University of VermontUniversity of VermontNOMINATION TO THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
H. O. WHEELER SCHOOL
ARCHIBALD STREET
BURLINGTON, VERMONT
The H. O. Wheeler School, constructed in 1904, is a two-story, hip roofed, U-shaped, brick structure, nine bays wide and five bays deep, rising from an ashlar-faced, redstone foundation and highlighted by elements suggesting the Colonial Revival and Romanesque styles. The school overlooks a major neighborhood intersection in Burlington, Vermont's Old North End, where Archibald Street, Spring Street, and Elmwood Avenue meet. The building is clearly a fine representative example of the large, symmetrical, Colonial Revival school buildings built during the first quarter of the twentieth century identified in the Vermont Historic Preservation Plan's "Education" historic context. Despite some minor alterations, which include the removal of the front entry and the addition of a wing for administrative offices and classrooms in 1954 and 1966, the integrity of the design, character, and setting of the school has not been seriously compromised.
The school is located at the head of Elmwood Avenue, an important
link between Burlington's central business district and the Old
North End. Surrounded by a residential neighborhood of small two
story, late 19th century, wooden houses, the H. O. Wheeler School
is a key local landmark. It stands alone. With its fenced playground
to the northwest, the property fills the southern end of the block
formed by Walnut Street to the east, Archibald Street and Elmwood
Avenue on the south, and Spring Street on the west.
The H. O. Wheeler School's symmetrical front facade is divided
into equal thirds with hip-roofed pavilions three bays wide and
four bays deep projecting forward from the outer thirds of the
block to form the "U". The west and east sides extend
out one bay near the center, so that the rear is wider to allow
front-facing side entrances. While the western entrance remains,
the eastern entrance has been bricked over, as a 1954, flat-roofed,
brick addition projects here to the east. The auditorium-gymnasium
and principal's office were added and interior renovations were
made in 1954. The addition is in two parts. The front section
is two stories high and three bays wide with an entrance hall
on the first floor and a principal's office above. In the rear
is a single-story gymnasium which has windows only on its north
facade.
North of the gymnasium addition is a flat-roofed classroom wing,
constructed in 1966, eleven bays long and two bays wide. Poured
concrete piers, painted a contrasting color, separate the bays.
The roof extends out slightly above the piers to form triangular
projections. Each bay is filled with concrete block walls and
full-width sliding windows at the top.
The wing is joined to the 1954 addition (and thus to the main
building) by two parallel arcades, each five bays long with a
courtyard between. The eastern arcade is open, while the western
arcade is enclosed with concrete blocks and windows matching the
style of the rest of the 1966 wing. The scale, design, and siting
of the additions do not detract from the character of the main
building.
Following the 1904 state school standardization guidelines, the
H. O. Wheeler School building was designed with ample windows
to provide natural light to supplement the electric light in the
classrooms. The original 9-over-2, double-hung windows of the
main block have been replaced by modern, "De-Vac" aluminum-framed,
three-part window units with storm sash. The lower two-thirds
of the openings are filled with a double-hung, 1-over-1 windows,
while the upper thirds are filled with insulated panels.
Most of the windows of the main block are topped by splayed brick
lintels and are uniform in size. The window openings in the central
third of the front facade are narrower, however, and the basement
windows are two-thirds the height of the other openings. Across
the rear of the building, the windows were originally divided
into three sections of four windows on the first and second stories.
The first and second story windows of the central third and the
first story windows of the eastern third have been replaced by
bands of six windows which match the modern aluminum replacement
units. A sill course of soldiers runs along the base of the windows
of the main block with a band of stretchers projecting from the
face of the building above and below the soldier bricks.
On the west side, an interior stairwell is marked by distinctive
windows. On each floor the pattern is composed of three segments,
a window of normal width flanked by two narrower windows. The
lower double-hung windows light the west entrance hall, located
between the first floor and basement levels and are similar in
size to the basement windows. Immediately above this set is a
large arch-topped window opening. The upper set of three fixed
sash windows is enclosed in an arched surround with projecting
voussoirs at the tops of the smaller windows and a projecting
keystone with a corbelled cap. The second-story soldier course
of bricks aligns with the horizontal frame member which separates
the arched-top and the double-hung sections of the windows.
In the center of the front (south) facade, the second floor window
and the first floor entrance bays have been bricked in. Within
the recessed third of the front facade, blind arches alternate
with the window surrounds. The arches are marked by corbelled
brick imposts and brick archivolts flush with the facade. Below
the window and above the door are a terra-cotta ornament and a
cast brass name plate which reads "H. O. Wheeler School."
"Ghost" lines of the original roof line of the tripartite
entrance arcade are visible on the projecting side walls.
The hipped roof of the main block is covered with asphalt shingles,
galvanized flashing and galvanized snow slides bordering the eaves.
