Burlington, Vermont
Encyclopedia
Burlington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont
and the shire town (county seat
) of Chittenden County
. Burlington lies 45 miles (72.4 km) south of the U.S.-Canadian (Vermont-Quebec
) border and some 94 miles (151.3 km) south of Montreal
.
Burlington had a population of 42,417 at the 2010 census. The city is the hub of the Burlington-South Burlington metropolitan area
, consisting of the three northwestern Vermont counties of Chittenden, Franklin
and Grand Isle
and encompassing the cities of Burlington, South Burlington
, and Winooski
; the towns of Colchester
, Essex
, and Williston
; and the village of Essex Junction
. According to 2009 U.S. Census estimates, the metro area had an estimated population of 208,055, approximately one third of Vermont's total population.
, 3rd Earl of Burlington
. Others assert that the name honors the politically prominent and wealthy Burling family of New York. While no family members are listed as grantees of this town, the family held large tracts of land in other nearby towns, some of which were granted on the same day as Burlington.
One of the New Hampshire grants
, it was awarded by Governor Benning Wentworth
on July 7, 1763 to Samuel Willis and 63 others. In the summer of 1775, land clearing began and two or three log huts were erected, but the Revolution
delayed permanent settlement until 1783, when Stephen Lawrence arrived with his family. The town was organized in 1785.
The War of 1812
was unpopular in Vermont. Along with the rest of New England
, Vermont did not provide militia units or financial support – a serious blow to the cause. Vermont voted for the Federalist party, which opposed the war. Nevertheless, 5,000 troops were stationed there at one point during the War of 1812, outnumbering residents; about 500 of them died of disease. Some soldiers were quartered in the main building at the University of Vermont. A memorial plaque commemorates them.
In a skirmish on August 2, 1813, the British
shelled Burlington. This has either been cited as a bold stroke by the British with an ineffectual response from the Americans, or a weak sally by the British, properly ignored by the Americans, depending on who related the story. The cannonade lasted for about ten minutes and did not affect the outcome of the war. The American side was commanded by Naval Lieutenant Thomas Macdonough
, later hero of the Battle of Lake Champlain
.
The town's position on Lake Champlain helped it develop into a port of entry
and center for trade
, particularly after completion of the Champlain Canal
in 1823, the Erie Canal
in 1825, and the Chambly Canal
in 1843. Wharves
allowed steamboat
s to connect freight and passengers with the Rutland & Burlington Railroad and Vermont Central Railroad. Burlington became a bustling lumbering and manufacturing
center, and incorporated as a city in 1865. Its Victorian era
prosperity left behind much fine architecture
, including buildings by Ammi B. Young
, H. H. Richardson and McKim, Mead & White. The city was a filming location for Me, Myself & Irene (2000) and What Lies Beneath
(2000).
In 1870, the waterfront was extended by construction of the Pine Street Barge Canal. This became polluted over the years and is a focus for cleanup in 2009.
The ice cream enterprise Ben & Jerry's
was founded here in 1978 in a renovated gas station.
Current U.S. Senator
Bernie Sanders
was the Socialist mayor of Burlington from 1981 to 1989.
In 2007, the city was named one of the top four "places to watch" in the United States by the AARP. Ratings were based on what was perceived as ideal for older residents. Criteria included what makes a community livable: new urbanism, smart growth
, mixed-use development, and easy-living standards.
In 2010, the city-owned Burlington Telecom cable provider was unable to pay the city of Burlington $17 million it owed. As a result, Moody
's downrated the debt for the city two notches to A2, "upper medium" from Aa3, "high quality." Moody's also downrated the credit rating for Burlington International Airport
.
The city is situated on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain
, north of Shelburne Bay. It was built on a strip of land extending about 6 miles (9.7 km) south from the mouth of the Winooski River
along the lake shore and rises from the water's edge to a height of 300 feet (91.4 m).
(Koppen Dfb), with cold winters and warm, humid summers. From January to July, monthly mean temperatures range from 18 to 70.6 °F (-7.8 to 21.4 °C). The annual precipitation of 36.1 inches (917 mm) is well-distributed throughout the year, but the summer months are the wettest. The city's location east of Lake Champlain sometimes accounts for localized snow squalls, producing up to 13 inches (33 cm) in 12 hours on rare occasions. Annual snowfall averages 81 inches (206 cm), but this figure can fluctuate greatly from one year to another.
Extremes have ranged from -30 F on January 15, 1957 and February 12, 1979 to 101 °F (38.3 °C) on August 11, 1944. The most snowfall from a single storm is 33.1 inches (84.1 cm), which fell January 2–3, 2010.
For the Northeast United States, a heat wave
is defined as having three consecutive days of 90 °F (32.2 °C) or more. There were six such heat waves from 2000-2009.
As of the census
of 2000, there were 38,889 people, 15,885 households, and 7,052 families residing in the city. The population density
was 3,682.0 people per square mile (1,421.9/km²). There were 16,395 housing units at an average density of 1,552.3 per square mile (599.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.27% White, 1.78% Black or African American, 0.47% Native American, 2.65% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.54% from other races, and 2.27% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.40% of the population.
There were 15,885 households out of which 21.3% had children under the living with them, 31.4% were married couples
living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 55.6% were non-families. 35.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the city the population was spread out with 16.3% under the age of 18, 25.4% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 16.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males.
At the 2005-2007 American Community Survey Estimates, the city's population was 94.4% White (91.1% non-Hispanic White alone), 3.5% Black or African American, 0.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.0% Asian, 1.0% from some other race and 1.7% from two or more races. 2.4% of the total population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
of 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $33,070, and the median income for a family was $46,012. Males had a median income of $30,144 versus $25,270 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $19,011. About 10.4% of families and 20.0% of the population were below the poverty line
, including 19.4% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.
There were 4,989 single-family owner-occupied homes. Their median value was $131,200.
Corporate headquarters located here include:Dealer.com, Burton Snowboards, Bruegger's
, Seventh Generation Inc.
, and Lake Champlain Chocolates
. Downtown on Church Street is the Burlington Town Center mall
with over 75 specialty shops and 15 national retailers.
Forbes
magazine selected the city as one of the "prettiest" towns in America in 2010, featuring a picture of the Church Street Marketplace.
The G.S. Blodgett Company, one of the oldest and largest commercial oven companies in the country, manufactures restaurant equipment. Its history dates back to the mid-19th century.
General Electric
develops software for the healthcare industry in South Burlington
at the former headquarters of IDX Systems
, which it purchased in 2006. Vermont Teddy Bear Company
whose founder started on a cart on a Burlington street, is now a publicly traded company that ships custom teddy bears worldwide.
General Dynamics
Armament and Technical Products division employs 450 workers locally. A solely owned subsidiary, the division is based here.
Dealer.com, a leading automotive internet marketing company, employed over 450 employees as of March 2011.
The Church Street Marketplace
, a four-block pedestrian mall in the heart of the city, is the site of festivals throughout the year. Events such as the South End Art Hop
and public galleries such as The Firehouse Gallery
and Pine Street Art Works
, provide a forum for the visual arts. The American Planning Association
named the Marketplace one of America's "Great Public Spaces" for 2008.
satirized the event.
, headquartered here, provides social services to state residents.
. Democrats
and the Progressive Party
make up the majority of the council. Bob Kiss
, the current mayor, is a Progressive who was elected in 2006. The City Council has fourteen seats, which are currently occupied by seven Democrats
, three Republicans
(one seat from Ward 4 and both seats of Ward 7), two Progressives
, and two Independents
. Peter Clavelle
, Burlington's longest serving mayor, held that office from 1989 to 1993, and again from 1995 to 2006.
The large transient student population votes in local, as well as state and national elections, resulting in a considerable impact on local elections. The city signed up 2,527 new voters in the six weeks from September 1, 2008. This is the highest number for that time frame in nine years or longer.
The city was ranked "average" nationally in political involvement in 2008.
The general fund for 2011, starting July 1, 2010, was $47.976 million.
