point on the east face where the store is located. The storefront has large recessed plate glass windows facing the street on the east and north. Three narrower windows face Canal Street (north) and two large windows flanking a recessed entrance face South Main Street (east). The north and east faces have a full entablature with a wide stone frieze and a narrow brick parapet band running along these faces. On the west face, the parapet is a continuation of the brick veneer wall. There is no entablature band which forms the top rim of stepped tablets which are centered on the east face and on each of the three facade sections. Flanking the central facade stepped tablets, but situated below in the frieze, are two projecting square stone blocks with central cutout section; each is resting on a stone bracket. An elaborate central entrance is reached by a large, wide double cement staircase with brick veneer and iron railings. The door has Classical Revival details including stone panel pilasters supporting a segmental pediment complete with keystone and the name of the building inscribed in a panel above.

A stone string course defines the top of the basement level and a thinner course runs just below the window line of the third floor intersecting the stone sills. All apartment windows, unless noted, are recessed 6/1 sash. The second and seventh bays of the central facade recessed portion are occupied by smaller sash windows with stone lintels. The windows sit on stone sills with flush brick flat arches above. On the west and rear sides, all window openings have similar brick arches.

On the east and west faces, a central, deeply recessed porch punctuates each floor. On the east side, they have stone sills and brick lintels, like the windows, except for the second story porch which has a blind, round arched pediment of cross hatching bricks and a stone keystone. On the west side, the porches also have stone sills but no lintel decoration. On the inner wall of each porch is a small 1/1 sash window.

On the rear, the fenestration is uneven, but the windows also have arched openings. A rear central service bay rises above the roofline and is camouflaged with brick parapet resembling chimneys. Today the building accommodates fifteen 1-2 bedroom apartments and one occupied commercial space at street level on the east side.

24. 71 Clark Street; circa 1883.
Facing west onto Clark Street, this is a c. 1883 gable front, 1-1/2 story, wood frame, sidehall plan, clapboard and slate roofed residence. It has a low, hipped-roof, one-story front porch. !The detailing is very simple, as demonstrated in the plain board surrounds on the windows and left side door, the plain roof line in the gable peak, and the short overhanging eaves. This house is three bays across on the first floor facade and has two windows in the gable peak. There are two evenly spaced windows on the north face. All windows are 2/2 sash. The front porch spanning the length of the facade has plain posts and simple two dimensional brackets. The sagging wooden floor is bordered by a low balustrade with turned spindles. Lattice work of alternating plain and scallop-edged boards forms the skirt. A one-story rear gable wing joins flush with the left side of the main block. One bay deep, this wing is sheathed in clapboard and slate roof, as is the rest of the residence. A single central peak brick chimney services the residence.

The building conforms to the grade of the land to the rear. The clapboard sheathing runs down low to the brick foundation, forming a broad continuous surface, not broken by a base board. On the south face, there are three windows on the clapboard foundation level and three on the first story.

25. 67 Clark Street; circa 1860.
This early c. 1860 1-1/2 story, right side hall plan, gable front, wood frame house has been rehabilitated on the exterior and renovated inside, according to a neighbor. The building has a slate roof and clapboard sheathing and has a center peak brick chimney. It is simply detailed with molded cornice, cornice returns, and clapboards. The 6/6 sash facade windows rest in plain surrounds. The entrance is featured with 3/4 length, four-pane sidelights atop a small panel on each side. The sidelights are flanked by engaged Queen Anne style posts, probably vestiges from a former entrance porch. Mounted above the door is a slight pediment frieze. In front of the door is a new wooden porch with railing, c. 1986. The southern face of the main block has one small single-light window set in plain surrounds in the first bay. A triple bay of new single-light windows are placed in plain board surrounds, each topped by band windows of four lights each. A long, one-story, rear gable wing (almost the same length as the main block) has a single door in a plain frame, in the inner bay near the corner made by the joining wing, and a 6/6 sash window in the far bay. A vertical 2/2 sash window is placed in the rear gable peak of the main block.

25A. Garage (67 Clark Street); circa 1930. A flat-roofed, one-story garage with asphalt shingles sits close to the house (#25) to the north. It has two bays across the front with full length, double leaf, outward-swinging doors, which open directly onto Clark Street. There is no setback. The wooden doors have an X-stick design in each leaf. The structure is centered with wide wooden horizontal novelty siding.

26. 59 Clark Street; circa 1920.
Dating c. 1920, this is one of the last houses built in the District. Facing south, this two story, 3x2 bay, eaves front wood frame dwelling with Colonial Revival styling is oriented close to the street. Slate covers the roof and aluminum siding sheathes the walls. The left bay has a Colonial Revival gable-roofed entry porch supported on two thick square posts topped with a molded cornice. The slate-shingled porch has returned eaves and an interior blind elliptical panel. Full length slat work fills the sides of the porch from the roof to the wood floor.

The gable ends have simple molded cornice and returns, and the eaves overhang on the front and rear. Cornerboards are crowned with simple molded capitals. The second story facade windows are 6/1 sash set in plain surrounds and framed horizontal louvered shutters, except the window in the left bay above the entry porch which has no shutters. Shutters are also found surrounding the two first floor facade windows, which are larger 8/2 sash. On the west gable end, there is an 8/2 sash in the gable peak and three 2/2 sash windows on the first and second floors. There is no window in the first bay of the first floor. The eastern face, which has two 6/1 sash on the second floor and paired 4/1 sash in the gable peak, is enhanced on the first floor story by a flat roof sun porch. Simply trimmed with cornerboards, the porch sits on a lattice base and has aluminum siding on the lower wall and bands of 6/6 sash windows on all three exposed sides. There are two windows on the front and six on the east face. The house has one brick chimney on the peak just off-center. The structure is set upon a simulated concrete block foundation.

27. 55-57 Clark Street; circa 1890.
Similar to its neighbor (#28) with its gable front facade and two-story Queen Anne porch, this c. 1890 multi-family residence also sits close to the street facing south onto Clark Street. This 2-1/2 story, wood frame structure has a slate roof, clapboard sheathing, plain cornice, overhanging eaves, and a brick foundation. There is one window in the gable peak; a 1/1 sash in plain surrounds, as are all the windows, unless noted. The plain surrounds include a sharply-defined square projecting sill and a flat lintel with small square top ridge.

The two-tiered shed-roofed porch covers the right two bays, and in the third, far left bay, is a two-story bay window. The porch has a flat roof, Queen Anne style turned posts, plain rail and balusters, and small, simple cutout brackets. Replacement metal posts support the wooden floor of the porch which is reached by cement steps on the front right corner. Two doors open onto the porch from the front wall of the house. One leads to the first floor apartment and the other to stairs for the upper dwelling. On the second tier, only one door, on the left side of the porch, opens onto the balcony. The two-story, flat-roofed, canted bay window intersects the porch so that part of the west side of the porch on both floors is cut diagonally from the building facade to the front corner of the bay. The porch railing extends further forward, making a right angle at the post. This wide bay projection has one 1/1 sash window on each face.

On the east side of the building is one window situated between the first and second floors, indicating the staircase behind it. A 2-1/2 story cross gable extends out a single bay to the east. The ell, which is two bays deep, has an overhanging eaves. There are two windows on each floor and one centered in the gable peak. This ell joins the main block with a canted wall. The soffit is slanted up with horizontal paneling, filling the diamond shaped section. Two windows on each floor are located on this canted wall. On the west wall of the main block is the end of the cross gable, running flush with the main block. Before the side gable peak on the left face (west) of the main block is one window on each floor. Beneath the gable peak are two bays of windows on each floor before the extension of a flat roof, two-story ell. On the front inner bay in the corner of this ell, and running two stories to the west, is a recessed bay with a single entrance on the first floor. A balcony is on the second floor with plain rail balusters. In the second bay is a 1/1 sash window on each floor, and in the third bay on the first floor is a single door with plain board trim. From the roof over the third bay projects a rectangular box-like structure sheathed in clapboards, perhaps an entrance to the roof. From the roof of the main block rises a center peak brick chimney.

28. 51 Clark Street; circa 1890.
This 2-1/2 story, plainly detailed, wood frame, multi-family residence measures 3x3 bays and follows a right side hall plan. Slate shingles cover the gable roof which is oriented perpendicular to the street. The cornice of the gable peak is slightly molded with returns and has a small overhang. Cornerboards and baseboards also trim this clapboard structure. A two-story shed roof Queen Anne porch spans the facade detailed with heavy turned posts and plain rail with columnar balusters. The porch is supported on replacement metal posts and has poured cement steps which descend onto the street. On the facade there is an entrance in the right bay on both stories, sheltered by the porch. The first story facade windows are new 1/1 sash; the second story facade windows are 2/2 sash; and in the gable peak, the left window is 6/6 sash and the right window is 2/2 sash.

All have plain surrounds with square projecting sills and a flat lintel with small square projecting top ridge. On the sides, first story windows are 1/1 sash and other are 2/2 sash.

On the rear of the east roof slope rises a shed roof wall dormer that extends from the ridge of the gable roof. This dormer has a single wooden door reaching from the roof line of the dormer down the wall of the building, interrupting the eaves line only for the width of the door. A sliding horizontal double-light window flanks the door on the left above the eaves line.

A two-story rear gable wing joins flush with the left side of the main block. Three bays deep, this wing has a two-story cross gable ell to the east with plain roof line and no overhang. From the roof of this ell, off peak to the left, is a center brick chimney. Another center peak chimney rises from the main block. This east ell is narrow with no windows on the east gable end and two doors on the front (south) face. The doors are single leaf and aligned in the same bay; one on each story. The second story door is isolated and cannot be used as a passage since there are no steps or landing to accompany it. The first story door has a platform to the left with steps. The entire structure has a brick foundation base.

29. 47 Clark Street; circa 1855.
Facing south onto Clark Street, this c. 1855 vernacular Greek Revival, two-story, narrow side hall, wood frame and clapboard house of rectangular plan, with rear extension, carries a slate-shingled gable roof oriented perpendicular to the street. All roof slopes have big overhanging eaves. The stylistic detail can be seen in the molded cornice with returns and in the simple cornice caps on top of the cornerboards. Other trim is plain, as are the surrounds. The front gable peak holds a rounded arch applique with inset peaked pediment with horizontal louvers. The facade left side door, which opens onto the street, is covered by a gabled entrance hood which is supported by large Italianate scroll brackets. Two bays across, the facade has one new 1/1 sash on the first floor right bay, and the two second story windows are hung with the original 6/6 lights. On the east face, the first and third bays follow the same fenestration as on the facade with the different type sash on both floors. On the west side of the main block, the second story has a 6/6 sash and a 1/1 sash while there is one 1/1 sash on the first floor. The central bay is occupied by two small 1/1 sash windows situated in the upper part of each story so that the heads of all windows align.

A two-story gable wing attaches to the rear of the house. The west sides of the main block and the wing are flush, and the gable slope is the same pitch as that of the main block but a little lower. On the east face of this wing, there are two 6/6 sash windows on the second floor and two 1/1 sash on the first floor. Another shorter single bay gable front wing attaches to the rear of the first wing. From two extensions extends a simple shed roof porch, with square posts, that runs to the east along the length of the two wings. Two brick chimneys rise from the slate roof of the main block; one from the front right slope just off the peak and one rear interior chimney from the peak. A brick foundation supports the whole structure.