Rafter tails are exposed beneath the projecting eaves of the main
block. The cornice features a triple band of corbelled brick encircling
the structure. Four massive chimneys rise symmetrically from the
front and rear of the roof. The chimneys are patterned with a
lattice work design of raised bricks.
The building originally had three main entrances, however only
the west entrance is still used for this purpose. Located in a
shallow bay formed by the projecting rear half of the west side,
the entrance faces south and is sheltered by a portico addition
with a hipped roof of corrugated galvanized steel, supported by
steel pipe posts. The portico probably dates from 1954 and does
not contribute to the significance of the building. A poured concrete
stairway leads up a half story to the first story classroom level.
A similar entrance was located on the right side of the building,
but this has been bricked in. The entrance was moved nearby to
the 1954 addition where a set of double doors are located, sheltered
by a shed-roofed portico of materials similar to the west portico
addition.
Historic photos show that the school originally had unsheltered
side entrances. A hipped-roof attic dormer located above the front
entrance was probably removed in 1954.
The interior plan of the main block of the building is essentially
intact with central corridors running east-west on the first and
second floors to open stairs at each end. On both the first and
second floors, three classrooms line the north side. On the south
side are classrooms in the corners and utility rooms and toilet
rooms between. The small toilet rooms were installed on the first
and second floors in 1954. On the first floor, this required that
the main front entrance be removed and the doorway opening filled
with bricks. On the second story, the center window opening was
also filled with bricks.
The interior walls are painted plaster and wallboard. Ceilings
on the first and second stories are 14 feet high and in the eight
corner classrooms and the stairwells, are still covered with the
original patterned, pressed steel. These steel ceilings have embossed
squares (about two feet by two feet), decorated cornices, and
floral medallion center plates. Modern acoustical tile cover the
pressed steel ceilings in the second story corridor and in the
rear center classrooms. The basement level has been converted
to small classrooms and special-purpose rooms with high ceilings
and exposed pipes.
The corridors of the main block and most of the eight corner classrooms
are lined with painted, beaded cypress wainscoting with chair
rails and baseboards. Picture rails also surround the rooms at
the height of the top of the windows. The wooden doors to the
classrooms have three horizontal panels and a single wire-glass
light above. Some doors have original doorknobs and lock sets.
Above the doors are covered transoms.
The stairs rise a half story with each flight with landings between
floor levels. The banisters, with simple square-sectioned balusters,
terminate with square newel posts with corbelled caps. The Georgia
pine floors have been covered by linoleum tile and carpeting.
The interiors of the 1954 addition feature a principal's and administration
offices on the second floor and an entry foyer, gymnasium and
stage, on the first floor. Access to the 1966 addition is gained
from the northwest corner of the gymnasium, through the enclosed
arcade. The interior of this wing features a central corridor
running the length, flanked by classrooms. A small, windowless,
recreation room is located near the center of the wing. The walls
are of painted concrete block with chalkboard boards, bulletin
boards and cabinets. The floors have synthetic tiles or are carpeted.
An extensive renovation and restoration project was completed
in 1994 after the building was documented for this nomination.
As part of this renovation, the original tripartite entrance arcade
was restored to the front facade following the design shown on
historic photographs and the "ghost lines" left on the
flanking walls.
The H. O. Wheeler School represents a fine example of the "large,
symmetrical, two or two-and-a-half story Colonial Revival school
buildings built in the first quarter of the twentieth century"
property type identified under the Education context of the Vermont
Historic Preservation Plan. The school is significant under National
Register Criteria A for the role this building has played in the
educational history of Burlington and under National Register
Criteria C for the merits of the design and the significance of
its architect, W. R. B. Willcox. This nomination is being submitted
under the multiple property form titled "Education in Vermont"
by the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation. The H. O. Wheeler
School clearly meets the registration requirements of this multiple
property submission.
The historic context which this property falls under is Education.
(A full discussion of this context is included in the multiple
property nomination, "Education in Vermont.")
One of about a dozen neighborhood schools serving Burlington during the early 20th century, the H. O. Wheeler School is a significant representative example of the large school buildings which Burlington and other Vermont communities were investing in to improve their educational facilities during this period of rapid population growth and relative prosperity. The school continued to serve the educational needs with few physical alterations through the 1940's. By 1954, the bathroom facilities were upgraded and administrative offices and a large gymnasium were added. Further growth of the population of the neighborhood following the construction of a housing project nearby prompted the city to construct an additional classroom wing in 1966. These additions are typical of Vermont schools as they were adapted to meeting increasing enrollments and facilities requirements.
Built at the corner of Archibald Street and Elmwood Avenue, the
H. O. Wheeler School (or Archibald Street School as it was first
called) was constructed in 1904 and 1905 for the City of Burlington
to meet the rapidly growing population of the North End neighborhood.