As a non-profit institution, The University of Vermont pays no real estate taxes, though like many other schools, it does make an annual payment in lieu of taxes. In 2007, the college agreed to raise this from $456,006 to $912,011 in 2010 plus a "public works" supplement rising from $180,040 to $191,004 over the same time frame.
The city maintains three parks on Lake Champlain. One is free, while the other two have parking fees.
The city owns the local cable television
. In 2008, cable management tried to drop Al-Jazeera English from the lineup. This was successfully thwarted by protesters and the station was, in 2009, one of three "small cable operators" in the nation to carry this channel.
Like many Vermont municipalities, Burlington owns its own power company, Burlington Electric Department. In 2009, the department announced that it would purchase 40% of the 40 MG Sheffield
wind-generated electricity when it becomes available.
In 2009, Moody's
confirmed the city's bond rating at AA3, "high" quality, the second best rank.
, a tertiary referral hospital
for Vermont and northern New York State, Level I Trauma Center, and teaching hospital.
In 2006, Burlington was rated the ninth-best city to live in. The criteria were health, quality of life, and fitness. In 2007, it was rated 11th out of 100, for auto safety. The criteria were observing speed limits, accident infrequency, and seatbelt use. In 2008 it was ranked second out of 100 for "greenest driving."
Criteria included gasoline consumption, and air quality.
In 2008, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that Burlington is tops among U.S. metropolitan areas by having the largest proportion of people – 92 percent – who say they are in good or great health. The report went on to rate it best in exercise and lowest in obesity, diabetes, and other measures of ill health.
In 2009, Children's Health Magazine rated Burlington the best city in the country to raise a family.
In 2010, the government banned smoking within 25 feet (7.6 m) of the city's parks and recreational areas.
operates public schools.
Schools:
The University of Vermont (UVM), Burlington College
, and Champlain College
are located in this college town
.
for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington
is in Burlington. The Conservative
Ohavi Zedek synagogue is located here.
was originally endowed by Andrew Carnegie
. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Burlington waterfront along the shore of Lake Champlain
has bench swings and paths for walking and biking. ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center
, housed in Vermont's first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
(LEED) Certified Green Building, is located at the waterfront and harbors over seventy species of fish, amphibians, invertebrates, and reptiles.
Dragon boat
races to benefit charity have been held in Lake Champlain in August since 2006. In 2009, there were approximately 2,000 participants on 86 teams.
There has been an annual First Night
community celebration of the arts on New Year's Eve since 1982. Burlington was the fourth city to embrace this concept.
Burlington's own drag troupe, the House of LeMay
, performs several shows a year, hosts the annual "Winter is a Drag Ball," and raises funds for numerous charities. The House of LeMay is the subject of the documentary, "Slingbacks and Syrup" which premiered at the 2008 Vermont International Film Festival
in Burlington.
The Emily Post Institute
, an etiquette organization, is headquartered here.
Besides being the smallest U.S. city to be the largest city in its state, Burlington is also the home of the shortest "tallest building" in any of the 50 US states, Decker Towers
.
The five tallest buildings in Burlington rank as follows:
, which originated at The University of Vermont circa 1983.
Other acts with ties to the city include Strangefolk
, The Essex Green
, RAQ
, James Kochalka
, The Jazz Mandolin Project
, Pork Tornado
, Anais Mitchell
, Greg Davis
, Koushik
, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
, Dispatch
, Prydein
, Eugene Hutz
of Gogol Bordello
, Morgan Page
and KT Tunstall
.
channel 44 (Fox
), WFFF's digital subchannel
44-2 (The CW), its sister station, WVNY
channel 22 (ABC
), WPTZ
channel 5 (NBC
), and WCAX
channel 3 (CBS
). WCAX, WFFF, and WPTZ operate news departments. WCAX is the only Burlington-based news department, while WPTZ is based in Plattsburgh, New York
with a bureau in nearby Colchester
. WFFF and WVNY are also based in Colchester.
Comcast
is the city's major cable television service provider. Residents within the city limits are also served by municipally-owned Burlington Telecom
.
These cable channels are Burlington based: VCAM
-Channel 15, RETN-Channel 16, and Channel 17.
The Vermont Lake Monsters
, a Class A short-season (June to September) minor league baseball team, were formerly the Vermont Expos baseball club of the New York – Penn League. The team changed its name in 2007 after its parent Major League Baseball club, the Montreal Expos
of the National League
, moved from Montreal to Washington, D.C. and became the Washington Nationals
. In 2010, the Lake Monsters ended its 17-year association with the Expos/Nationals and became the Class A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics
of the American League
. The Lake Monsters play on the campus of the University of Vermont
at Centennial Field.
Burlington has a rich hockey history, and was the location of the first known international ice hockey
match, held between the Montreal Crystals
and employees of the Van Ness House, a local hotel, during the 1886 Burlington Winter Carnival. The University of Vermont
's men's hockey team, the Catamounts, play their home games at the 4,007-seat Gutterson Field House on the UVM campus.
A professional basketball franchise, the Vermont Frost Heaves
, played half of their season in the city. The team, which originally was part of the American Basketball Association (not to be confused with the 1970s-era major basketball league of the same name that merged with the National Basketball Association), moved to the Premier Basketball League in 2008 and split their regular-season home games between Burlington and Barre. The Frost Heaves, owned by Sports Illustrated
writer Alexander Wolff
, played their Burlington games at the Memorial Auditorium, on South Union Street, at the corner of Main. However, the franchise folded in early 2011.
There is also a rugby union
team, the Burlington RFC.
Daniel W. Fish, a former member of the Air Force's Wings of Blue, was the first person to obtain a permit and skydive in the city of Burlington.
The Vermont City Marathon
has drawn thousands of competitors annually.
A local Golden Gloves
boxing
tournament has been held annually since 1946.
.
The city has municipal fiber broadband
, which provides telephone
, broadband internet, and television
.
and Williston
).
On June 15, 2011, the CCTA announced that it had changed its charter, effective July 1, 2011, to allow municipalities outside Chittenden County to join CCTA as member communities, thereby allowing CCTA to become Vermont’s first regional transit authority. As part of its expansion, the CCTA will merge with the Green Mountain Transit Agency (GMTA), which provides bus service in the Barre/Montpelier area and surrounding communities in central Vermont.
Burlington is also the headquarters of the Lake Champlain Transportation Company
with seasonal service provided between Burlington's King Street ferry terminal and Port Kent, New York
.
Air carriers at Burlington International Airport
provide the area with commercial service to major regional hubs and international airports. While scheduled carriers do not offer scheduled commercial flights to destinations outside the United States, there is a Customs Port of Entry for unscheduled flights.
Greyhound
provides intercity bus service from the Burlington International Airport
to other communities in Vermont as well as to Montreal
's Gare d'autocars de Montreal, Boston
's South Station
and Logan International Airport
, while Amtrak
rail service stops in the nearby village of Essex Junction
. Megabus announced that service between Burlington and Boston will begin on August 23, 2011. Megabus will pick up and drop off at the University of Vermont Davis Center.
Because Burlington is located on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain at one of the lake's widest points, there is ferry access from the west.
with:
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
and the shire town (county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
) of Chittenden County
Chittenden County, Vermont
Chittenden County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of 2010, the population was 156,545. Its shire town is Burlington. Chittenden is the most populous county in the state, with more than twice as many residents as Vermont's second-most populous county, Rutland.Chittenden County...
. Burlington lies 45 miles (72.4 km) south of the U.S.-Canadian (Vermont-Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
) border and some 94 miles (151.3 km) south of Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
.
Burlington had a population of 42,417 at the 2010 census. The city is the hub of the Burlington-South Burlington metropolitan area
Burlington-South Burlington metropolitan area
The Burlington metropolitan area is a metropolitan area consisting of three counties in northwestern Vermont and anchored by the principal cities of Burlington and South Burlington...