30. 43 Clark Street; circa 1885.
This plain 1-1/2 story, 3x4 bay, side hall plan, gable front, wood frame, c. 1885 residence has a slate roof, brick foundation, and clapboard siding. The plain cornice overhangs to expose soffits with short vertical wood panels. The left side hall entrance is covered by a Queen Anne style, screened-in porch that spans the facade. The hip-roofed porch has posts with a narrow recessed panel spindled balustrade that has been backed with plywood board. A skirt of slat and scallop lattice trims the bottom. All windows, unless noted, are 2/2 sash in plain surrounds with projecting sill and a plain lintel with a small projecting top ridge. There are two windows in the main gable peak. A shed roof wall dormer with a single 2/2 sash window intersects the overhanging eaves between the third and fourth bays. On the rear of the main block attaches a one-story gable ell which is two bays deep. A three-bay, one-story, flat-roofed extension attaches the building to a barn. This small extension has two adjacent 2/2 sash windows and an entrance with a simple shed roof hood in the third bay. This also has a slate roof and clapboard sheathing. The west face holds a 2/2 sash and a small 1/1 sash.

Situated to the east, attached to the house by a small extension, a 1-1/2 story, is a gable front carriage barn with plain trim and detail. A small double light window is situated high in the gable peak and a square door of wood panels is found above the left bay. The two carriage bays are open. Two progressively smaller shed roof wings extend to the east keeping flush with the facade. The barns and attached wings are sheathed in clapboard and have slate roofs. The first wing has a full length paneled outward-swinging door. Most likely this structure was built the same time as the main house, c. 1885.

31. 33-35 Clark Street; circa 1910.
This 4x2 bay, wood frame, two-story early twentieth century (c. 1910) vernacular Colonial Revival duplex faces south immediately adjacent to the sidewalk on Clark Street. A brick chimney rises from the ridge of the slate hip roof which overhangs a cornice above asbestos-sided walls. The main facade feature is a hip roof, asphalt shingled verandah spanning the facade. Colonial Revival details on the porch include chamfered columns, two of which are engaged at the end of the verandah, dentil cornice trim along the frieze of the porch, and square spindle balustrade along the front. A small central gable with pediment-shaped recessed panels, and recessed dentil course trim under the molded cornice line sits atop the porch roof. The wooden floor with short lattice skirt terminates with two triple-step openings on the east and west ends. This long porch protects the twin central entrances which have cornice caps and dentil trim above the single leaf doors. In the outer bays on the first story are paired 1/1 sash windows with cornice lintels decorated with a row of dentals. All other windows are 1/1 sash with plain sills and cornice lintels with dentil trim. A rear one-story ell, probably two bays wide and one bay deep, is barely visible from the street. The building is mounted on a granite block foundation.

32. 31 Clark Street; circa 1850.
This vernacular Greek Revival wood frame, 1-1/2 story, 3x3 bay, side hall plan house with gable front roof faces onto Clark Street, with a shallow setback. Slightly molded cornice with plain returns and overhanging eaves line the gable peak, and cornerboard trims the clapboarded c. 1850 residence. Colonial Revival detail is seen in the small gabled porch over the left side hall entrance and in the porch on the east side. The entrance porch has two columns with simple capitals, square member balustrade, a wooden floor, and asphalt shingles. Unless noted, all windows are 2/2 sash in plain surrounds. On the facade, the two windows in the gable peak, the two on the first floor, and those on the first floor west side are flanked by new louvered shutters.

A brick chimney rises from the center, just off-peak to left on the main block. On the main block west side, a full length brick foundation, conforming to the sloping grade of the property, is exposed, with two blind windows and one door bay. On the other sides of the house, the foundation appears to be made of cement.

A one-story porch extends two bays deep along the east side where it meets a shed roof extension in the third bay. On the front of this small extension, which terminates flush with the rear facade of the main block, is one 2/2 sash facing onto the porch. The porch roof is supported by three columns with simple caps joined by plain railings filled with square balusters. The porch is enclosed by full-length screen with thin vertical wood supports, with a short lattice skirt below. On the inner wall is one 2/2 sash window and a door with a triple-light transom. An additional lower shed roof wing extends off of this rear wing to the east. Facing the street (south) on this smaller wing is a single full-length door. Another two-story shed roof ell extends to the west off the rear of the main block, with a center rear brick chimney.

33. 21-27 Clark Street; circa 1870.
Occupying a large corner plot with address of 21-27 Clark Street and facing south, this large multi-family residence is composed of two separate wood frame houses, both dating to c. 1870, connected by a single bay addition. The left clapboard block has a gable front, 1-1/2 story, 4x1 bay form from which a center peak brick chimney rises from the slate roof. In this vernacular block with plain trim, all windows have plain surrounds and are 2/2 sash. The off-center entrance situated in the second bay from the right also has plain surrounds. A one-story flat roof porch spans the facade. Its Queen Anne elements include turned posts, short knobbed posts, and rail with square balusters. The porch also acts as a deck for the second floor serviced by a door which makes a third bay in the gable peak on the left side tucked under the slightly overhanging molded cornice. The narrow modern single bay addition, c. 1915, attaching the two blocks is wide enough to accommodate a pedestrian entrance door which is topped with a projecting hip roof.

The right block is also a gable front 4x1 bay plan with a slate roof. This 1-1/2 story clapboard block has an exposed clapboard basement story, unlike the left block, due to the changing grade of the site; the off-center entrance is accessed from this basement level. Situated in the second bay from the right, this door has plain board surrounds. There are two windows in the gable peak. A carved and cutout bargeboard decorates the pronounced overhanging front gable roof line. As the other block, a center peak brick chimney rises from the roof

A two-story, five-bay shed roof wing extends from the center of the east side of this right block. Surrounding this wing on the south and east is a two-tiered, wrap-around, flat roof porch with Queen Anne styling in its turned posts, cutout brackets, turned spindle balustrade on the upper level and plain square spindle balustrade on the lower level. The third and fifth bays on each tier accommodate single door entrances. Backing this wing to the north rises a modern, clapboarded, two-story, slate-roofed ell c.1920, spanning the length of the wing and extending just beyond the end of the porch to the east, barely touching the street as it turns around the house. This long ell is flush with the rear wall of the right block. On the east end are paired 2/1 sash windows in plain surrounds. On the rear (north) facade, there are four 2/1 sash windows, unevenly spaced in the second floor and three on the first.

34. 17 Clark Street; circa 1840.
Constructed c.1840 and reminiscent of the buildings in the District with its 1-1/2 story, gable front, side hall plan, this vernacular residence has a small yard frontage and a wide earthen driveway to the south running the length of the 3x3 bay structure. Like the majority of the houses in the District, this one has a slate-shingled roof. It also has a foundation of brick. The gable peak has a plain overhanging cornice, returned eaves and two windows in the gable wall. The original clapboards have been replaced with aluminum siding and modern metal awnings have been added to the first story facade windows, the left side entrance, and the south face. Measuring 3x3 bays on the main block, the left side hall entrance is flanked by plain wide board surrounds and capped with a slightly flared cornice. All windows, unless noted, are the original 6/6 sash set in plain surrounds. A rear gable ell, which also has a slate roof, extends to the west and joins flush with the north face of the building. From this ell extends an enclosed shed roof porch to the south. A center peak brick chimney rises from the rear ell.

34A. Garage (17 Clark Street); circa 1925. In the southwestern corner of the lot, situated close to the rear of the house (#34), is a c. 1925, wide gable front, two-car garage sheathed in aluminum siding. The left bay has an overhead paneled door with a row of square single lights. The right bay has a pair of outward-swinging full-length doors with eight lights in the top half of each leaf and vertical wood paneling in the lower half. The structure measures two bays deep with 2/2 sash.

35. 82 Clark Street; circa 1840.
This small 3x2 bay, 1-1/2 story, wood frame, vernacular Classic Cottage is eaves front and is covered with aluminum siding and a slate roof. The exterior of the c. 1840 house is simply appointed with plain window and door surrounds and plain overhanging eaves. A shallow modern gabled one-story entry porch with two plain square posts covers the central doorway. Sheathed in asphalt shingle, this porch has aluminum siding on the base and cement steps leading east to Clark Street. A gable ell, also measuring 1-1/2 stories is centered on the rear of the front block. The ell has a shed roof wing on the north and a one-story gable wing to the south. The south wing has a small shed roof extension that originates under the rear overhanging eave and is aligned flush with the south wall of the gable wing. A small shed roof porch fronts the southern gable wing. Bordering this one story porch are plain square posts embracing a plain railing and balusters. The porch, which has a lattice skirt and wooden steps, has been enveloped in full length screen with wooden vertical framework. All windows, unless noted, are 2/2 sash flanked with new metal louvered shutters. Two windows occupy the north face of the flat roof extension which fills the northwestern corner of the structure. In the main gable peaks are small 1/1 sash. On the south side of the small shed roof extension is a small single-light window flanked by small shutters. Three tall narrow brick chimneys service the house: one centered on the peak of the main block; one exterior centered on the rear gable ell; and another exterior on the gable wing. The entire structure sits on a brick foundation.

35A. Garage (82 Clark Street); circa 1920. This small, steeply-pitched gable front, wood frame garage with slate roof and plain overhanging eaves sits to the south of the house (#35). The full-length diagonal matchboard outward-swinging doors with iron strap hinges face east. The two bays on the north face of this clapboarded outbuilding are filled with large sash windows. This garage was added considerably after the house, c. 1920.

36. 80 Clark Street; circa 1860.
This 5x2 bay, 2-1/2 story, wood frame house is oriented with eaves front facing onto Clark Street. Sheathed in asbestos siding and slate roof, this c. 1860 residence is slightly elevated from the street so that the central entrance is reached by cement steps. A simple molded cornice and returns trim the gable peak. A gable entry porch covers the entrance. The hood has an asphalt shingled roof and rests on square columns with small simple molded cornice capitals. Full-length, five-light sidelights flank the door. All new 1/1 sash windows are set on plain surrounds. There is one window in each of the gable walls. Two interior chimneys sit just to the rear of the peak. A rear, two-story gable ell aligns perpendicular to the main block It is four bays deep and has a gable dormer on the southern roof slope. Like the front gable peak, this rear ell is roofed in slate, sheathed in asbestos siding, and has simple molded cornice. Facing south, in the corner formed by the main block and the ell, is a one-story shed roof entrance porch on simple square posts. A brick foundation supports the residence.

37. 78 Clark Street; circa 1855.
This c. 1855 two-story, 3x4 bay, side hall plan, vernacular dwelling is a gable front, wood frame structure whose main facade features a full width one-story porch. The house, with its slate roof, aluminum-sided walls, and brick foundation has a minimum of exterior decoration, as evidenced by the plain small overhanging eaves, plain trim, and plain board window and door surrounds. The facade porch has plain posts, two dimensional curvilinear brackets, and simple balustrade with squared spindles. Steps extend to the south. All windows have 2/2 sash with two windows in the front gable peak. On the southern face, the third bay is occupied by a single leaf door.

