Picture 1790, when this stretch south of downtown became one of Burlington's first developed neighborhoods. Its history dates to 1790, and this neighborhood sits just south of downtown. Originally bounded roughly by Main, St. Paul, and Maple Streets and Lake Champlain, the district today includes a mix of residential, commercial, and industrial buildings whose architecture ranges from the area’s early period through the 20th century. Among these is one of the city's oldest houses. The district was recognized on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 and has been enlarged twice, extended west to South Union Street.
To understand this place, think back: Burlington was chartered in 1765 and saw early settlement in the 1770s, though growth was delayed by the American Revolutionary War. This patch of land south of downtown became an early center of commerce. It was at the house of Gideon King on King Street that the city's proprietors platted the street grid, and King controlled the wharves on Lake Champlain. Those wharves kept this area a lasting nexus of commerce and transport as the town moved from water to rail. Your route now runs where Gideon King's wharves once linked this street to Lake Champlain and the rail line.