, consisting of the three northwestern Vermont counties of Chittenden, Franklin
Franklin County, Vermont
Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. It is part of the Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 47,746. Its shire town is the City of St. Albans.-Geography:...
and Grand Isle
Grand Isle County, Vermont
Grand Isle County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of 2010, the population was 6,970. Its shire town is North Hero.Grand Isle County is part of the Burlington-South Burlington, VT Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
and encompassing the cities of Burlington, South Burlington
South Burlington, Vermont
-Economy:CommutAir, a regional airline, is headquartered in the city, by the airport. The Magic Hat Brewing Company, one of the United States's larger craft breweries, is located here.One measure of economic activity is retail sales...
, and Winooski
Winooski, Vermont
Winooski is a city in Chittenden County, Vermont, in the United States. Located at the mouth of the Winooski River, as of the 2010 census the city population was 7,267...
; the towns of Colchester
Colchester, Vermont
Colchester is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. The population was 17,067 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth-largest municipality and second-largest town in Vermont by population.-Geography:...
, Essex
Essex, Vermont
Essex is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. The population was 19,587 at the 2010 census.By population, Essex is the largest town in Vermont, and the second-largest municipality .-Government:...
, and Williston
Williston, Vermont
Williston is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. The population was 8,698 at the 2010 census, an increase of over 1,000 people since the 2000 census...
; and the village of Essex Junction
Essex Junction, Vermont
Essex Junction is a village in the town of Essex in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. The population was 8,591 at the 2000 census. It was incorporated on November 15, 1892....
. According to 2009 U.S. Census estimates, the metro area had an estimated population of 208,055, approximately one third of Vermont's total population.
Etymology
Some believe Burlington was named after Richard BoyleRichard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington
Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington and 4th Earl of Cork PC , born in Yorkshire, England, was the son of Charles Boyle, 2nd Earl of Burlington and 3rd Earl of Cork...
, 3rd Earl of Burlington
Earl of Burlington
Earl of Burlington is a title that has been created twice, the first time in the Peerage of England and the second in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation was for Richard Boyle, 2nd Earl of Cork, on 20 March 1664...
. Others assert that the name honors the politically prominent and wealthy Burling family of New York. While no family members are listed as grantees of this town, the family held large tracts of land in other nearby towns, some of which were granted on the same day as Burlington.
History
New Hampshire Grants
The New Hampshire Grants or Benning Wentworth Grants were land grants made between 1749 and 1764 by the provincial governor of New Hampshire, Benning Wentworth. The land grants, totaling about 135 , were made on land claimed by New Hampshire west of the Connecticut River, territory that was also...
, it was awarded by Governor Benning Wentworth
Benning Wentworth
Benning Wentworth was the colonial governor of New Hampshire from 1741 to 1766.-Biography:The eldest child of the John Wentworth who had been Lieutenant Governor, he was born and died in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Wentworth graduated from Harvard College in 1715...
on July 7, 1763 to Samuel Willis and 63 others. In the summer of 1775, land clearing began and two or three log huts were erected, but the Revolution
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
delayed permanent settlement until 1783, when Stephen Lawrence arrived with his family. The town was organized in 1785.
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
was unpopular in Vermont. Along with the rest of New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, Vermont did not provide militia units or financial support – a serious blow to the cause. Vermont voted for the Federalist party, which opposed the war. Nevertheless, 5,000 troops were stationed there at one point during the War of 1812, outnumbering residents; about 500 of them died of disease. Some soldiers were quartered in the main building at the University of Vermont. A memorial plaque commemorates them.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
shelled Burlington. This has either been cited as a bold stroke by the British with an ineffectual response from the Americans, or a weak sally by the British, properly ignored by the Americans, depending on who related the story. The cannonade lasted for about ten minutes and did not affect the outcome of the war. The American side was commanded by Naval Lieutenant Thomas Macdonough
Thomas MacDonough
Thomas Macdonough was an early-19th-century American naval officer noted for his roles in the first Barbary War, and the War of 1812. He was the son of a revolutionary officer, Thomas Sr. who lived close to Middleton, Delaware. Being the sixth child born, he came from a large family of ten...
, later hero of the Battle of Lake Champlain
Battle of Plattsburgh
The Battle of Plattsburgh, also known as the Battle of Lake Champlain, ended the final invasion of the northern states during the War of 1812...
.
The town's position on Lake Champlain helped it develop into a port of entry
Port of entry
In general, a port of entry is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has a staff of people who check passports and visas and inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not imported. International airports are usually ports of entry, as are road and rail crossings on a...
and center for trade
Trade
Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
, particularly after completion of the Champlain Canal
Champlain Canal
The Champlain Canal is a canal that connects the south end of Lake Champlain to the Hudson River in New York. It was simultaneously constructed with the Erie Canal and is now part of the New York State Canal System and the Lakes to Locks Passage....
in 1823, the Erie Canal
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a waterway in New York that runs about from Albany, New York, on the Hudson River to Buffalo, New York, at Lake Erie, completing a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal contains 36 locks and encompasses a total elevation differential of...
in 1825, and the Chambly Canal
Chambly Canal
The Chambly Canal is a National Historic Site of Canada in the Province of Quebec, running along the Richelieu River past Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Carignan, and Chambly. Building commenced in 1831 and the canal opened in 1843. It served as a major commercial route during a time of heightened trade...
in 1843. Wharves
Wharf
A wharf or quay is a structure on the shore of a harbor where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.Such a structure includes one or more berths , and may also include piers, warehouses, or other facilities necessary for handling the ships.A wharf commonly comprises a fixed...
allowed steamboat
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
s to connect freight and passengers with the Rutland & Burlington Railroad and Vermont Central Railroad. Burlington became a bustling lumbering and manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
center, and incorporated as a city in 1865. Its Victorian era
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
prosperity left behind much fine architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, including buildings by Ammi B. Young
Ammi B. Young
Ammi Burnham Young was an important 19th century American architect whose commissions transitioned from the Greek Revival to the Neo-Renaissance styles. His Second Vermont State House brought him fame and success, which eventually led him to become the first Supervising Architect of the U.S....
, H. H. Richardson and McKim, Mead & White. The city was a filming location for Me, Myself & Irene (2000) and What Lies Beneath
What Lies Beneath
What Lies Beneath is a 2000 American supernatural horror-thriller film directed by Robert Zemeckis. It stars veteran actors Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer as a well-to-do couple who experience a strange haunting that uncovers secrets about their past....
(2000).
In 1870, the waterfront was extended by construction of the Pine Street Barge Canal. This became polluted over the years and is a focus for cleanup in 2009.
The ice cream enterprise Ben & Jerry's
Ben & Jerry's
Ben & Jerry's is an American ice cream company, a division of the British-Dutch Unilever conglomerate, that manufactures ice cream, frozen yogurt, sorbet, and ice cream novelty products, manufactured by Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings, Inc., headquartered in South Burlington, Vermont, United...
was founded here in 1978 in a renovated gas station.
Current U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Bernie Sanders
Bernie Sanders
Bernard "Bernie" Sanders is the junior United States Senator from Vermont. He previously represented Vermont's at-large district in the United States House of Representatives...
was the Socialist mayor of Burlington from 1981 to 1989.
In 2007, the city was named one of the top four "places to watch" in the United States by the AARP. Ratings were based on what was perceived as ideal for older residents. Criteria included what makes a community livable: new urbanism, smart growth
Smart growth
Smart growth is an urban planning and transportation theory that concentrates growth in compact walkable urban centers to avoid sprawl and advocates compact, transit-oriented, walkable, bicycle-friendly land use, including neighborhood schools, complete streets, and mixed-use development with a...
, mixed-use development, and easy-living standards.
In 2010, the city-owned Burlington Telecom cable provider was unable to pay the city of Burlington $17 million it owed. As a result, Moody
Moody
Moody may refer to:Places:* Moody, Alabama, USA* Moody, Missouri, USA* Moody, Texas, USA* Moody County, South Dakota, USA* Port Moody, British Columbia, Canada* Moody's Corner, Nova Scotia, Canada* Moody, South Australia, Australia...
's downrated the debt for the city two notches to A2, "upper medium" from Aa3, "high quality." Moody's also downrated the credit rating for Burlington International Airport
Burlington International Airport
Burlington International Airport is a joint-use public and military airport in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. It is owned by the City of Burlington...