38. 76 Clark Street; circa 1855.
An identical mirror image of its neighbor (#37), this c. 1855 two-story, gable front, 3x4 bay house is also vernacular with its simple overhanging eaves, open soffits, and plain details. The house is set on a brick foundation and is sheathed in asbestos siding and slate roofing. Set back from the street, at the base of the steep slope surrounding all of Clark Street, this house sits off an inclining driveway raised from street level. The side hall plan with right doorway is covered by a flat roofed one-story porch with stairs at the northern end. The porch is detailed with plain posts, two dimensional curvilinear brackets and a lattice skirt composed of plain and scalloped-edged boards. All windows are framed in plain surrounds and are 2/2 sash with two in the gable peak.

39. 72 Clark Street; circa 1910.
This 1-1/2 story, gable front, 3x3 bay, wood frame vernacular house from c. 1910 has a slate roof, vinyl siding and rests upon a rock-faced concrete block foundation. The building has plain window surrounds and simple trim exemplified in the gable peak which has flush eaves. All windows are 2/2 sash, and the front gable holds one smaller window. On the western face, a small 1/1 sash occupies the fourth bay. The central entrance has a one-story Queen Anne style porch with hip roof spanning the facade. Detailing includes turned posts and plain railing with squared balusters. Beneath the sagging wooden floor is a lattice skirt. A similar porch with shed roof extends to the right (west) from a rear single bay deep gable wing. This similar porch has the same turned posts and squared spindles, but vertical slates replace the lattice work. One central off peak chimney reaches from the left roof slope of the front gable block.

39A. Garage (72 Clark Street); circa 1930. A small shed roof garage, accented with cornerboards and sheathed in clapboards, with full-length overhead door, is found at the end of the driveway. This garage was built after the house c. 1930.

40. 70 Clark Street; circa 1900.
This 5x3 bay vernacular house, c. 1900, with southerly connected wings, is one of the longest structures in the District. Aligned eaves front, with central entrance along the west side of the earthen extension perpendicular to Clark Street, the gable end of the main block faces north onto Clark Street. The entire structure, including all southerly ells, has a slate roof, a brick foundation, and sits on a flat piece of land close to the street. From the roof peak of the main block rise central and end brick chimneys. Sheathed in asbestos siding and measuring 2-1/2 stories, the main block has 2/2 sash windows in plain surrounds which directly touch the eaves on the second floor. The front gable peak, with one center window, has molded cornice and returns. The narrow central entrance has plain board surrounds, single-light transom, and wide lintel board with flat projecting cap. This door was originally sheltered by a single story front porch that extended four bays from the northeast corner of the residence along the facade. The porch was removed c. 1987, leaving remnants of the roof below the sills of the second story windows. This alteration must have been performed recently as the cement stairs formerly approaching the porch are still standing in the middle of the dooryard, and no new steps have been put below the entry door.

The first two-bay, two-story gable roof ell with asbestos siding, joins flush with the rear facade of the main block. The eaved front roof attaches just below the overhang of the gable peak of the main block. The overhanging eaves of this ell hides the plain lintel of the second story 2/2 sash windows. The first floor is recessed one bay deep the length of the ell, with windows facing north and east and a door on the third side entering into the gable end of the main block. A steep shed-roofed second one-story ell extends from the rear of this section of the building to the west. It extends further than the western wall of the rest of the structure and has overhanging eaves.

The eaved front roof of this first ell continues with slight swelling along the seam where it ties into another two-story clapboard wing. In this ell, despite the irregular fenestration, all windows are 2/2 sash in plain surrounds. Four bays long on the first floor, a single door in plain surrounds topped by a gabled hood occupies the first bay. In the third bay is a double leaf outward-swinging, full length, wood panel barn door flanked on either side by a 2/2 sash window. Two windows are located in the second and third bays on the second story. In the fourth bay, dropped to just above the barn door bay, is a 3/ 4 length wood panel door. The fenestration of this wing suggests that it may have served some sort of agricultural or storage function.

The fourth 2-1/2 story rear ell has gable front roof. Like the third ell, this furthest ell is sheathed in clapboards. In the gable peak, with plain overhanging cornice and returns, is centered a six-light window in a plain frame. This top gable portion flares slightly over the narrow second tier, which also has a centered six-light window. The first story is tall, compensating for the second tier, with short shed roof that extends from the upper facade. This upper facade is set back since the length of the lower portion is flush with the facades of the rest of the structure. Two sets of tall, full length, wood paneled, outward-swinging doors range the length of this shed roof section. In the top of each leaf is a horizontal, triple-light window.

By the time this residence was built, most of the once agricultural land in the area had been developed. Despite the presence of two ostensible rear barn wings and the similarity of this structure to a typical New England connected farm building, much barn space was not required. These rear two extensions probably served as a workshop or as a place for horses or livestock.

41. 60 Clark Street; circa 1910.
The last dwelling on a small access road perpendicular to Clark Street, this c. 1910 house is barely visible from the street as it is hidden behind a three-story residence (#40). Set back from Clark Street, the asphalt-shingled gable roof is oriented with eaves front onto the earthen road. The building has a brick foundation. The side gable peak of this 2-1/2 story aluminum-sided residence has simple molded cornice and returns. A large central pedimental gable roof wall dormer intersects the front (west) roof slope. The dormer has simple molded cornice and return and overhanging eaves with soffits lined with vertical boards. Two bays wide, the dormer has windows that are 2/2 sash in plain surrounds, as are the other windows in the house. Extending along the length of the front west facade is a one-story, shed-roofed, enclosed entrance porch, trimmed with a lattice skirt. The porch has one 2/2 sash window on each end and is five bays long with a single door entrance in the fourth bay. Over this door, which is the main entrance to the house, is a gabled hood supported on braces and placed under the roof overhang.

42. 58 Clark Street; circa 1910.
This 3-1/2 story, stucco, c. 1910 apartment block with gabled slate roof is positioned perpendicular to a right-of-way extension to Clark Street. It features a three-story, shed roof porch on the far right of the north facade sheltering the entrance. The Queen Anne porches have turned posts and plain square spindle balustrades. There are two adjacent entrance doors on the first floor, left side rear wall of this porch; one to enter the first floor apartment and the other to reach the upper stories. The upper two floors have one door on the left side of the porch. Narrow string courses wrap the building above and below the rows of fenestration on each floor, the boards being wider above and thinner below the windows. On the third floor on the north facade is a wide fascia board below the eaves and directly above the plain window lintels. The gables have plain cornices and no returns. All windows, unless noted, are 1/1 sash in plain surrounds. On each floor on the north face are four windows grouped in pairs. In the top of the west gable peak is one small 1/1 sash window topped with a board course that also acts as a lintel. In the first bay of the west face are three smaller 1/1 sash windows, one on each floor, positioned at the top of each story division, reflecting the staircase behind. Regular windows fill the second and third floors on the second bay. In the third bay is a three-story bay window with hip roof. This shallow canted projection has one window on each side. A three-story porch with flat roof and interior staircase attaches to the east end. The house sits on a rock faced foundation.

43. 56 Clark Street; circa 1900.
This irregularly-shaped, c. 1900 Colonial Revival/Queen Anne house faces north onto Clark Street. To the west is a narrow earthen right-of-way which accesses the rear driveway and entrance to this and to two other houses lined directly behind (#43). Well maintained, this wood frame, clapboarded and wood-shingled, 2-1/2 story house with brick foundation has a small yard on the north and west sides.

The basic plan of the house is gable front with an intersecting cross gable, a slate roof, and a center peak brick chimney on the front gable. The gable peaks have molded cornices and returns. The first story is sheathed in clapboards, and the upper stories are covered in plain square shingles. The facade has an asymmetrical gable which continues on the right slope, forming a smaller gable to cover a right-bay, recessed entry porch. The front porch gable, which projects beyond the facade, has molded cornice. The gable peak is filled with fish scale shingles. The porch has a bold turned spindle balustrade and grouped Doric columns on paneled pedestals. The wood floor, with wide wooden front steps, is wrapped in a lattice skirt. On the wide band between the columns and the front (north) side is found a carved applique decoration. On the rear wall of the porch is a single entrance door into the house.

The first floor facade is canted under the overhanging second floor on the east front corner. Above a 1/1 sash window on the overhang are two carved brackets and a pendant. The other canted side with one 1/1 sash window is sheltered by the porch. A large 1/1 sash window occupies the front face on the first floor. All windows, unless noted, are new 1/1 sash set in frames with plain sills and slightly molded lintels. On the second floor facade is centered a pair of 1/1 sash windows. Above this in the peak is centered a pair of small 6/1 sash. This same feature appears in the other gable peaks except on the porch. On the east side of the front gable is one 1/1 sash window on the first floor only.

The cross gable ells are one bay deep and two bays wide with two windows on each floor. On the west gable end is a small single-light window centered on the upper part of the wall on the first story directly below the change in sheathing material. Filling the corner made by the west gable and the rear of the main gable block is a one-story porch that joins flush with the west wall. It has a small metal roof gable on the southwestern corner facing west; the rest of the shed roof is also metal. The porch is supported on two turned posts and unusual cutout brackets. There are wooden steps and a lattice skirt. A brick foundation supports the building.

44. 54 Clark Street; circa 1850.
Much of Greek Revival detail on this small 1-1/2 story, wood frame, 3x3 bay, gable front residence is featured in the left doorway of the side hall plan. Aluminum siding now sheathes this c. 1850 dwelling, and the roof has slate shingles. The entrance is flanked with full-length, five-pane sidelights and pilasters with narrow vertical recessed panels in the center. The door is topped by a simple molded cornice. Similar detailing is found in the corner pilasters with the same central recessed narrow panel and molded capitals, and in the molded cornice, returns, and overhanging eaves. A double-bay, shed-roofed dormer extends above the rear bay of the main block meeting the roofline. From this point rises a brick chimney.

All windows, which are 2/2 sash unless noted, hang in plain surrounds. There are two windows in the front gable peak. Windows fill the bays on the right (west) face. An east cross gable runs flush with the side of the main block. Two bays deep and occupying the second and third bays on the east side, this gable has two 2/2 sash windows in the gable peak and a modern triple light on the first floor. Like the front gable, there are corner pilasters, molded cornice and returns, and overhanging eaves. On the east side, a one story porch attaches to a rear ell. The porch has aluminum-sided base wall on top of a lattice skirt. The shed canopy is supported on plain posts and two dimensional brackets. Also attached to this rear ell is a low, flat-roofed garage, c. 1900, sheathed in aluminum siding which has outward-swinging, full-length, wood panel doors opening to the east.

45. 50 Clark Street; circa 1840.

Resembling its gable-roofed, 1-1/2 story neighbors (#'s 44, 46), this shallow-pitched, gable front, wood frame house facing north onto a small front yard and Clark Street differs in that it does not follow a side hall plan. Rather, it measures four bays across the front and has an entrance in the second bay from the left. The entire structure is sheathed in clapboard and sits on a concrete block foundation with a slate and metal roof. A long narrow brick chimney is centered on the left slope of the main block. A plain cornice and returns line the front gable peak, but a full entablature with wide frieze ranges along the side eaves originating at corner palisters with a narrow vertical recessed strip.

