National Register of Historic Places

Kelsey, Martin L., House

Burlington, Chittenden County, Vermont
Listed
February 24, 1983
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
83003208

About this property

The Martin L. Kelsey House is a historic house at 43 Elmwood Avenue in Burlington, Vermont. Built in 1879 for a local merchant, it is a distinctive and architecturally varied house, with elements of the Second Empire, Queen Anne, and Stick styles on display. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, and now forms part of a senior housing complex. The Martin L. Kelsey House stands just north of downtown Burlington, on the west side of Elmwood between Pearl and Grant Streets in a mixed residential-commercial area. It is a 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame structure, with a mansard roof on the main block providing a full third floor. Ells of decreasing size and height extend to the rear of the house, which is set on a small parcel now surrounded by parking lots. The exterior has a large number of decorative elements borrowing from a variety of architectural styles. The mansard roof has a flared lower section, and is crowned by a band of wooden squares with recessed panels. Its dormers have steeply pitched gabled roofs, with elaborate Stick style decoration, and whose windows are framed by Italianate moulding. A large gabled section projects on the left side also with Stick decoration and a finial at the top of the ridge. The main facade is three bays wide, with bands of paneled woodwork below the groundfloor windows and between the first and second-floor windows. An entrance is in the right bay, with an Italianate porch featuring a valance of square panels similar to those that crown the roof. A second porch with similar styling extends along the left side to the projecting section. The house was built in 1879, in what was at the time a fashionable residential area north of Burlington's main commercial business district. Martin L. Kelsey, for whom it was built, owned a shoe and boot store on Church Street just two blocks away. His neighbors were similar well-to-do merchants and professionals. As the business district expanded, the neighborhood declined. The house was converted into apartments, and many of its neighbors were demolished in the 1960s. It has since been made part of McKenzie House, a senior housing complex. National Register of Historic Places listings in Chittenden County, Vermont

Location

43 Elmwood Ave
Burlington, Chittenden County, Vermont
44.48121, -73.21399

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Head of Church Street Historic District
Listed
0.1 mi
Stannard House
Industrial
0.1 mi
Church Street Historic District
Modern
0.1 mi
Burlington Montgomery Ward Building
Industrial
0.2 mi
North Street Historic District
Listed
0.2 mi

Nearby Battles

Carleton's Raid
1778Revolutionary War
1.5 mi

Questions about this property

When was Kelsey, Martin L., House listed on the National Register?

Kelsey, Martin L., House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 24, 1983.

What type of historic resource is Kelsey, Martin L., House?

Kelsey, Martin L., House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Kelsey, Martin L., House?

The period of significance for Kelsey, Martin L., House is recorded as the industrial era.

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