.
Geography
Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada—United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec.The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of...
, north of Shelburne Bay. It was built on a strip of land extending about 6 miles (9.7 km) south from the mouth of the Winooski River
Winooski River
The Winooski River is a tributary of Lake Champlain, approximately long, in northern Vermont in the United States. Although not Vermont's longest river, it is one of the state's most significant, forming a major valley way from Lake Champlain through the Green Mountains towards the Connecticut...
along the lake shore and rises from the water's edge to a height of 300 feet (91.4 m).
Climate
Burlington has a humid continental climateHumid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters....
(Koppen Dfb), with cold winters and warm, humid summers. From January to July, monthly mean temperatures range from 18 to 70.6 °F (-7.8 to 21.4 °C). The annual precipitation of 36.1 inches (917 mm) is well-distributed throughout the year, but the summer months are the wettest. The city's location east of Lake Champlain sometimes accounts for localized snow squalls, producing up to 13 inches (33 cm) in 12 hours on rare occasions. Annual snowfall averages 81 inches (206 cm), but this figure can fluctuate greatly from one year to another.
Extremes have ranged from -30 F on January 15, 1957 and February 12, 1979 to 101 °F (38.3 °C) on August 11, 1944. The most snowfall from a single storm is 33.1 inches (84.1 cm), which fell January 2–3, 2010.
For the Northeast United States, a heat wave
Heat wave
A heat wave is a prolonged period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity. There is no universal definition of a heat wave; the term is relative to the usual weather in the area...
is defined as having three consecutive days of 90 °F (32.2 °C) or more. There were six such heat waves from 2000-2009.
Demographics
As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 38,889 people, 15,885 households, and 7,052 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 3,682.0 people per square mile (1,421.9/km²). There were 16,395 housing units at an average density of 1,552.3 per square mile (599.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.27% White, 1.78% Black or African American, 0.47% Native American, 2.65% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.54% from other races, and 2.27% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.40% of the population.
There were 15,885 households out of which 21.3% had children under the living with them, 31.4% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 55.6% were non-families. 35.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the city the population was spread out with 16.3% under the age of 18, 25.4% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 16.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males.
At the 2005-2007 American Community Survey Estimates, the city's population was 94.4% White (91.1% non-Hispanic White alone), 3.5% Black or African American, 0.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.0% Asian, 1.0% from some other race and 1.7% from two or more races. 2.4% of the total population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Economy
One measure of economic activity is retail sales. Burlington was fifth in the state in 2007 with $242.2 million.Personal income
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $33,070, and the median income for a family was $46,012. Males had a median income of $30,144 versus $25,270 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $19,011. About 10.4% of families and 20.0% of the population were below the poverty line
Poverty threshold
The poverty threshold, or poverty line, is the minimum level of income deemed necessary to achieve an adequate standard of living in a given country...
, including 19.4% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.
There were 4,989 single-family owner-occupied homes. Their median value was $131,200.
Industry
Burlington's economy is based mostly on education and health services; trade, transportation and utilities. There is some manufacturing. The largest employer in the city proper is Fletcher Allen Health Care and The University of Vermont (employing 4086 and 3137 people, respectively).Corporate headquarters located here include:Dealer.com, Burton Snowboards, Bruegger's
Bruegger's
Bruegger's Enterprises, Inc., and wholly owned subsidiary Threecaf Brands Canada, Inc., are franchisers and operators of Bruegger's bakery-cafés, Timothy's World Coffee, mmmuffins, and Michel's Baguette....
, Seventh Generation Inc.
Seventh Generation Inc.
Seventh Generation, Inc. is an American company that sells cleaning, paper, and personal care products. The company was founded in 1988 and is based in Burlington, Vermont. The company focuses its marketing and product development on sustainability and the conservation of natural resources...
, and Lake Champlain Chocolates
Lake Champlain Chocolates
Lake Champlain Chocolates is a privately held chocolate manufacturer located in Burlington, Vermont, USA. The company handcrafts over one million pounds of gourmet chocolates each year. Its products are sold nationally through independent specialty food retailers...
. Downtown on Church Street is the Burlington Town Center mall
Church Street Marketplace
The Church Street Marketplace or Burlington Town Center is a partially enclosed shopping mall located in Burlington, Vermont.There are about 86 storefronts. The Church Street Maretplace Commission manages the pedestrian mall, while the enclosed mall is managed by General Growth Properties. It...
with over 75 specialty shops and 15 national retailers.
Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
magazine selected the city as one of the "prettiest" towns in America in 2010, featuring a picture of the Church Street Marketplace.
The G.S. Blodgett Company, one of the oldest and largest commercial oven companies in the country, manufactures restaurant equipment. Its history dates back to the mid-19th century.
General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
develops software for the healthcare industry in South Burlington
South Burlington, Vermont
-Economy:CommutAir, a regional airline, is headquartered in the city, by the airport. The Magic Hat Brewing Company, one of the United States's larger craft breweries, is located here.One measure of economic activity is retail sales...
at the former headquarters of IDX Systems
IDX Systems
IDX Systems Corporation was a healthcare software technology company that formerly had headquarters in South Burlington, Vermont, United States. It was founded in 1969 by Robert Hoehl, Richard Tarrant, and Paul Egerman...
, which it purchased in 2006. Vermont Teddy Bear Company
Vermont Teddy Bear Company
The Vermont Teddy Bear Company is one of the largest producers of teddy bears and the largest seller of teddy bears by mail order and Internet. The company handcrafts each of its teddy bears and produces almost 500,000 teddy bears each year...
whose founder started on a cart on a Burlington street, is now a publicly traded company that ships custom teddy bears worldwide.
General Dynamics
General Dynamics
General Dynamics Corporation is a U.S. defense conglomerate formed by mergers and divestitures, and as of 2008 it is the fifth largest defense contractor in the world. Its headquarters are in West Falls Church , unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Falls Church area.The company has...
Armament and Technical Products division employs 450 workers locally. A solely owned subsidiary, the division is based here.
Dealer.com, a leading automotive internet marketing company, employed over 450 employees as of March 2011.
Retailing
Church Street Marketplace
The Church Street Marketplace or Burlington Town Center is a partially enclosed shopping mall located in Burlington, Vermont.There are about 86 storefronts. The Church Street Maretplace Commission manages the pedestrian mall, while the enclosed mall is managed by General Growth Properties. It...
, a four-block pedestrian mall in the heart of the city, is the site of festivals throughout the year. Events such as the South End Art Hop
South End Art Hop
The South End Art Hop, also known as the Art Hop, and Burlington Art Hop, is an annual event presented by the South End Arts and Business Association of Burlington, Vermont....
and public galleries such as The Firehouse Gallery
The Firehouse Gallery
The Firehouse Gallery, or the Firehouse Center for the Visual Arts is an art gallery in Burlington, VT. The building was originally built as the Ethan Allen Firehouse on Church Street, Burlington, Vermont in 1889. The building is now owned by the non-profit BCA , which uses the building for its...
and Pine Street Art Works
Pine Street Art Works
Pine Street Art Works is a privately owned art gallery and store, in Burlington, Vermont, showing 20th and 21st century painting and photography, as well 20th century posters, chromolithographs and assorted works on paper....
, provide a forum for the visual arts. The American Planning Association
American Planning Association
The American Planning Association is a professional organization representing the field of city and regional planning in the United States. The APA was formed in 1978 when two separate professional planning organizations, the American Institute of Planners and the American Society of Planning...
named the Marketplace one of America's "Great Public Spaces" for 2008.
Tourism
A Festival of Fools had an estimated 25,000 attendees at the Church Street Marketplace in 2009. The Vermont Brewers Festival had 9,600 attendees in 2009. The Giant Pumpkin Regatta and Festival had 5,000 attendees in 2009. In 2008, Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
satirized the event.