The c. 1840 residence has a single-story shed roof porch with metal spanning the facade. This porch is supported on four square columns, with side treatment resembling pilasters, and bold capitals. Two engaged columns appear at the end of the porch. The pilaster decorations have a narrow vertical recessed strip down the middle like that on the corner pilasters. A simple balustrade of square stock members borders the wooden floor

All windows, unless otherwise noted, are 2/2 sash and set in plain board surrounds; the lintel having a small projecting top squared ridge. The four bays deep on both sides, and the two in the gable peak of the main block follow this form. A one-story rear gable ell, barely visible from the street, attaches to a rear garage extension c. 1930, with two bays facing east. These wide bays have overhead garage doors with paneling and a string of small square windows along the upper portion.

46. 48 Clark Street; circa 1900.
Facing north onto Clark Street, this left side hall plan, 1-1/2 story, wood frame and clapboard residence of rectangular plan measures 3x3 bays. The gable front roof carries a slate roof with centered peak brick chimney. The gable peak has a plain overhanging roof line with no cornice returns. Cement rock-faced blocks form the building's foundation. The c. 1900 house occupies almost the full width of the narrow plot of land on which it sits.

A flat-roofed, one-story, full-width facade Queen Anne porch has a small setback from the sidewalk. The wooden floor porch has turned posts, two of which are engaged at the ends of the wall; small cutout designs on either side of each post, similar to brackets; knob valance; spindle balustrade; and a lattice skirt. Concrete steps lead to the front porch entrance that is marked by two short knobbed posts. The door is flanked by fluted pilasters and topped with a blind paneled transom, which is also bordered by the pilasters. Cornice caps rise from the pilasters. All visible windows are 2/2 sash set in plain surrounds. The lintel has a small square top ridge and the sill projects slightly.

46A. Barn (48 Clark Street); circa 1930. Set far back from the street to the rear of the house (#46), a deteriorating wood frame barn sits on the southwestern corner of the property. Oriented with eaves front, the slate roof has a sagging peak. Sheathed in wood novelty siding, this 2-1/2 story structure has two open garage bays facing north.

47. 46 Clark Street; circa 1885.
Although 2-1/2 stories in height, this c. 1885 residence sits close to the ground and is set into a small incline to the rear. Three bays across and three bays deep, with two windows in the gable peak, this wide gable front, vernacular house has plain trim and is sheathed in aluminum siding on the body and slate shingles on the roof. The roof of the gable peak, which has a plain cornice and open eaves soffits, extends to the east to join with a 1-1/2 story shed roof porch. This enclosed porch, with board base and screened openings, has turned posts. All windows, unless noted, are 2/2 sash in plain surrounds. The central facade door on the first floor is also framed in plain narrow trim. A one-story shed roof replacement porch spans the length of the main facade. With plywood board around the base, this structure is set directly on the ground. The asphalt-shingled roof of this porch is supported on four rectangular slotted posts. A brick foundation grounds the house.

48. 42 Clark Street; circa 1880.
With a shallow setback from the street, this 2-1/2 story, wood frame, multi-family residence hugs the ground, needing no steps to reach the two front entrances. Directly behind the house slopes a gentle incline. This c. 1880 vernacular dwelling is composed of a 3x2 bay gable front block that is set back and attached gable wall of an eaves front 4x2 bay block. Both sections are sheathed in clapboards and have steeply pitched slate roofs, each with one center peak brick chimney. The gable roof of the projecting, eaves front block originates almost at the peak of the gable front section. From there it slopes down, intersecting and breaking the cornice line of the adjacent gable front wall, to the lateral eaves of the projecting block. Because of this intersection, there is one simple cornice return on the left of the gable wall at the end of a slightly molded cornice. Other returns are found on the four-bay section on the front corners on the gable ends. Unless otherwise noted, the windows are 2/2 sash set in plain wood surrounds.

A single-story, shed roof porch, covered in slate tiles, ranges across the facade of the east gable front block, sheltering the left side hall entrance. Replacement metal pipe posts support the roof, and only one simple bracket remains, attached to the left side of the door. Another single leaf enhance is situated on the far right, last bay of the western eaves front section and is set in surrounds.

49. 40 Clark Street; circa 1900.
Situated on a small rise and set back so that the rear of the building meets the wooded hill that extends along the rear of Clark Street up to Prospect Street, this 2-1/2 story, wood frame residence casts an imposing figure onto the street. The main block, which sits on a brick foundation, has a slate roof and is sheathed in asphalt siding shingles cut in a curvilinear diamond pattern. Two brick chimneys just off peak rise from the left roof slope.

This tall, unusual, gable front house dating c. 1900, features recessed porches under the right half of the gable. On the first floor, the porch roof with simple but full entablature is supported on two plain square posts. A plain square stock member balustrade rings the porch with an opening at the left side, close to the center of the facade. There is a door on the inner side of the porch facing west and opening into the left half of the house. On the wall of the house, shielded by the porch, is a pair of new 1/1 sash windows in plain surrounds facing north. The second floor porch opening also has square posts and the same balustrade as below. Framing and spanning the facade, the porch is a recessed arch. A smaller arch with simple keystone on the west side of the porch joins flush with the west facade. To the rear of the porch on the west side, the gabled-roofed house extends five bays deep with 1/1 sash on both floors.

The gabled peak has a molded cornice and returns, and a Palladian window motif minus the elliptical cap. All the windows are 1/1 sash in plain board trim. Centered in the left half if the second floor are two 1/1 windows, and below on the first floor facade is a tripartite window band with diamond pane sash. On the east side projects a two-story, canted bay window with 1/1 sash and a shed dormer with diamond pane sash. Around the perimeter of the house, the second story flares slightly over the first story walls. From the rear corner of the roof stems a small gable structure with sloping shed roof. On top of this roof sits a structure with peaked roof aligned with and to the west of the main peak. Three sides have been removed for a recent deck with squared balustrades and railing, accessible to the third floor.

50. 38 Clark Street; circa 1840.
Although small in size, this c. 1840 wood frame house is one of the grandest in the District due to its Greek Revival detail, good maintenance, and stately location, raised above street level on a hillock. This 5x2 bay, 1-1/2 story, clapboarded, Classic Cottage with slate eaves front roof has a full entablature, corner pilasters with a narrow vertical recess, and a central entrance flanked with four-pane, 2/3 length sidelights with a panel on the lower portion. Flanking the sidelights are pilasters, also with a vertical narrow recess. A wide lintel with a rectangular fretwork tablet, partially extending above the top of the lintel, crowns the entrance. A full entablature with wide fascia board and simple returns terminate the walls under the overhanging eaves. From the front roof slope project two matching clapboard-sheathed gabled dormers with paired sash windows.

All windows are 2/2 sash, set in plain surrounds with projecting sills and lintels with small squared top ridge. There are four windows, two on each floor, in the gable ends. Facade windows in the first story on the east side are flanked by wooden louvered shutters. A one-story gable ell extends from the southwestern corner of the main block. Also having clapboard sheathing and a slate roof, this ell does not join flush with the western wall of the main block so that one window faces the street (north). The gable line of the ell intersects the side gable peak of the main block where the fascia board meets the cornice. This ell does not have a molded cornice or corner pilasters, rather it has a plain, slightly overhanging roof line and cornerboards. Facing east, a rear garage attaches to the ell with a flat roof and double, vertical, wooden-board, outward-swinging doors.

51. 34 Clark Street; circa 1880.
This four-bay, eaves front, 1-1/2 story, wood frame residence is situated back from the street facing north onto Clark Street. The deep front yard space is bordered by a post fence. Constructed c. 1880, the body of the house is sheathed in vinyl siding and has an onduline roof. A new gabled hood, supported on thin metal posts, appears over the off center door, situated in the second bay from the left. The door has plain surrounds, and the entry has cement steps and new turned metal railings. All windows are 2/2 sash in plain surrounds. First story windows are flanked by modern louvered shutters. The two windows in the gable peak on the eastern face do not have shutters. A rear ell, three bays deep, extends from the rear left of the main block so that the east side walls run flush. To the rear of the main block, attached to this ell, is a 1-1/2 story gable wing measuring 1x2 bays. The house rests on a cement block foundation. 51A. Barn/Garage (34 Clark Street); circa 1910. At the southeastern corner of the property is a 1-1/2 story, gable front barn/garage with vertical panel on the facade. Facing north at the end of a long paved driveway, this barn/garage has an overhead square paneled door on the left and on the right is a vertical paneling punctuated with one square window and full length pedestrian door. Built after the house, this barn dates c. 1910.

52. 30 Clark Street; circa 1830.
Situated off a corner where Clark Street turns west, the lot on which this c. 1830 residence sits does not touch the street, but is set back and is reached by a short driveway. Facing west, this is a 1-1/2 story, 2x2 bay, wood frame, right side hall plan, clapboarded house which carries a gable front slate roof. Due to the small size of the main block, the vernacular Federal detail stands out, framing the right entrance. The architrave surrounds support a cornice shelf. The gabled peak has molded cornice and returns, and corner and baseboards outline the structure. There is one window in the gable peak which is 2/2 sash, as are the rest of the windows. Windows are framed in plain surrounds.

A two-story, single bay deep, rear gable ell joins flush with the north face of the 1-1/2 story main block. The roofline rises above the main block and has a plain cornice without returns. A one-story gable ell extends perpendicularly to the south from the southeastern corner of the main block. Unlike the rest of the house, which is sheathed in clapboards, this ell has vertical exposed wood panel siding. From the rear southern corner of the two story ell extends a barn wing, added later than the rest of the structure, c. 1890. The eaves front barn is sheathed in clapboards with a one-bay, full-length, wood panel door, and is visible from the street poking from behind the front one-story side ell. Extending south from the front right corner of the facade is a wooden slat fence delineating the property and obscuring a full view of the house. All roof surfaces, including all extensions, are sheathed in slate, and a center peak brick chimney rises from the rear of the main block. A cement foundation supports the structure.

53. 28 Clark Street; circa 1860.
This 3x3 bay, gable front, 1-1/2 story vernacular house c. 1860 holds a corner plot with its left side hall entrance facing east onto Clark Street. The slate roof slopes at a normal pitch to overhanging eaves. The house sits on a brick foundation low to the ground with its lateral eaves paralleling Lawrence Street. The house is sheathed in aluminum siding with a simple molded cornice. The one window in the front gable peak is a new 1/1 sash window with plain surrounds. All other windows, unless otherwise noted, are of this same kind. The left entrance has a replacement door with tiny staggered lights set in plain surrounds with a peaked lintel.

Two wings attach to the rear of the main block. A small, square double-sash raking window squeezes between the roof and the slopes of the front gable block and the first wing on the rear wall of the front block. A pent roof section across the front north side shelters an enclosed porch. The porch has an aluminum-sided base that runs flush with the wall of the main block, a short lattice skirt, one square post support, a screen door and windows. The second wing, also one-story but with a hip rather than a gable roof, leaves narrow, single light raking window on the rear of the first wing. This wing serves as a garage with an overhead square-paneled door with a row of square single lights. A pent roof extends from below the eaves on two sides; the north and east, joining flush with the north wall of the first wing. A full-length pedestrian door is situated next to the garage bay to the right. The roof pitches of the two rear wings are steeper than that of the main gable.