By the end of the 19th century, the existing neighborhood school,
which opened in 1888 in a retrofitted 1873 Baptist French Mission
Chapel, was seriously over-crowded, with pupils being sent to
the Pomeroy and Lawrence Barnes schools in adjacent neighborhoods.
School records show that since the late 1890's, the need for larger
facilities was evident, with frequent notes in annual reports
that the capacities of the schools had been exceeded. In April
of 1902 a crisis point was apparently reached when, according
to newspaper accounts, 54 "Hebrew" students boycotted
the Pomeroy School, alleging that they had been insulted by the
principal.
At that time, both the Archibald Street and Pomeroy Schools served
Burlington's main Jewish neighborhood, with a student population
of 19 Protestant, 85 Catholic, and 30 Jewish pupils reported at
the Archibald Street school and 194 Protestant, 74 Catholic, and
82 Jewish at Pomeroy School in 1902. School records suggest that
the construction of the new school was seen as a way to help relieve
tensions by grouping together most of the Jewish pupils in one
school. Of the 300 students attending the new Archibald Street
school in 1906, 126 were Jewish.
The new school was completed in the spring of 1905 at a cost of
$35,000 with eight rooms to accommodate 320 students. The old
school was moved to 74-76 LaFountain Street by J. E. Lanou, who
used it as a warehouse for his plumbing business. It was later
converted into apartments. While the school was under construction,
classes were held in nearby St. John's Hall.
By 1915, the annual city school reports refer to the school as
the H. O. Wheeler School. Wheeler (1841-1917) was born in Williston,
Vermont, and grew up in South Hero, Vermont, where his father
was principal of the South Hero Academy. After serving in the
Union Army during the Civil War, he graduated from the University
of Vermont and established a law practice. Wheeler was elected
Superintendent of Burlington Schools in 1880. He served at this
post until 1912. Eight new school buildings were built in Burlington
under his tenure.
The H. O. Wheeler School was designed in the Colonial Revival
style by W. R. B. Willcox (1869-1947), a Burlington native who
went on to become the innovative head of the Department of Architecture
at the University of Oregon. Other notable Burlington examples
of his work include Edmunds High School (1899), Burlington Savings
Bank (1900), Fletcher Free (Carnegie) Library (1902) and John
Dewey Hall (1902) at the University of Vermont. One of the only
architects with professional training (Massachusetts Institute
of Technology and University of Pennsylvania) practicing in Burlington
at the turn of the century, Willcox also designed several important
houses in the city's fashionable "Hill Section" before
moving to Seattle, Washington, in 1907. He was appointed chairman
of the Department of Architecture at the University of Oregon
in Eugene, Oregon, in 1922, where he developed an innovative educational
philosophy which rejected many of the features of the traditional
Beaux-Arts architectural education system.
As mentioned above, the H. O. Wheeler School is a significant
representative example of the "large, symmetrical, two or
two-and-a-half story Colonial Revival school buildings built in
the first quarter of the twentieth century" identified under
the Education context of the Vermont Historic Preservation Plan.
The design is similar to other schools built during this period
in Burlington and around Vermont from the formal, symmetrical
brick facade to the classrooms flanking wide interior corridors.
Its plan is typical of school houses of this type, and its design
embraces the reform standards first set in 1904 by the Vermont
Board of Health. These features include the multiple large windows
in the classrooms to allow for natural light, a steam heating
system, and modern, indoor bathrooms. The majority of the original
plan and stylistic features remain intact with the exception of
the front entrance porch which was removed. Plans are underway,
however, to restore the front facade, replicating the original
entrance.
While the design of the H. O. Wheeler School reflects Burlington's
early twentieth century progressive era investment in education,
its construction also marks a period of rapid population growth
occurring in the city's North End neighborhood. The later additions,
although they do not contribute to the significance to the Wheeler
School, also reflect the continued population growth of the North
End community in the middle of the twentieth century. Although
the additions were built after 1904, their construction does not
intrude on the original design of the main block or the identification
of the building as a school.
An extensive rehabilitation of the building completed in 1994
restored the building's original front entry on the south facade.
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Annual Report of the City of Burlington, Vermont. The Free
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Special Collections. Univ. of Vermont Library. Burlington, Vt.
Burlington Daily News. Burlington, Vt. 18 Oct. 1904: 8.
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Dodge, Prentiss, Ed. "Henry Orson Wheeler." Encyclopedia
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Draft ms. Vermont Division for Historic Preservation, Montpelier,
Vt. 1989.
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"H. O. Wheeler School. Burlington, Vt." Historic Sites
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Shelman, David. "Freedom and Responsibility -- The Educational
Philosophy of Walter Willcox." W. R. B. Willcox (1869-1947).
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Worked in Burlington, Vt." Unpub. ms, n. d. Special Collections.
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