Real estate
In 2008, vacancy rates for office space reached 4.5%, high for the city but low compared to the surrounding suburbs.Public Library
The Fletcher Free Library the first of the four public libraries in Vermont funded by the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, is the largest and busiest public library in the state. It was built on College Street in 1904, and expanded in the 1970s. In addition to its primary services as Burlington's public library, it is also a community center, a cultural resource for newly arrived immigrants to the Burlington area, and the City's only free public access computer center.Social services
The HowardCenterHowardCenter
The HowardCenter of Vermont provides human services to the state. The headquarters are in Burlington, Vermont.There is a drug or alcohol rehabilitation center with a primary focus on substance abuse treatment. The treatment center provides residential short-term treatment care.There are special...
, headquartered here, provides social services to state residents.
Competitiveness
Burlington has the 6th lowest unemployment rate of all metro areas (2011) at just 4.8%. Real wages were $39,980 in 2006 constant dollars and remained there to 2010; the state was $33,385; the nation, $36,871.Government
Burlington has a city council-mayor form of governmentMayor-council government
The mayor–council government system, sometimes called the mayor–commission government system, is one of the two most common forms of local government for municipalities...
. Democrats
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
and the Progressive Party
Vermont Progressive Party
The Vermont Progressive Party is an American political party. It was founded in 1999 and is active only in the U.S. state of Vermont. In terms of the dominant two parties in the United States, it enjoys support from "traditional liberal" Democrats and working class Republicans. The party is...
make up the majority of the council. Bob Kiss
Bob Kiss
Bob Kiss is a Vermont politician and Mayor of Burlington, Vermont. Kiss was a member of the Vermont House of Representatives from January 2001 until he stepped down to assume office as mayor of Burlington, following his election to that office on March 7, 2006...
, the current mayor, is a Progressive who was elected in 2006. The City Council has fourteen seats, which are currently occupied by seven Democrats
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, three Republicans
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
(one seat from Ward 4 and both seats of Ward 7), two Progressives
Vermont Progressive Party
The Vermont Progressive Party is an American political party. It was founded in 1999 and is active only in the U.S. state of Vermont. In terms of the dominant two parties in the United States, it enjoys support from "traditional liberal" Democrats and working class Republicans. The party is...
, and two Independents
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
. Peter Clavelle
Peter Clavelle
Peter A. Clavelle is a Vermont politician and former mayor of Burlington. He was first elected mayor in 1989, serving seven terms...
, Burlington's longest serving mayor, held that office from 1989 to 1993, and again from 1995 to 2006.
The large transient student population votes in local, as well as state and national elections, resulting in a considerable impact on local elections. The city signed up 2,527 new voters in the six weeks from September 1, 2008. This is the highest number for that time frame in nine years or longer.
The city was ranked "average" nationally in political involvement in 2008.
The general fund for 2011, starting July 1, 2010, was $47.976 million.
As a non-profit institution, The University of Vermont pays no real estate taxes, though like many other schools, it does make an annual payment in lieu of taxes. In 2007, the college agreed to raise this from $456,006 to $912,011 in 2010 plus a "public works" supplement rising from $180,040 to $191,004 over the same time frame.
The city maintains three parks on Lake Champlain. One is free, while the other two have parking fees.
The city owns the local cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
. In 2008, cable management tried to drop Al-Jazeera English from the lineup. This was successfully thwarted by protesters and the station was, in 2009, one of three "small cable operators" in the nation to carry this channel.
Like many Vermont municipalities, Burlington owns its own power company, Burlington Electric Department. In 2009, the department announced that it would purchase 40% of the 40 MG Sheffield
Sheffield, Vermont
Not to be confused with the city of Sheffield in the UK, or Sheffield, Massachusetts.Sheffield is a town in Caledonia County, Vermont, United States...
wind-generated electricity when it becomes available.
In 2009, Moody's
Moody's
Moody's Corporation is the holding company for Moody's Analytics and Moody's Investors Service, a credit rating agency which performs international financial research and analysis on commercial and government entities. The company also ranks the credit-worthiness of borrowers using a standardized...
confirmed the city's bond rating at AA3, "high" quality, the second best rank.
Health
Burlington is the home of Fletcher Allen Health CareFletcher Allen Health Care
Fletcher Allen Health Care, together with its partners at the University of Vermont College of Medicine and the College of Nursing and Health Sciences, is Vermont's academic medical center. Fletcher Allen target clientele are the one million people in Vermont and northern New York...
, a tertiary referral hospital
Tertiary referral hospital
A tertiary hospital, tertiary referral center or tertiary care center is a term without a formal definition which in the United States generally refers to:...
for Vermont and northern New York State, Level I Trauma Center, and teaching hospital.
In 2006, Burlington was rated the ninth-best city to live in. The criteria were health, quality of life, and fitness. In 2007, it was rated 11th out of 100, for auto safety. The criteria were observing speed limits, accident infrequency, and seatbelt use. In 2008 it was ranked second out of 100 for "greenest driving."
Criteria included gasoline consumption, and air quality.
In 2008, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that Burlington is tops among U.S. metropolitan areas by having the largest proportion of people – 92 percent – who say they are in good or great health. The report went on to rate it best in exercise and lowest in obesity, diabetes, and other measures of ill health.
In 2009, Children's Health Magazine rated Burlington the best city in the country to raise a family.
In 2010, the government banned smoking within 25 feet (7.6 m) of the city's parks and recreational areas.
Public schools
Burlington School DistrictBurlington School District
Burlington School District is a school district in Vermont. It has its headquarters in Burlington.The budget for 2009-10 is $49.9 million. The increase in FY 2009 was a voter approved 9.9% above the prior year. The percentage increase was above the state average. This amount was exceeded by...
operates public schools.
Schools:
- Burlington High School
- Barnes Elementary
- Edmunds Elementary School, named for George F. EdmundsGeorge F. EdmundsGeorge Franklin Edmunds was a Republican U.S. Senator from Vermont from 1866 to 1891.Born in Richmond, Vermont, Edmunds attended common schools and was privately tutored as a child. After being admitted to the bar in 1849, he started a law practice in Burlington, Vermont...
, a Vermont Senator for 25 years, from 1866-1891. - Edmunds Middle School
- Hunt Middle School
- Flynn Elementary
- Champlain Elementary School
- C. P. Smith Elementary
- Wheeler Elementary
Colleges
Burlington College
Burlington College is a private liberal arts college located in Burlington, Vermont that offers Associate, Bachelor's, and Masters degrees, as well as several professional certificate programs...
, and Champlain College
Champlain College
Champlain College is a private, coeducational college located in Burlington, Vermont. It offers professionally focused programs that incorporate an interdisciplinary core curriculum. In addition to its main campus, the College maintains study-abroad campuses in Montreal and Dublin, and offers...
are located in this college town
College town
A college town or university town is a community which is dominated by its university population...
.
Religion
The episcopal seeEpiscopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington
Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States, comprising the entire state of Vermont...
is in Burlington. The Conservative
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
Ohavi Zedek synagogue is located here.
Culture and landmarks
Burlington has the largest public library in Vermont, the Carnegie Building of the Fletcher Free Library. In 2002, it had a budget of over $1 million, circulated more books, had more visitors, and had more computers, than any other library in Vermont. Unlike most libraries in Vermont, it is publicly owned. The buildingCarnegie library
A Carnegie library is a library built with money donated by Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. 2,509 Carnegie libraries were built between 1883 and 1929, including some belonging to public and university library systems...
was originally endowed by Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Burlington waterfront along the shore of Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain is a natural, freshwater lake in North America, located mainly within the borders of the United States but partially situated across the Canada—United States border in the Canadian province of Quebec.The New York portion of the Champlain Valley includes the eastern portions of...
has bench swings and paths for walking and biking. ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center
ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center
ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center, formerly the Lake Champlain Basin Science Center, is located on the Burlington waterfront in northern Vermont. It is home to more than 70 species of fish, amphibians, invertebrates, and reptiles, major traveling exhibitions, and the multimedia Awesome Forces...
, housed in Vermont's first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....
(LEED) Certified Green Building, is located at the waterfront and harbors over seventy species of fish, amphibians, invertebrates, and reptiles.