54. 16 Lawrence Street; circa 1850.
This c. 1850 plainly detailed, eaves front, wood frame structure is oriented close to the street and set low to the ground. Because of its narrow proportions and lack of decoration, this five-bay, clapboarded residence appears longer than it is. All roof surfaces are covered in slate from which rises a center brick chimney on the main block. The gable peak has a plain cornice and no returns; corners are marked with plain board trim. The central entrance facing north onto Lawrence Street, which has plain board frame with wide lintel board, has been shielded by a new wooden gabled door hood with asphalt shingles and wood braces. To the right of the entrance centered on the first floor is a modern triple light window; to the left of the entrance is an outward swinging, double-leaf window with three lights on each side. Windows on the front second story are of the original 6/6 sash in plain surrounds with slightly projecting sills. On the western face, a 6/6 sash window is centered on the second story, and a small, square, six-light window is placed in the gable peak. A similar six-light window is found in the gable peak on the rear eastern face. From the rear of the main block projects a single story gable ell which is the same width as the rest of the house. Also trimmed with plain board and cornice, this wing has a wooden, full-length panel door on the northern face next to a small double-sash sliding window, with three lights in each sash. Centered on the eastern face is a six-light window and a small wood panel door just to the left, off-center in the gable peak. The roof of this wing intersects and blocks the lower left corner of a second story 6/6 sash window near the front of the rear wall.

54A. Garage (16 Lawrence Street); circa 1930. Parallel to and behind the rear wing of #54 is a small gable front garage facing east. This single bay structure has novelty siding, asphalt shingle roof, and an overhead paneled door. It was probably added c. 1930.

55. 15 Lawrence Street; circa 1850.
The lot on 15 Lawrence Street, which is large relative to other lot sizes in the area and to the density of houses in the District, is occupied by a small 1-1/2 story, three-bay, gable front residence. Situated in the southwestern corner slightly set back from the street, onto which it faces the south, this c. 1850 vernacular dwelling follows a right side hall plan. The aluminum-sided structure has a foundation made of concrete blocks and a roof covered in slate and metal with a center brick chimney off-peak to the left. Having simple detailing, the house has a plain cornice and returns, and a wide fascia board under the side eaves. The right sidehall entrance has no surrounding features and is framed in narrow board trim. Any original detail may have been covered or removed when the aluminum siding was applied. All windows are 2/2 sash and set in plain surrounds, and all visible windows are flanked by new louvered shutters.

55A. Garage (15 Lawrence Street); circa 1900. Also property of #55 in the far northeast corner is a 1-1/2 story, gable front garage added c. 1900. Sheathed in aluminum siding and having plain board trim, this single bay structure has outward-swinging and hinged vertical wood board doors. In the gable peak is a small vertical double-light window. This garage is approached via a long earthen driveway.

56. 18 Clark Street; circa 1840.
This 1-1/2 story, 3x2 bay, c. 1840 Greek Revival residence follows a right side hall plan and carries a gable front slate roof. The entire structure is sheathed in asbestos and is set upon a brick foundation. Situated on a corner lot, the house has some yard space on the long side of the building. The main entrance faces west onto Clark Street, but the long side of the house borders Lawrence Street to the south. A one-story, full-length, hip roof porch spans the facade. In the Queen Anne style, the porch has heavy turned posts, two of which are engaged, scroll brackets, balustrade with turned spindles, and a lattice skirt. The door is flanked by pilasters with a narrow recessed vertical panel through the center. These pilasters also embrace a blind paneled transom above the door. Corner pilasters take the place of cornerboards. These pilasters have the same recessed vertical panel strip and support a full entablature with wide frieze band under the side eaves. The molded cornice and returns in the gable peak are simple, and the peak has a wide fascia board. There is only one window in the front gable peak, set in plain surrounds as are all the windows. All windows are 2/2 sash.

A two-story, cross gable ell to the south has Greek Revival trim, including cornice returns and corner pilasters. There is a one-story, three-sided bay window below the two windows on the second story. This gable ell is one bay deep. A rear 4x2 bay, two-story wing attaches to the main block, more than doubling the length of the house. A two-story recessed portion cuts into this block on the southern face where it meets the main block. On the first floor, this recessed space acts as an entry way and, on the second story, it serves as a porch with plain railing and square balusters. This rear wing was probably added later, c. 1860, and has no Greek Revival detail nor plain board trim, only plain surrounds. On the end of the rear gable ell is a flat roof garage facing south. This double bay structure, c. 1905, has one full-length, outward-swinging vertical wood paneled door and one overhead door with four adjacent square single lights.

57. 16 Clark Street; circa 1900.
One of the few apartment buildings in the District, this three-story tenement, dating c. 1900, is contemporary with the other apartment blocks in the District. Wedged between two residences of domestic scale, the building faces west onto lower Clark Street. This plain vernacular structure, now sheathed in aluminum siding, has a minimum of decoration, with the exception of thin cornerboards and a heavy Queen Anne entrance porch. The imposing 3x5 bay, flat roof structure has a large but simple overhanging cornice. The facade is enhanced by two squared, three-story bay projections with flat roofs that terminate just below the main cornice line. There are single 1/1 sash windows on the front and narrow windows on the sides of these projections. All windows are new 1/1 sash and framed in plain surrounds. Between these projecting bays is a large, flat-roofed, central entrance porch with Queen Anne style turned posts, wooden floor, board skirt, and square stock member balustrade. A single window is centered in the middle bay on the second and third floors, directly above the entrance porch. A shallow, three-story shed roof Queen Anne style porch extends along the length of the rear of the building. This porch has turned posts and spindle balustrade. The building sits on a brick foundation.

58. 14 Clark Street; circa 1845.
Situated on a corner lot facing Clark Street, this 1-1/2 story, clapboard Greek Revival house, c. 1845, is surrounded by a narrow strip of yard. In this right side hall plan house, measuring 3x3 bays and supporting a slate gable front roof, the Greek Revival detail is concentrated around entrance and corners, giving the facade a stately appearance. The structure has one brick chimney just off-peak to the left at the rear of the main block. Corner pilasters with narrow vertical recessed panels support a full entablature with wide frieze along the side eaves. The molded cornice with returns is bordered by a wide fascia board in the gable peak. The right side hall entrance, approached via cut granite steps, is flanked by narrow panels which cover the original sidelights. These boards are flanked by pilasters paneled in the same style as the corner versions. Another modern alteration is a replacement door with tiny diagonally staggered lights, c. 1970. Surmounting the door is a full entablature with wide frieze. There are two windows in the front peak, both 2/2 sash. All windows, unless noted, are of this type, framed in plain narrow surrounds set into the clapboard wall surface.

A one-story metal hip roof Queen Anne style porch runs from the main gable facade to a cross-gabled extension on the northern face. This 1-1/2 story extension is two bays wide and one bay deep with molded cornice and returns. Unlike the front gable peak, this peak does not have a wide fascia board. Centered at the base of the cross gable on the foundation level is a wooden bulk head. The porch roof covers most of the entablature on the north side of the main block. A single door opens onto the porch from the cross gable.

In typical Queen Anne style, the porch has turned posts, cutout scroll brackets, spindle balustrade, and one short knob post. As in the front entrance, the porch is reached by granite steps to the north. The floor is wood and a lattice skirt trims the bottom.

From the rear of the main block extends a 3x1 bay gable ell with a rear door, also with granite steps. A double-bay shed roof dormer projects near the intersection of the rear wing and the cross gable on the left roof slope. In the corner made by the rear wing and the cross gable is a small flat-roofed, one-story single bay addition with one single-light window facing north. The structure has one brick chimney just off-peak to the left at the rear of the main block. The structure has a brick foundation and slate roof.

59. 14 Estabrook Street; circa 1840.
This 1-1/2 story, c. 1840, vernacular, clapboarded house has three bays across the front and one window in the gable peak, and it carries a slate-shingled gabled roof oriented perpendicular to the street. Facing north, the facade of the house is situated close to the street and the new simple, wooden, c. 1983 porch and stairs almost touch the sidewalk. The left side hall entrance has full-length, five-light sidelights and is topped by a slightly gable peaked lintel. The front gable peak with plain roofline has wide extensions and open eaves soffits. On the east side, the steep extended gable continues with a shed-roofed enclosed porch which has board siding and lattice skirt. On the porch there are two large banks of windows with triple bays and a door in the far bay. A shed roof dormer with a single-light window extends from the front of the left slope of the gable so that its side is almost flush with the raking eaves. A 1-1/2 story cross gable juts off from the western face. This ell is a single bay deep with one 2/2 sash window on the eaves side. There are no windows on the gable peak side. All windows not otherwise noted are 2/2 sash set in plain surrounds.

59A. Garage (14 Estabrook Street), circa 1940. In the eastern corner of the property is a gabled front garage with wood novelty siding and an asphalt shingled roof. There are two bays in the front accommodating two cars and one 6/6 sash window on each of the east and west faces. This building was added considerably after the house, c. 1940.

60. 9 Estabrook Street; circa 1840.
This 1-1/2 story, 3x3 bay, gable front, vernacular, wood frame house follows a right side hall plan. The main block is covered with a slate and metal roof and has a brick chimney rising from the center of the left roof slope. The building has clapboard sheathing. The main block of this c. 1840 residence is similar to its neighbor to the west (#61), which also adheres to a gable front, right side hall plan. There are two 1/1 sash windows in the gable peak, which has a simple molded cornice and plain returns. All windows not noted are new 1/1 sash and framed in plain returns with a lintel having a small projecting top ridge. Corner and baseboards trim the building. The right entrance, which is approached by cement steps, has a peaked lintel with small projecting ridge and is flanked by paneled sidelights. A long one-story gable roof ell with garage bay extends to the east from the rear corner of the main block. Within this ell is a recessed Queen Anne porch which shares the primary gable roof, sheltering three bays (a door next to two adjacent windows). The porch has turned posts and cutout bracket~, but has no balustrade. The garage bay at the far east, probably added c. 1930, has a paneled overhead door. A center peak brick chimney rises from the slate and metal roof of this ell, which has clapboarded sheathing like that of the main block.

61. 15 Estabrook Street; circa 1940.
Similar to its neighbor (#60) in its format, this gable front, 1-1/2 story, 3x4 bay, right side hall plan residence has vernacular Greek Revival detail. Although probably dating to c. 1840, and noted as such above the main entrance door, the entire structure has been encased in vinyl siding. From the slate roof of the main block rises a center peak brick chimney. The Greek Revival detail is manifested in the entrance with its peaked lintel and single light, 2/ 3 length sidelights. The gable peak has a plain cornice and returns. A metal, shed roof enclosed porch runs along the west side. A door and window on this porch face the street, and on the side is a bank of three double-bay, 1/1 sash windows set in paneling in the upper portion of the wall. A simple metal shed roof door hood is supported on plain wooden braces. The building, which sits on a cement foundation, is positioned tightly between other houses on both sides. The small setback from the street has been covered in asphalt.

62. 6 Clark Street; circa 1850.
Set on a corner lot with the facade on Clark Street and the long side of the house facing south onto Estabrook Street, the main block of this c. 1850 residence is typical front, 1-1/2 story, side hall plan. The entire building is sheathed in clapboards, roofed in slate, and sits on a brick foundation. The main block measures 3x3 bays with two windows in the gable peak, and it has a right side hall entrance. Cut and punched decorative applique lines the fascia boards in the gable peak and under the lateral eaves. The gable also has a molded cornice and simple returns. Wide boards topped with simple cornice caps cover the corners of the building. This cutout applique also appears on the right sidehall door. Flanking the door are full-length, four-light sidelights bordered by a wide board. On top of the door is a fascia board decorated with the applique; below is a peaked lintel board edged with molded cornice. All windows, unless otherwise noted, are 2/2 sash set in plain wood board surrounds. Symmetric single-bay shed roof dormers with single-light windows project from both sides of the gable peak in the middle of the roof slope at the rear of the main block. A brick chimney rises from the center of the left side off-peak.