Dragon boat
Dragon boat
A dragon boat is a human-powered watercraft traditionally made, in the Pearl River delta region of southern China - Guangdong Province, of teak wood to various designs and sizes. In other parts of China different woods are used to build these traditional watercraft...
races to benefit charity have been held in Lake Champlain in August since 2006. In 2009, there were approximately 2,000 participants on 86 teams.
There has been an annual First Night
First Night
First Night is an artistic and cultural celebration on New Year's Eve, taking place from afternoon until midnight. Some cities have all their events during the celebration outside, but some cities have events that are hosted indoors by organizations in the city, such as churches and theaters...
community celebration of the arts on New Year's Eve since 1982. Burlington was the fourth city to embrace this concept.
Burlington's own drag troupe, the House of LeMay
House of LeMay
The House of LeMay is a drag performance team founded in the early 1990s by Bob Bolyard and Michael Hayes . The other regular member of the team is Johnnie McLaughlin...
, performs several shows a year, hosts the annual "Winter is a Drag Ball," and raises funds for numerous charities. The House of LeMay is the subject of the documentary, "Slingbacks and Syrup" which premiered at the 2008 Vermont International Film Festival
Vermont International Film Festival
Vermont International Film Festival is a film festival, held annually in Burlington, Vermont, USA. The 2011 Festival ran from October 21 to October 30.Historically it was an environmental and human rights film festival...
in Burlington.
The Emily Post Institute
The Emily Post Institute
The Emily Post Institute was created by etiquette author Emily Post in 1946. The organization, located in Burlington, Vermont, provides etiquette experts and advice to news outlets and other corporations. The authors at the Emily Post Institute write books and columns, conduct seminars and...
, an etiquette organization, is headquartered here.
Besides being the smallest U.S. city to be the largest city in its state, Burlington is also the home of the shortest "tallest building" in any of the 50 US states, Decker Towers
Decker Towers
Decker Towers is an eleven-floor apartment building located at 230 St. Paul Street in Burlington, Vermont. At tall, it is the tallest building in Vermont,While Decker Towers in the tallest building in Vermont, Bennington Battle Monument is a taller monument, and the WKDR Radio Tower is the tallest...
.
The five tallest buildings in Burlington rank as follows:
| Rank | Name | Image | Height ft / m |
Floors | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Decker Towers Decker Towers Decker Towers is an eleven-floor apartment building located at 230 St. Paul Street in Burlington, Vermont. At tall, it is the tallest building in Vermont,While Decker Towers in the tallest building in Vermont, Bennington Battle Monument is a taller monument, and the WKDR Radio Tower is the tallest... |
124 / 37.8 | 11 | 1970 | |
| 2 | Burlington Square | 116 / 35 | 8 | ||
| 3 | Westlake Residential | 107.5 / 33 | 9 | ||
| 4 | Key Bank | 105 / 32 | 8 | ||
| 5 | Cathedral Square | 103.33 / 31 | 10 | ||
Local music
The city has, over the years, supported a number of local bands as various "scenes" waxed and waned, and has even launched a handful of national acts. The most famous of these is PhishPhish
Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...
, which originated at The University of Vermont circa 1983.
Other acts with ties to the city include Strangefolk
Strangefolk
Strangefolk is a rock-oriented jam band originally from Burlington, VT. Since forming in 1991, they have released five studio albums, two live albums and one live concert DVD...
, The Essex Green
The Essex Green
The Essex Green are an indie rock band from Brooklyn, NY. The band is primarily composed of songwriters Jeff Baron, Sasha Bell and Chris Ziter, and specialize in a classic sound inspired by 1960s–1970s pop and folk in the tradition of bands like The Left Banke and Fairport Convention.-History:The...
, RAQ
RAQ
RAQ are a psychedelic, progressive rock quartet from Burlington, VT. They are a part of the jam band scene.-History:The group formed in 2000 with original keyboard player Marc Scortino and released their first studio effort "Shed Tech" a year later. In 2002 Scortino left the band and was replaced...
, James Kochalka
James Kochalka
James Kochalka is an American comic book artist and writer, and rock musician. His comics are noted for their blending of the real and the surreal...
, The Jazz Mandolin Project
Jazz Mandolin Project
The Jazz Mandolin Project is led by mandolinist Jamie Masefield with a rotating cast of other musicians. Although not really a “jazz” band they are influenced by a variety of styles. Formed in 1993, the Burlington Vermont based, improvisational ensemble’s self-titled first album was released which...
, Pork Tornado
Pork Tornado
Pork Tornado is a band co- founded in 1997 by Phish drummer Jon Fishman and Dan Archer record producer/engineer including Phishs "Lawn Boy" , Joe Moore , Aaron Hersey , and Phil Abair ....
, Anais Mitchell
Anais Mitchell
Anaïs Mitchell is an American singer-songwriter.-Early life:Anaïs Mitchell grew up on a farm in Addison County, Vermont and attended Middlebury College. Her father is a novelist and a retired college professor....
, Greg Davis
Greg Davis (musician)
Greg Davis is an American electronic musician who has recorded albums drawing from a wide variety of sources, including guitar, field recording, various world / ethnic / traditional instruments, percussion, and voice, all delicately processed through digital manipulation...
, Koushik
Koushik
Koushik Ghosh is a Canadian electronic musician from Dundas, Ontario. Koushik is signed to Stones Throw Records and has released a collection of singles and EPs from 2001–2005 on that label, Be With , and the debut full length, Out my Window...
, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
Grace Potter and the Nocturnals is an American rock band from Waitsfield, Vermont.-Career:Grace Potter and the Nocturnals' lead vocalist is multi-instrumentalist Grace Potter, who attended St. Lawrence University for two years before pursuing music professionally...
, Dispatch
Dispatch (band)
Dispatch is an American indie/roots band. The band consists of Brad Corrigan , Pete Francis Heimbold , and Chad Urmston ....
, Prydein
Prydein (band)
Prydein is an American Celtic rock group formed in 1999. They are notable for their use of bagpipes in a rock band setting. They were formed in Burlington, Vermont, and have released three albums to date...
, Eugene Hutz
Eugene Hütz
Eugene Hütz , September 6, 1972) is a Ukrainian-born singer and composer, most notable as the frontman of the critically acclaimed New York Gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello. Hütz is also a DJ and actor.-Early life:...
of Gogol Bordello
Gogol Bordello
Gogol Bordello is a Gypsy punk band from the Lower East Side of Manhattan, formed in 1999 and known for theatrical stage shows and persistent touring.Much of the band's sound is inspired by Gypsy music...
, Morgan Page
Morgan Page
Morgan Page is an American progressive house and electro house DJ from Los Angeles. His most widely recognized track is "The Longest Road," featuring Lissie, which was included on his debut album Elevate, released in March 2008. The Deadmau5 remix was nominated for a Grammy...
and KT Tunstall
KT Tunstall
Kate Victoria "KT" Tunstall is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist from St Andrews, Scotland. She broke into the public eye with a 2004 live solo performance of her song "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on Later... with Jools Holland...
.
Newspapers and other publications
Burlington is the media center of northern and central Vermont. It is served by the- Burlington Free Press a daily newspaper which is delivered throughout Vermont
- Seven DaysSeven Days (newspaper)Seven Days is an alternative weekly newspaper that is distributed every Wednesday in Vermont. Seven Days is published by Da Capo Publishing, Inc., and owned by Pamela Polston and Paula Routly. It is distributed free of charge throughout the following areas: Burlington, Middlebury, Montpelier,...
, a free weekly newspaper, delivered in bulk to pickup points throughout the Burlington metropolitan area and central Vermont, emphasizing arts and culture - Vermont Business MagazineVermont Business Magazine- Events :Vermont Business Magazine hosts several events throughout the year honoring Vermont Businesses. The events include, The Deane C. Davis Outstanding Vermont Business of the Year Award, The Best Places To Work Awards, The Vermont Centennial Business Awards, The Keybank/Vermont Business...
Radio
Major radio stations that are based in Burlington and serve the region:- WBTZWBTZWBTZ is a commercial radio station in Plattsburgh, New York, broadcasting to the Burlington, Vermont / Plattsburgh, New York / Montreal, Quebec area on 99.9 FM....
(The Buzz) - 99.9 FM (modern rockModern rockModern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...
) - WOKOWOKOWOKO is an American radio station broadcasting a Country music format. Licensed to Burlington, Vermont, USA, the station serves the Burlington-Plattsburgh area...
– 98.9 FM (country) - WIZNWIZNWIZN is a radio station located in Burlington, Vermont. The station broadcasts a classic rock format on 106.7 FM, branded as The Wizard.The station airs the syndicated Pink Floyd show Floydian Slip with Craig Bailey Sunday nights at 8....
(The Wizard) – 106.7 FM (classic rock) - WEZFWEZFWEZF is an English-language American radio station located in Burlington, Vermont. The station, while primarily adult contemporary, plays mostly hot adult contemporary/adult top 40 music from the late 1970s through now....
(Star 92.9) – 92.9 FM (adult contemporary) - WRUVWRUVWRUV is a free format radio station. Licensed to Burlington, Vermont, USA, the station is currently owned by The University of Vermont.-History:...
(University of Vermont) – 90.1 FM (variety) - WOXRWOXRWOXR is a radio station broadcasting a Classical music format. Licensed to Schuyler Falls, New York, USA. The station is currently owned by Vermont Public Radio and features programing from American Public Media, National Public Radio and Public Radio International...
(Vermont Public Radio) - 90.9 FM (classical) - WVPS (Vermont Public Radio) - 107.9 FM (news & information)
- WVMTWVMTWVMT is an English-language American radio station located in Burlington, Vermont.Owned and operated by local businessman Paul S. Goldman, it broadcasts on 620 kHz with a power of 5,000 watts as a class B station, using a directional antenna with slightly different daytime and nighttime directional...
- 620 AM (news/talk) - WJOYWJOYWJOY is a radio station broadcasting an adult standards format. Licensed to Burlington, Vermont, USA, the station is currently owned by Hall Communications, Inc....
- 1230 AM (adult standards) - WNCS and W227AQ (The Point) - 104.7 and 93.3 FM, respectively (Triple-A)
Television
There are four network-affiliated television stations in the city. They include WFFFWFFF-TV
WFFF-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for Vermont's Champlain Valley and Upstate New York's North Country. Licensed to Burlington, Vermont, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 43 from a transmitter on Vermont's highest peak, Mount Mansfield...
channel 44 (Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
), WFFF's digital subchannel
WFFF-DT2
WFFF-DT2 is the CW-affiliated television station for Vermont's Champlain Valley and Upstate New York's North Country. It is a second digital subchannel of Fox affiliate WFFF-TV owned by Smith Media, LLC...
44-2 (The CW), its sister station, WVNY
WVNY
WVNY is the ABC-affiliated television station for Vermont's Champlain Valley and Upstate New York's North Country. Licensed to Burlington, Vermont, it broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 13 from a transmitter on Vermont's highest peak Mount Mansfield. The station can also be...
channel 22 (ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
), WPTZ
WPTZ
WPTZ, virtual channel 5, is an NBC-affiliated television station located in Plattsburgh, New York, USA. WPTZ is owned by Hearst Television, and has its studios in Plattsburgh and transmitter located on Mount Mansfield in Vermont....
channel 5 (NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
), and WCAX
WCAX-TV
WCAX-TV, virtual channel 3, is a television station in Burlington, Vermont, USA. WCAX is affiliated with the CBS Television Network and has been locally owned by the Hasbrook/Martin family and their company, Mount Mansfield Television, since the station's inception...
channel 3 (CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
). WCAX, WFFF, and WPTZ operate news departments. WCAX is the only Burlington-based news department, while WPTZ is based in Plattsburgh, New York
Plattsburgh (city), New York
Plattsburgh is a city in and county seat of Clinton County, New York, United States. The population was 19,989 at the 2010 census. The population of the unincorporated areas within the Town of Plattsburgh was 11,870 as of the 2010 census; making the population for the immediate, urban Plattsburgh,...
with a bureau in nearby Colchester
Colchester, Vermont
Colchester is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. The population was 17,067 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth-largest municipality and second-largest town in Vermont by population.-Geography:...
. WFFF and WVNY are also based in Colchester.
Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
is the city's major cable television service provider. Residents within the city limits are also served by municipally-owned Burlington Telecom
Burlington Telecom
Burlington Telecom is a municipal telecommunications company providing residents of Burlington, Vermont with television, telephone and internet services. The company runs its communications offerings on a city-wide fiber-optic network.-History:...
.
These cable channels are Burlington based: VCAM
Vermont Community Access Media
Vermont Community Access Media is Chittenden County, Vermont's Public, educational, and government access cable TV station and digital media resource center, seen in the Burlington area on and Comcast channel 15...
-Channel 15, RETN-Channel 16, and Channel 17.
Sports
| Club | Sport | League | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vermont Lake Monsters Vermont Lake Monsters The Vermont Lake Monsters are a minor league baseball team in the Short-Season A classification New York - Penn League, affiliated with the Oakland Athletics. The team plays its home games at Centennial Field on the University of Vermont campus in Burlington, Vermont... |
Baseball Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond... |
Minor league baseball Minor league baseball Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses... (New York-Penn League) Class A (Short Season) |
Centennial Field Centennial Field Centennial Field is the name of two sports facilities at the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont. One is used for baseball and the other is now primarily used for men's and women's soccer. It once serving as the home field for the school's football and lacrosse teams... |
| University of Vermont Catamounts | College Ice Hockey | Hockey East Hockey East Hockey East Association is a NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey conference which operates in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference.... |
Gutterson Field House |
The Vermont Lake Monsters
Vermont Lake Monsters
The Vermont Lake Monsters are a minor league baseball team in the Short-Season A classification New York - Penn League, affiliated with the Oakland Athletics. The team plays its home games at Centennial Field on the University of Vermont campus in Burlington, Vermont...
, a Class A short-season (June to September) minor league baseball team, were formerly the Vermont Expos baseball club of the New York – Penn League. The team changed its name in 2007 after its parent Major League Baseball club, the Montreal Expos
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
of the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
, moved from Montreal to Washington, D.C. and became the Washington Nationals
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of the National League of Major League Baseball . The team moved into the newly built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK Stadium...
. In 2010, the Lake Monsters ended its 17-year association with the Expos/Nationals and became the Class A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
of the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
. The Lake Monsters play on the campus of the University of Vermont
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...
at Centennial Field.
Burlington has a rich hockey history, and was the location of the first known international ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
match, held between the Montreal Crystals
Montreal Crystals
Montreal Crystals were an ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that existed from 1886 to 1895. The Club was a member of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada . The team won the Canadian championship twice. In 1895, the team became the Montreal Shamrocks...
and employees of the Van Ness House, a local hotel, during the 1886 Burlington Winter Carnival. The University of Vermont
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...
's men's hockey team, the Catamounts, play their home games at the 4,007-seat Gutterson Field House on the UVM campus.
A professional basketball franchise, the Vermont Frost Heaves
Vermont Frost Heaves
The Vermont Frost Heaves were a professional basketball team in Vermont, United States that last played in the Premier Basketball League, last coached by Joe Salerno. The formation of the team was announced in December, 2005 by founding owner Alexander Wolff, a Cornwall, Vermont resident and...
, played half of their season in the city. The team, which originally was part of the American Basketball Association (not to be confused with the 1970s-era major basketball league of the same name that merged with the National Basketball Association), moved to the Premier Basketball League in 2008 and split their regular-season home games between Burlington and Barre. The Frost Heaves, owned by Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
writer Alexander Wolff
Alexander Wolff
Alexander Wolff is a writer for Sports Illustrated and former owner of the Vermont Frost Heaves of the Premier Basketball League .He has written several books about basketball, among them Big Game, Small World , a look at basketball around the world...