A 2-1/2 story rear gable wing with slate roof extends to the east, aligning flush with the left side of the main block. A shed roof dormer with double-light sliding sash window extends from the roof peak. A shed roof one-story porch occupies the corner between the main block and the wing. The porch has plain square posts, a board base, and two cutout brackets against the wall. The porch shields a door and a long horizontal window to the right. From the roof of this wing rises a brick chimney off peak. A two-story exterior stairway, added c. 1930 to the rear gable end wall of the wing, has a shed roof reaching to the top of the gable peak. This structure is supported on thin wooden square posts and has a landing sheathed in clapboard.

63. 9 Eels Court; circa 1880.
This small, wood frame, classic cottage from c. 1880, with asbestos siding and slate eaves front roof, is set back from the street and encircled by buildings on all sides. It is situated on the end of Eels Court, a dead end earthen lane, and faces east towards South Main Street. The eaves, with plain roof line, overhang on the front and on the side gable ends. The residence is 5x2 bays with a central entrance. A gable-roofed slate hood covers the doorway making a small porch which touches the roof line. The gable of the entry porch is sheathed in the same asbestos siding; two square posts and simple cutout wooden brackets support the hood. Low balustrades line the sides of the entry. A modern metal door and new windows (1/1 sash) replace the originals. These windows have plain wooden surrounds. A brick chimney rises from the rear, off-center, just below the roof peak.

64. 10 South Main Street; c. 1870.
This two-story, gable front, wood frame residence dating c. 1870 follows a side hall plan and holds a corner plot facing east on the north edge of Estabrook Street. The structure retains a slate roof, but has been sheathed entirely with asbestos siding. The eaves overhang from the plain roof line. A one-story porch with slate shed canopy extends the length of the facade. Six Queen Anne style turned posts divide the porch including two engaged posts at the ends of the porch. Carved scroll brackets clamp the top of each post. In place of a balustrade, the porch base is enclosed and covered with the same asbestos siding. The far left portion of the porch wall is open to allow for accessibility to the left side hall door, which has plain surrounds and 2/3 length sidelights.

A single bay gable front dormer surmounts the porch roof which aligns flush with, and extends to the end of, the left slope of the gable and also flush with the south face of the main block. The dormer is almost as deep as the porch and has overhanging eaves. There is only one window on the facade of the dormer, a 6/1 sash, the same as the rest of the windows on the house. All windows are set in simple wood frames.

A gable wing joins the rear of the main block but follows the same axis. A left side shed roof porch spans the length of this wing and has Queen Anne details similar to those in the front porch. A horizontally-placed sash window is squeezed between the top of the shed roof and the cornice line in the corner close to the joint with the main block. A rear exterior staircase, partially covered near the entrance, attaches to the end of the wing. Another shorter and smaller wing joins the first extension to the garage. This smaller portion has a tar shingled roof with a door and one window on the left side. The garage faces the street and aligns perpendicular with the rest of the house. The west side face of the garage is situated close to the end wall of the next house. This low-lying gable front structure, c. 1930, has an overhead door, facing the street, with a row of five adjoining single-light windows. A side entrance door and an exterior chimney are found on the right (cast) side. The other chimney in the house rises from the center peak of the first ell. The garage has the same asbestos siding as the rest of the residence, a tar-shingled roof, and a centered rear window.

The entire building rests on a cement foundation which increases in height towards the rear of the building. A small door punctuates the lower level on the right side of the main block as a cellar entrance. A low slate and sod wall surrounds the building at the foundation level on the right (north) side. A delicate wrought iron fence, with simple pattern, marks the property around the small front yard and around the left side of the house to the driveway.

65. 14 South Main Street; circa 1870.
Adhering to a side hall format, this aluminum sided, wood frame, c. 1870 house carries a slate roof with facade facing east. A brick chimney rises from the left side of the peak near the center of the 2-1/2 story main block. All windows on the building, which measures 3x3 bays, have plain wood surrounds, but the original windows have modern 1/1 sash replacements with metal frames. The gable peak with plain slightly overhanging eaves holds one central window. The right side hall entrance has full-length sidelights but is covered by a recently enclosed porch.

The two-story porch extends the length of the facade. The porch has a flat, slightly overhanging roof. Three Queen Anne style turned posts divide the porch on both levels. The lower story porch has been covered with board on the lower half and modern windows on the upper half. A wide wooden band separates the two porch stories. The upper story has similar boards but has screens, three between each post, divided by thin wooden pieces. A lattice skirt trims the bottom of the porch. The building sits on a brick foundation. A rear gable wing attaches flush with the south face of the front gable block. The fenestration is irregular and on the rear (west) gable end are wooden steps. These run parallel to the wall and reach a single door in the gable peak.

66. 3 Lawrence Street; circa 1860.
This L-shaped structure occupies a large lot with parking lot, bounded on three sides by Lawrence Street, South Main Street, and Estabrook Street. The oldest part of this multi-family apartment complex is a gable roof Italianate house, dating c. 1860, now almost completely obscured and altered to non-contributing status. The historic block retains its slate roof with overhanging eaves and paneled soffits, but has been defaced with sheathing material. Aluminum siding covers the first story, and novelty vinyl siding the second. On the north face, novelty asbestos siding is used. Fenestration is irregular but most windows are 2/2 sash in plain surrounds. A door on the southern facade is topped with a new wide gable hood.

From the rear of the gable block extends a long Colonial Revival flat roof apartment complex to the south. Each of the eight bays on the front facing the parking lot has paired 1/1 sash windows. The overhanging cornice is slightly molded, as are the window cornice lintels. The front is sheathed in aluminum siding and the other three sides are covered in stucco. On the second story is a recessed porch with turned spindle balustrade and paired columns on squared pedestals. The first floor is open under the porch, which is supported on big carved brackets. Centered on the first floor is a pedimental entrance with recessed elliptical panel. On the north end of the ell, which is stucco, are wide arched, recessed balconies on two floors. On the rear west face are nine window bays on the second story and an incomplete row of windows on the first story. The windows, some paired and some single 1/1 sash, have plain sills and narrow molded cornice lintels. This section is set upon a cement block foundation.

Projecting side and front, two-story, flat-roofed additions extend to the east. The upper story is sheathed in novelty vinyl siding and the lower floor has aluminum siding. These wings sit on a cement foundation. Fenestration is irregular and there is an assortment of windows~ some 1/1 and others 2/2 sash. There is a bay window and a recessed entrance on the south side and another entrance facing east. The east side entrance has a double leaf door with flat-roofed door hood. Supporting the hood are chamfered posts and carved brackets. Most likely this is the original entrance to the historic Italianate block.

STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

Introduction
The Canal Street-Clark Street Neighborhood Historic District is a well-preserved example of a nineteenth.century predominantly working-class residential neighborhood. Buildings are modest in type and scale and exhibit simple architectural styles which reflect the practical and unpretentious character of their owners. The vernacular approach to building design provides an overall eclectic architectural cohesiveness, reinforcing the visual identity of the area. Sense of physical community is established by the neighborhood's compactness and density, particularly in the District's northeastern portion. Although not the only historic neighborhood in Brattleboro, the District's origins and development is a unique local and regional representation of the social evolution of a nineteenth-century working class community.

First settled in the early 1800's and expanded until 1935, the District's organic development and resident composition during the nineteenth century was driven by an overall settlement and local land subdivision pattern taking place in Brattleboro's East Village and local and regional forces which transformed the adjacent Downtown from a rural to thriving commercial/industrial center. Natural features which circumscribe the District have also contributed to its configuration and density. The Whetstone Brook is to the northwest, slope to the southwest, and Prospect Hill to the southeast and northeast.

A different set of forces in the twentieth century brought absentee ownership, multifamily conversions, different household origins and composition, modification of architectural and building styles and intrusions to the dimensional scale. Recent interest in and concern for the area has begun to reverse the District's fortunes, and the ambiance of the nineteenth century is starting to reassert itself.

Physical Features and Characteristics of the District
The District is a residential neighborhood approximately 13.2 acres and located southwest of and directly adjacent to Main Street, the Town's commercial core. The District has an irregular rectangular outline with the northeastern one third split by the northern leg of Clark Street and Estabrook Street into two smaller parallel rectangles. The core of the rectangle is defined by South Main Street, Canal Street, Clark Street and Clark Street/Lawrence Street to the east, north, west and south/ respectively. With the exception of South Main Street, structures are located on both sides of the streets, and the actual District boundary is demarcated by property lines. These streets run for the most part in parallel or perpendicular fashion, not randomly. In contrast, house lots are irregular, reflecting successive infill of vacant land.

The 62 primary historic and ten secondary historic structures in the District were built between about 1830 and 1935 and exhibit architectural styles which, conveyed in vernacular interpretation, include Greek Revival, Classical Revival, Gothic Revival, Queen Anne and Colonial Revival. With the exception of one ecclesiastic structure (#20) and two commercial structures (#'s 6 and 8), all historic buildings are presently residential. The ten secondary historic structures are garages and storage sheds added to the rear of residences during the early twentieth century. Residential buildings are typically 1-1/2 stories with gable front orientation, brick foundation, clapboard sheathing and slate roof, interspersed with more substantial 2-1/2 story homes. Attached barns are surviving features of seven structures (#'s 12, 13,14, 16, 19, 30 and 40). Asbestos, aluminum and weatherboard siding, asphalt roofing and replacement windows have been added in some cases, but have not measurably altered the overall architectural styles and details. One (#19) of the sixty residential buildings was constructed of cobblestones, one of two documented building compositions of this type in Vermont. Only four buildings in the District, three commercial (#'s 5, 9, and 10) and one residential (#66), are noncontributing. Three of these structures have noncontributory status because of alterations (#9 being modern).

Historic and Architectural Cohesiveness of the District
Although lacking overall architectural distinction, District buildings convey a cohesiveness established by vernacular interpretation of successively introduced Greek to Colonial Revival styles. The reasonably modest sizes and styles of these houses suggests that they were built by local carpenter-builders rather than accomplished architects. Architectural pattern books, first introduced in 1797 by Asher Benjamin and used extensively during the nineteenth century, may have been employed to emulate popular styles and models. Historic Atlas references and results of research on individual dwellings (Section 7) indicate that throughout the nineteenth century residences were owner-occupied. In a general reference to the area, Cabot (II, 835), writing in 1895, substantiates this by stating laborers and factory hands owned their own cottages, and the "Omnibus" on South Main Street was the only tenement house. The "Omnibus" is most likely the gable roof Italianate building (#66) on the corner of Lawrence and South Main Streets, constructed c. 1860 and subsequently added to; the only structure in the District built as a multifamily or apartment block prior to 1895 and the only noncontributing residential building. In addition, there is no evidence that District residences were built as 'factory' housing, a feature more commonly found in areas dominated by a single industry, such as Fort Dummer (Berkshire Fine Spinning, now Cotton Mill Hill) and Esteyville (Estey Organ Company).