, played their Burlington games at the Memorial Auditorium, on South Union Street, at the corner of Main. However, the franchise folded in early 2011.
There is also a rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
team, the Burlington RFC.
Daniel W. Fish, a former member of the Air Force's Wings of Blue, was the first person to obtain a permit and skydive in the city of Burlington.
The Vermont City Marathon
Vermont City Marathon
The Vermont City Marathon is an annual marathon in the city of Burlington, Vermont, in the United States. Held since May 28, 1989 on Memorial Day weekend, the race attracts people from the New England area....
has drawn thousands of competitors annually.
A local Golden Gloves
Golden Gloves
The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States. The Golden Gloves is often the term used to refer to the National Golden Gloves competition, but it also can represent several other amateur tournaments, including regional golden gloves...
boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
tournament has been held annually since 1946.
Infrastructure
The city has its own electric utilityBurlington Electric Department
The Burlington Electric Department is a municipally-owned electric utility located in Burlington, Vermont. It is the largest municipally-owned electric utility in Vermont. It has over 19,600 customers...
.
The city has municipal fiber broadband
Municipal broadband
Municipal broadband deployments are broadband Internet access services provided either fully or partially by local governments. Common connection technologies include unlicensed wireless , licensed wireless , and fiber-optic...
, which provides telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
, broadband internet, and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
.
Transportation
Burlington is the central focus of the Chittenden County Transportation Authority (CCTA), providing bus service to and from the surrounding communities (and the shopping districts of South BurlingtonSouth Burlington, Vermont
-Economy:CommutAir, a regional airline, is headquartered in the city, by the airport. The Magic Hat Brewing Company, one of the United States's larger craft breweries, is located here.One measure of economic activity is retail sales...
and Williston
Williston, Vermont
Williston is a town in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. The population was 8,698 at the 2010 census, an increase of over 1,000 people since the 2000 census...
).
On June 15, 2011, the CCTA announced that it had changed its charter, effective July 1, 2011, to allow municipalities outside Chittenden County to join CCTA as member communities, thereby allowing CCTA to become Vermont’s first regional transit authority. As part of its expansion, the CCTA will merge with the Green Mountain Transit Agency (GMTA), which provides bus service in the Barre/Montpelier area and surrounding communities in central Vermont.
Burlington is also the headquarters of the Lake Champlain Transportation Company
Lake Champlain Transportation Company
The Lake Champlain Transportation Company provides car and passenger ferry service at four points on Lake Champlain in the United States. From 1976 to 2003, it was owned by Burlington, Vermont, businessman Raymond C. Pecor, Jr. who is Chairman of the company's board...
with seasonal service provided between Burlington's King Street ferry terminal and Port Kent, New York
Port Kent (Amtrak station)
Port Kent is a train station in Port Kent in Essex County, New York served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system. Port Kent Station is an opened platformed shelter. The train only stops at this station when the Port Kent-Burlington, Vermont Ferry is in operation from May to October...
.
Air carriers at Burlington International Airport
Burlington International Airport
Burlington International Airport is a joint-use public and military airport in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. It is owned by the City of Burlington...
provide the area with commercial service to major regional hubs and international airports. While scheduled carriers do not offer scheduled commercial flights to destinations outside the United States, there is a Customs Port of Entry for unscheduled flights.
Greyhound
Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and...
provides intercity bus service from the Burlington International Airport
Burlington International Airport
Burlington International Airport is a joint-use public and military airport in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. It is owned by the City of Burlington...
to other communities in Vermont as well as to Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
's Gare d'autocars de Montreal, Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
's South Station
South Station
South Station, New England's second-largest transportation center , located at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Summer Street in Dewey Square, Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest train station and intercity bus terminal in Greater Boston, a prominent train station in the northeastern...
and Logan International Airport
Logan International Airport
General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport is located in the East Boston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts . It covers , has six runways, and employs an estimated 16,000 people. It is the 19th busiest airport in the United States.Boston serves as a focus city for JetBlue Airways...
, while Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
rail service stops in the nearby village of Essex Junction
Essex Junction, Vermont
Essex Junction is a village in the town of Essex in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. The population was 8,591 at the 2000 census. It was incorporated on November 15, 1892....
. Megabus announced that service between Burlington and Boston will begin on August 23, 2011. Megabus will pick up and drop off at the University of Vermont Davis Center.
Major routes
Burlington is served by one major Interstate highway (along with its spur route into the southern part of the city), and is at the junction of two U.S. highways. Several Vermont state highways also provide routes into and through the Burlington area.Because Burlington is located on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain at one of the lake's widest points, there is ferry access from the west.
-
Interstate 89Interstate 89Interstate 89 is an interstate highway in the New England region of the United States travelling between Bow, New Hampshire and Highgate Springs, Vermont. As with all odd-numbered primary interstates, I-89 is signed as a north–south highway...
- Though it does not directly enter the Burlington city limits, I-89 has interchanges in neighboring South Burlington, Winooski, and Colchester that provide access to downtown. -
Interstate 189Interstate 189Interstate 189 is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. The highway extends for from Interstate 89 exit 13 in South Burlington to U.S. Route 7 just inside the Burlington city limits... -
U.S. Route 2U.S. Route 2U.S. Route 2 is an east–west U.S. Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected by various roadways in southern Canada...
is the main east-west route entering Burlington. After entering the city from the east, westbound U.S. 2 turns north to run concurrently with U.S. 7 towards Winooski and Colchester. The intersection with Interstate 89 is used by 42,000 cars daily. -
U.S. Route 7U.S. Route 7U.S. Route 7 is a north–south United States highway in western New England that runs for from Norwalk, Connecticut, to Highgate, Vermont. The highway's southern terminus is at Interstate 95 in Norwalk, Connecticut...
is the main north-south route through Burlington. Northbound U.S. 7 joins westbound U.S. 2 in downtown Burlington, and the two routes run concurrently north to Colchester.
Sister cities
Burlington is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with:
| Bethlehem Bethlehem Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism... , Palestinian Authority Ełk, Poland Poland Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north... Yaroslavl Yaroslavl Yaroslavl is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historical part of the city, a World Heritage Site, is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl Rivers. It is one of the Golden Ring cities, a group of historic cities... , Russia Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects... |
Puerto Cabezas Puerto Cabezas Puerto Cabezas is a municipality in, and capital of, the North Atlantic Coast department of Nicaragua.... , Nicaragua Nicaragua Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean... Moss Point, Mississippi Moss Point, Mississippi Moss Point is a city, north of Pascagoula, in Jackson County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 17,653 at the 2000 census.On August 29, 2005, Moss Point was hit by the strong east side of Hurricane Katrina, and much of Moss Point was flooded or destroyed .-Geography:Moss Point is... Arad, Israel Israel The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea... |
Sites of interest
- Ethan Allen Homestead Museum
- Chittenden County Historical Society & Museum
- Echo Lake Aquarium & Science Center
- Robert Hull Fleming MuseumRobert Hull Fleming MuseumThe Robert Hull Fleming Museum is a museum of art and anthropology located at the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vermont. The museum's collection includes some 25,000 objects from a wide variety of times and places....
, University of Vermont - Flynn Center for the Performing Arts
- The 1885 building of Ohavi ZedekOhavi Zedek, (Burlington, Vermont)Ohavi Zedek is a Conservative synagogue in Burlington, Vermont, USA.-History:Founded in 1885, it is the oldest Jewish congregation in Vermont. The synagogue's original building, a brick Gothic Revival structure erected in 1885 , is among the oldest synagogue buildings still standing in the United...
one of the oldest synagogue buildingOldest synagogues in the United StatesThe designation of the oldest synagogue in the United States requires careful use of definitions, and must be divided into two parts, the oldest in the sense of oldest surviving building, and the oldest in the sense of oldest congregation...
s still standing in the United States.
External links
- City of Burlington, Vermont
- Fletcher Free Library
- City of Burlington Sister Cities
- Preservation Burlington
- Article on Burlington Community Land Trust in Dollars & Sense magazine
- Elevation data: [ USGS—City of Burlington, VT]