Origins and Events in the Historical Development of the District
No specific origins or historic events singularly shaped the District's historical development, nor has the District individually contributed to the development of adjacent areas, other than to provide one area of residence and a small spectrum of changing home occupations and resident businesses. Furthermore, no notable examples of architecture and building composition exist, with the exception of the high style Queen Anne multifamily building (#1), the Winslow Ward Cobblestone House (#19) and the Abbott Block (#23). Maps, sketches, atlases and photographs of the area from 1810 to 1886 also indicate little systematic planning of street layouts other than to provide access to existing structures and buildable land.

The physical development and residential composition of the District evolved in response to, and as an integral part of, commercial and industrial growth and organic settlement and land subdivision patterns taking place in the East Village core and area as a whole. Water power above the Whetstone Brook falls to operate mills and factories, accessible transport utilizing the Connecticut River and later the railroad, and a remarkable array of diverse entrepreneurship were the principal stimuli for this economic growth. Demand for housing near places of business and employment resulted in increasingly dense settlement pattern. Proprietors and workers settled in the District and lived there until the early twentieth century, setting its tone and character. Physical circumscription and maximum use of available buildable land formed its unique cohesiveness and compactness.

A. East Village Economic Growth and Settlement, 1750 - 1850
Chartered in 1753 to William Brattle and Associates of Boston, early settlement in Brattleboro took place in both West and East Villages (the West Village settled first and approximately two miles west). The nucleus of early settlement in the East Village in the 1760's formed about the first grist (John Arms, 1762) and saw (Colonel Samuel Wells, 1771) mills, built adjacent to the Whetstone Brook at the foot of Main Street. Stephen Greenleaf of Boston opened the first store in 1771, and the first church was built in 1814. The first bridge across the Connecticut River to Hinsdale, New Hampshire was erected in 1804. Other early nineteenth century entrepreneurs and industrialists include John Holbrook, flat boat shipper of goods, William Fessenden, publisher of bibles and Webster's Spelling Book (later owned by Holbrook), and Francis Goodhue, distiller and wool miller. These individuals and their businesses "caused the land, once called 'Governor's Farm, to assume a very different appearance. Houses sprung up rapidly, and the population soon doubled" (Hemenway V, 109). The first paper mill (Joseph Clark, 1811) and manufacture of stove and tin products (Ashbel Dickinson, 1819) also contributed to this growth. By 1824, Brattleboro's East Village had surpassed the West Village in business and population and was regarded as the "richest village of its size in New England" (Cabot I, 370).

The second quarter of the nineteenth century saw an insurgence of industrial activity in the East Village, stimulated by new manufacturing technology, nationwide demand for an increasing variety of consumer and other goods, and access to material and markets provided by steamboat transport on the Connecticut River. (The railroad came to Brattleboro in 1849.) Manufacturing activities materially contributing to this growth were paper and paper-making machinery (Samuel Foster, 1828), stationary steam engines and boilers (John Gore, 1832), furniture (Anthony Van Doorn, 1829), harness and trunk maker (A. Worthington, 1830's), machine shop (Thomas and Woodcock, 1833), rule and levels (Stearns and Company, 1833, to be acquired by the Stanley Company in 1870 and moved to New Britain, CT, forming the nucleus of that tool company), and lead pipe, pumps and later organs (Jacob Estey, 1847). These manufacturing enterprises developed primarily between Canal Street and Flat Street along the Whetstone Brook and between Mill (now Arch) Street and Bridge Street abutting the Connecticut River. At the end of Mill Sheet was the flat boat and later steam boat landing. A growing number of commercial businesses along Main Street provided goods and services. The Revere House and Brattleboro House on Main Street between Flat and Elliot Streets and Elliot and High Streets, respectively, maintained room and board for travelers and workers alike.

Cabot (II, 595) states that at the height of this above activity the East Village in 1844 had a population about 1,500 persons, "was of the distinctly rural type, rows of wooden buildings on the main street being used for business and in part for private purposes". However, the 1850 census count of 3,816 for Brattleboro as a whole suggests that her figure is somewhat underestimated. The Town's population experienced a dramatic increase of 1,193 persons from 1840.

Settlement of the East Village responded to these forces by first growing linearly, following principal stage roads - High Street to the west, Main Street to the north and South Main Street to the south - and then more organically, particularly within the Flat, Elliot and High Streets area, as land was subdivided and streets laid out to accommodate the rising number of varied proprietors, workers and labors making up an increasingly diverse occupational and employment base. Canal Street, named after the canal constructed adjacent to the Whetstone Brook and running north through the District, was laid out later, but prior to c. 1845.

B. District Settlement Pattern, 1800 - 1850
The 13.3 acres comprising the present District were similarly settled after Canal Street became a stage road. Until this time, Joseph Clark owned most of the land south of the Whetstone Brook to the Vernon and Guilford town lines. His house, built in 1812 at the northeast corner of the District boundary, was converted to an Hotel and Tavern, operated by his son Rufus, and served stage and teamster traffic from throughout New England. By c. 1845, at least twelve homes and the Methodist Church (site of #9) had been built from South Main Street extending west and facing the south side of Canal Street on former Clark land. Some of the District's earliest known recorded structures (1830 - 1840) front the Street (#'s 11, 12, 13, 16, and 18). Other homes were constructed during this period within the southwestern corner of South Main and Canal Streets and farther west. (District buildings #'s 34, 35, 45, 52, 56, 58, 59, 60, and 61 were built in this area c. 1845 and earlier). No conventional roads connected these interior lots with the two thoroughfares.

Clark Street, named after Joseph Clark, was laid out between c. 1845 and 1852; the longer east/west leg and eastern north/south leg abutting the above houses and interior lots to their north and west, respectively. In addition to providing more conventional passage, Clark Street accessed to the north the undeveloped rear portions of long rectangular lots from Canal Street and buildable areas to the south. Additional known recorded District houses were built on these new lots at mid-century (#'s 29, 32, 36, 37, 38, 44, 50, 53, 55 and 62). Lawrence Street was constructed during this time, abutting existing houses to its north and south. And Estabrook Street, named after J. H. and W. H. Estabrook, dealers in tinware and stoves, was also built midway and running parallel to Canal and Lawrence Streets. Houses were erected to its north and south. Further infill of the same magnitude does not occur in the Clark Street/ Canal Street portion of the District until the last quarter of the century, suggesting that the then owners preserved a semblance of suburban space. In contrast, the area, bounded by Clark, Canal, South Main and Lawrence Streets, became more compact and urban-like, largely from the Estabrook Street bisection.

The District and the East Village exhibited the basic street configuration of the present day.

C. District Residential Composition and Services, 1800-1850
Persons living in the District in 1850 were business proprietors and tradesmen, reflecting a somewhat diverse, but generic, economic base associated with the East Village industrial and commercial growth to that time (Presdee and Edwards, 1852; U.S. Census, 1850). Amongst these were coppersmith, doctor, butcher, cooper, shoemaker, mechanic, machinist, carpenter, mason, saddle and harness maker, carriage maker, tinware and stove dealer and rule maker. Identified proprietors of enterprises located in the adjacent commercial core were Estabrook (tinware and stove), Gore (engines) and Stearns (rule maker). Those with residences also noted as place of business are Stebbins (livery/harness maker) and Straton (doctor). The Census also recorded a number of boarders, a common living arrangement in both rural and urban homes throughout the nineteenth century New England.

Settlement brought Methodist preaching services and a Universalist presence in the 1830's. The latter first held meetings at Wheeler's Hall, since demolished, located at the corner of Canal and upper Clark Streets (the site of #9, 52 Canal Street built in 1930) and later established the first Universalist Church on Canal Street in 1851 (#20, now 10 Canal Street), the original site of the Methodist Church, erected c. 1835 - 1837. A neighborhood school (No. 3) was also built during this period at the southwestern corner of Clark and Canal Streets. The present day Canal Street Elementary School was built c. 1893 in the same location. The new school's design may have been influenced by the renowned New York architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White. William Rutherford Mead was the brother of the sculptor Larkin Mead; the Meads being a prominent Brattleboro family.

D. East Village Economic Growth and Settlement, 1850 - 1900
Clearer separation of residential, commercial and industrial land uses manifested itself in the East Village during this period. Industrial activity continued to concentrate about the Whetstone Brook as mills still relied on falling water for power. Commercial activity grew along Main Street to High Street, and residential development proliferated in the older and less settled areas.

Escalation of industrial and commercial activity took place in the East Village core area, as in many similar New England towns, in large part to the development of a regional network of rail lines (the railroad coming to Brattleboro in 1849) which provided reliable transport and access to an increasingly expanded supply and market area, and more locally, to new construction spurred by the fire of September 4, 1857 which destroyed 16 buildings; the Whetstone Brook flood of October 3, 1869 which washed away all bridges and structures at the base of Main Street; and, the fire of October 31st in the same year which destroyed all buildings between Elliot and High Streets. New bridges, factories and the Brooks House and Crosby Block, with their commercial and residential uses, were built and transformed Cabot's 1844 Downtown from a bucolic rural to a bustling commercial center. Railroad tracks laid along the Connecticut River effectively isolated the downtown from this earlier transportation link, and a rail freight yard soon took over most of the land south of Bridge Street.

One major consequence of the 1857 fire and 1869 flood was the relocation of J. Estey's organ manufacturing facility to a more isolated and higher ground 60 acre site in 1870. Three successive buildings had been destroyed; The first by the fire, a second by an individual building fire of January 6, 1864, and the third by the flood. The new facility, comprising eight primary 3-1/2 story buildings, spurred the development of the surrounding Esteyville neighborhood where many employees resided.

New or expanded businesses developed in the area during this period included Vinton's Paper Mill (acquired in 1847), New England Family Sewing Machine (Charles Raymond, 1859), Brattleboro Melodeon Company (1867), Brattleboro Manufacturing Company wooden furniture (1869), and J.B. Randall and Co - knitting machine needles (1876). Cigars, organ reeds and children's toys were also produced. By the 1870's, Brattleboro's role as a regional commercial and manufacturing center was well established.

Residential development and street expansion occurred within the originally settled area of the East Village, but outside the Main Street core, and in adjacent undeveloped or less densely populated areas as demand for housing increased. Flat Street, north of the Whetstone Brook and running parallel with Elliot Street, was extended between 1856 and 1869 to Birge Street, and houses were built on the north side after 1869. Prospect Street, south of the District and on Prospect Hill, was laid out and built up during the same period. Elm Street, formerly a path, was constructed to connect Flat and Canal Streets. One major exception, the J. Frost Estate, or "Frost Meadow", with residence at the east end and factory at west end, extending for considerable acres and bounded by Birge Street and the Whetstone Brook to the south and Flat Street to the north, remained undeveloped into the next century. This expanse was interrupted by one two acre parcel just west of Elm Street where the Cottage Organ Manufactory stood (built by J. Estey in 1866 and operated simultaneously with the Main Street factory).

E. District Settlement Pattern, 1850 - 1900
In the District, further subdivision of lots took place during the last half of the century, particularly from c. 1880. Homes were built on additional parcels created on both sides of Clark Street. Eels Court, a right of way little more than a carriage path, was laid parallel to and north of Estabrook Street to provide access to a newly created interior lot and house (#63) built in 1880. George Eels, a proprietor of C.H. Eddy and Co., a bottler of tonics and extracts, owned an estate on lower Canal Street and a large parcel, of which the above lot was formerly a part, originally covering most of the land between Estabrook and Canal Streets. Further division of land on the south side of Clark Street was restricted by the steep slope of Prospect Hill. The Queen Anne style building (#1) at 13 Canal Street was built c. 1896, the second multifamily structure to be constructed and perhaps the closest example of high style for any building in the District.

F. District Residential Composition, 1850 - 1900
Persons living within the District in the last quarter of the century were still represented by proprietors and workers, but both held or owned a considerably wider and more specialized range of job types than recorded twenty-five years earlier (City Directory, 1884). In addition to the manual trades, retail and service-oriented jobs are now recorded. Occupations listed include butcher, dress maker, baker, laborer, factory worker, carpenter, blacksmith, clergyman, plumber, railroad conductor, RR road master, switchman, carriage ironer, machinist, house painter, paper hanger, clerk, engine wiper, teamster, mason, harness maker, music teacher, violin maker and tailoress. Some of these were home occupations, as found earlier, which contributed to the working class character of the District. The violin maker, William A. Conant, lived at 24 Canal Street (now 36 Canal Street, #15) from 1860 to 1890, where he made instruments which earned great distinction.

Proprietors of businesses located on Main Street or elsewhere noted were: C.E. Barrett of 32 Canal Street, manufacturer of paper and special machinery; Issac K. Allen of Estabrook Street, I. K Allen and Company; Frank Bassett of Clark Street, harness and trunk repair; and, C. B. Dickinson of 7 Clark Street, fancy and domestic baker. In addition, a number of the workers listed were employed by the Estey Organ Company. The Directory notes, as in the 1850 Census, that boarders were fairly common. The District during this period was firmly established as a distinct residential neighborhood providing housing for persons engaged in a multitude of commercial, retail, manufacturing and service activities.

G. East Village Economic Growth and Settlement, 1900 to the Present
Between 1900 and 1940, Brattleboro's population nearly doubled, in contrast to State and Windham County increases of only 4.5 percent, reflecting the tendency for Vermonters during this period to move from rural farm areas to urban centers. Many people turned to the Town to take advantage of new industrial employment and social services. This influx placed extreme demands for housing, particularly rental units, in predominantly owner occupied residential areas like the District, already densely populated, which were close to jobs and services. In response, conversion of single family homes to apartment dwellings began to change the complexion of Downtown neighborhoods. This process was abetted by trolley service from South Main Street to West Brattleboro, started by the Brattleboro Street Railway Company in 1895 and lasting until 1923 when bus service took over, and the automobile which made owning a house close to one's job less of a practical necessity and enabled business owners and higher income job holders to purchase property in more accommodating and even prestigious areas.

By 1930, many of the manufacturing activities in the Downtown and about the Whetstone Brook had disappeared. The noise, dirt, smoke, size, trucking and fossil fuel power generation associated with 'modern' industrial facilities made this location unnecessary and unsuitable. The Depression, post-World War II national manufacturing and distributional trends and an increasing service-orientation regional economy brought the East Village's role as a manufacturing center to an end.

H. District Settlement Pattern, 1900 to the Present
Demand for housing, increased mobility and changing economic trends brought significant transformations to the District, primarily in the construction of apartment blocks and multifamily rental conversion of single family owner-occupied homes. The last four family residences built after 1900 (#'s 9, 31, 39 and 41) marked the end of the nineteenth century neighborhood as described earlier. Two commercial structures, Mack's Grocery (#5, 1930) and Ed's Diner (#8, 1935), and four apartment blocks completed the District's present day building complement. The ten contributing secondary structures were also erected at this time and used primarily as automobile garages.

The four multistory apartment blocks erected in the early 1900' set the stage for the prevailing residential type of the present century. Three of these apartments were built in the northeast end of the District adjacent to the active industrial and commercial core (#4, c. 1910; #23, c. 1911; and #57, c. 1900). Building #'s 4, and 23 have vernacular Classical Revival detail; and, #57 is a plain structure with a few vernacular Queen Anne details. The fourth (#42), a 3-1/2 story stucco apartment block with vernacular Queen Anne and Colonial Revival detail, was built c. 1910 on the south leg of Clark Street, affecting somewhat the harmony of scale and style in that area. The Abbott Block (#23) is particularly significant in its massiveness and total brick construction. The Block brought an urban quality not found elsewhere in Brattleboro. Although contrasting to the predominant scale of earlier buildings, the adherence of these apartment buildings to venacular period styles maintained the District's overall architectural cohesiveness.

One additional multifamily structure built just to the southwest of the present District boundary deserves particular mention. Leslie Smith, a carpenter and builder with offices at 28 Flat Street, acquired 70 Clark Street (#39) from C. H. Eddy in 1903 and resided there until c. 1915 when he moved to 38 Putney Road. Smith split the rear portion of the lot (now outside of the District), comprising the slope from base to the top of Prospect Hill, and constructed c. 1918 on the embankment an eleven unit brick three story apartment building with access to Prospect Street at the top and to Clark Street at the bottom. An exterior stairway connecting both streets was built immediately west of the structure. The property was conveyed to Charles Miner in 1922, who expanded the number of units to sixteen. A gas-related accident in 1932, the Town at that time being served by gas lines, resulted in the death of two residents and the building being condemned. The property was conveyed to Clarence W. Reed in 1934, with Smith retaining salvage rights, and the building was demolished in 1935. A number of present day residents remember the structure and its imposing presence over Clark Street.

During the 1900's, more than 60% of the former owner-occupied dwelling structures were converted to multifamily rental residences, echoing the trend taking place in other residential areas near the commercial core. Rental units attracted a new population, and the District gradually evolved into a more disparate socio-economic neighborhood.

Preservation and Restoration Activities in the District
Over the years, changes in residential tenure brought absentee ownership, disinvestment, and unsympathetic repairs and rehabilitation to many of the district buildings. Not until the mid 1980s, when the Brattleboro Area Community Land Trust and Clark/Canal Street Neighborhood Group were formed, has this deterioration been arrested. The Land Trust has purchased a number of foreclosed and deteriorated buildings, rehabilitated them following the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, and made the units available and affordable for low to moderate income households (#s 1, 7, 15, 16, 17, 27, 28, 29, 31, and 60). In 1992 the Abbott Block (#23) was saved from demolition, and with 4 Canal Street (#22), was completely rehabilitated, also in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation, by the Brattleboro Housing Partnership, a consortium formed expressly for that purpose.

The Neighborhood Group sponsors District projects such as clean-up, house painting, and planting and has engendered a new sense of pride and community in the area's residents. This same sense of restoration is also evident in those buildings which have been maintained as single family residences, many purchased by young families or professionals interested in returning to a more pedestrian and neighborhood-oriented way of life. In addition, the District's fortunes are such that appreciably altered buildings and new structures, those with noncontributory status, are located at the periphery. Consequently, these do not detract from the character of the area, nor compromise the overall historic and architectural integrity of this unique neighborhood.

The District Compared to Other Local and State Areas
Although exhibiting similar characteristics and development processes, the combination of compactness, urban character, overall eclectic architectural cohesiveness, long-term working class residency, proximity to the commercial core and physical circumscription distinguish the District from other nineteenth century residential areas and recognized neighborhoods in Brattleboro. Neighborhoods like Fort Dummer (Berkshire Fine Spinning), Centerville (Bickford Knitting Mill) and Esteyville (Estey Organ Company) developed in response to the presence of specific local mill or mills. Others such as Prospect Hill, Swedeville, and Forest Square saw residence based on common cultural ethnicity or working class tradition.

Similar historical development of working class neighborhoods took place in response to burgeoning commercial and industrial centers in other nineteenth century Vermont towns such as Barton (Crystal Lake Falls Mill District), Bellows Falls, Bennington, Burlington (Winooski Falls Mill District), Barre, Rutland, Springfield, Windsor and St. Johnsbury. Neighborhoods in these communities also witnessed change in residential tenure and physical deterioration during the twentieth century. And many of these neighborhoods, like the District, are being turned around by housing groups, neighborhood organizations and persons committed to a renewed feeling of community, preservation and life style of an earlier era.

MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES

Barry, Harold A., Richard E. Michelman; Richard M. Mitchell, and Richard H. Wellman. Before Our Time: A Pictorial Memoir of Brattleboro, Vermont from 1830 - 1930. Brattleboro, Vt.: The Stephen Greene Press, 1974.

Harold A. Barry and Richard H. Wellman (Co-Authors of Before Our Time), Brattleboro, Vt. Interviews with Susannah Wise, June - August, 1988.

Beers, F.W. Atlas of Windham County Vermont. New York, 1869.

"Brattleboro, Vermont; Its Attractions as a Home; Its Advantages as a Center of Business and Industry." Brattleboro Board of Trade, 1887.

Map of Brattleboro (Scale 1" = 200'). New York; Presdie and Edwards, 1852.

Map of Brattleboro (Scale 1" = 250'). New York: D.L. Miller & C, 1895.

Brattleboro, Windham County, Vermont, United States Census, 1850 (microfilm).

Burnham, Henry. "Brattleboro." in Hemenway, Abby Maria, ed. Vermont Historical Gazetteer (Vol. 5). Brandon, Vt.: 1891.

Burt, Henry M. The Attractions of Brattleboro, Glimpses of the Past and Present. Brattleboro, Vt.: D.B. Stedman, Printer, 1866.

Cabot, Mary Rogers. Annals of Brattleboro, 1861-1895 (2 Vols.). Brattleboro, Vt.: Press of E. L. Hildreth & Co., 1922.

City Directory for the Town of Brattleboro (1871 - Present). Springfield, Mass.: 1884.

Crane, Charles Edward, ed. With Interest. Vol. IX, April, 1932 and Vol, II, November, 1923. Brattleboro, Vt.: Vermont - Peoples National Bank.

Crockett, Walter Hill. History of Vermont the Green Mountain State (5 Vols). New York: The Century History Company, Inc, 1921.

Fuller, Mrs. Levi K. (Abbey Estey). Addresses. Brattleboro, Vt.: 1928.

Hamilton, Child. Gazetteer and Business Directory of Windham County, Vt., 1724-1884. Syracuse, N.Y.: 1884.

Houps, John N., Jr. Brattleboro; Selected Historical Vignettes. Brattleboro, Vt.: Brattleboro Publishing Company, Ltd., 1973.

McClellan's Map of Windham County, Vermont. 1856.

Needham, Walter. A Book of Country Things. Brattleboro, Vt.: The Stephen Greene Press, 1965.

Pomeroy, Frank T., ed. Picturesque Brattleboro. Northampton, Mass.: Picturesque Publishing Co., 1894.

Sanborn Insurance Map of Brattleboro, Vt. 1885, 1896, 1901.

Watercure's Paths by Charles Grass, c. 1845. (Brattleboro Photos)

FORM PREPARED BY: Susannah Wise, Student Intern; Tala Henry-Halabi, Clerk; Bob Riley, Grants Manager, Town of Brattleboro, 230 Main Street, Brattleboro, VT 05301. Tel: 802-254-4541. Date: August 12, 1992.

DATE ENTERED: July 7, 1993.
(Source 127)