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Burlington, Vermont
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Burlington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the shire town (county seat) of Chittenden County. With a population of 38,889 at the 2000 census, the city is the core of one of the nation's smaller metropolitan areas, and is also the smallest U.S. city that is the largest city in its state. The urbanized area consists of the cities of Burlington, South Burlington, and Winooski; the towns of Colchester, Essex, and Williston; and the village of Essex Junction.
As of 2000, the metropolitan area contained the three northwestern Vermont counties of Chittenden, Franklin, and Grand Isle, with an estimated 2006 population of 206,007, approximately one third of Vermont's total population.
of the New Hampshire grants, it was awarded by Colonial Governor Benning Wentworth on July 7, 1763 to Samuel Willis and 63 others.
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Encyclopedia
Burlington is the largest city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the shire town (county seat) of Chittenden County. With a population of 38,889 at the 2000 census, the city is the core of one of the nation's smaller metropolitan areas, and is also the smallest U.S. city that is the largest city in its state. The urbanized area consists of the cities of Burlington, South Burlington, and Winooski; the towns of Colchester, Essex, and Williston; and the village of Essex Junction.
As of 2000, the metropolitan area contained the three northwestern Vermont counties of Chittenden, Franklin, and Grand Isle, with an estimated 2006 population of 206,007, approximately one third of Vermont's total population.
History
One of the New Hampshire grants, it was awarded by Colonial Governor Benning Wentworth on July 7, 1763 to Samuel Willis and 63 others. It was Wentworth's custom to name new towns after influential English aristocrats, and Burlington was named for Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington. Land clearing began in 1775, but the Revolutionary War delayed permanent settlement until 1783, when Stephen Lawrence arrived with his family. The town was organized in 1785.
The War of 1812 was not popular 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 here at one point during the War of 1812, outnumbering residents. About 500 of these died of disease. Some soldiers were quartered in the main building at the University of Vermont. A memorial plaque commemorates those soldiers.
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. Waterfront wharves allowed steamboats 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).
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. 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.
Demographics
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 age of 18 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.
In 2008, about 39% of the population lived alone; 45% percent of households consisted of families; and 57% of men and 51% of women, 15 years or older, had never married. 7% of the population were born in a foreign country, 10% of residents spoke a language other than English at home, and half of the population had a college degree.
Geography
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 mi south from the mouth of the Winooski River along the lake shore and rises from the water's edge to a height of 300 ft.
Climate
Lake Champlain as a body of water is often responsible for localized snowsqualls, producing up to 13 inches in 12 hours on rare occasions.
The coldest days on record were on January 15, 1957 and February 12, 1979.
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 census 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.
Industry
Burlington's economy is based mostly in education and health services; trade, transportation and utilities; though the city retains some manufacturing work. The city's largest employer is Fletcher Allen Health Care and The University of Vermont employing 4086 and 3137 people respectively.
Corporate headquarters located here include: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 such as Macy's, Hollister Co., Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle Outfitters, and Old Navy. Forbes magazine selected the city as one of the "prettiest" cities in 2009, 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 1800s.
IDX Systems, now a division of General Electric, develops software for the hospital industry and is headquartered in South Burlington. 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.
Burlington is also the birthplace of the ice cream enterprise Ben & Jerry's, founded in 1978 in a renovated gas station. It is now headquartered in South Burlington.
General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products division employs 450 workers locally. A solely owned subsidiary, the division is based here.
Retailing
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.
Real estate
In 2008, vacancy rates for office space reached 4.5%, high for the city but low compared to the surrounding suburbs.
Government
Burlington has a city council-mayor form of government.Democrats and the Progressive Party share seats. Bob Kiss, the current mayor, is a Progressive who was elected in 2006. The City Council has 14 seats, which are currently occupied by 5 Democrats, 4 Progressives, 3 Republicans, and 2 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. This has had a considerable impact on local elections. The city signed up 2,527 new voters in the six weeks from September 1. 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.
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 television cable. In 2008, cable management tried to drop Al-Jazeera 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.
Health
Burlington is the home of Fletcher Allen Health Care, 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.
Education
Burlington is a college town, home to The University of Vermont (UVM), Burlington College, and to Champlain College, as well as a Community College of Vermont campus. Saint Michael's College is located in nearby Colchester.
In 2008, about 26% of city 3,600 students were minorities. This contrasts with the state where 96% of the population was white.
Religion
The episcopal see for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington is in Burlington. There are also Jewish synagogues (Orthodox- Chabad House, Conservative- Ohavi Zedek Synagogue).
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. Unlike most libraries in Vermont, it is publicly owned. The building 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. It provides a place to view the Adirondacks. ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center, housed in Vermont's first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Certified Green Building, is located at the waterfront and harbors over 70 species of fish, amphibians, invertebrates, and reptiles.
Dragon boat races to benefit charity have been held in Lake Champlain in August since 2006.
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.
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 was Phish, 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, and KT Tunstall.
Media
Newspapers and other publications
Burlington is served by the
- Burlington Free Press newspaper which is delivered throughout Vermont
- Seven Days, a free weekly newspaper, delivered in bulk to pickup points in the Burlington metropolitan area, emphasizing arts and culture
- Vermont Business Magazine
Radio
Television
The Burlington area is served by 4 network television stations. They include WFFF channel 44 (Fox), The CW network, on WFFF's digital subchannel 44-2, 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 channel, while WPTZ is based in Plattsburgh, New York with a bureau in nearby Colchester.
These cable channels are Burlington based: VCAM-Channel 15 , RETN-Channel 16, and Channel 17
Over-the-air channels in Burlington sometimes depend on the minority English-language Montreal market.
Sports
Burlington is home to the Vermont Lake Monsters, a Class A minor league baseball team. Formerly the Vermont Expos baseball club of the New York - Penn League, it plays on the campus of UVM at Centennial Field.
Burlington is also home to a professional basketball franchise, the Vermont Frost Heaves, for half of their season. The team, which is part of the American Basketball Association (ABA), splits their inaugural 2005-2006 season home games between Burlington and Barre. The Frost Heaves, owned by Sports Illustrated writer Alexander Wolff, play their Burlington games at the Memorial Auditorium, on South Union Street, at the corner of Main.
There is also a rugby union team in Burlington, 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.
Transportation
Burlington is the central focus of the Chittenden County Transportation Authority, providing bus service to and from the surrounding communities (and the shopping districts of South Burlington and Williston). 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.
Burlington International Airport provides the area with commercial service to major regional hubs and international airports. Despite its name, it does not offer scheduled commercial flights to destinations outside the United States but does have a Customs Port of Entry . The name dates to a time when it offered flights to Montreal.
Vermont Transit provides intercity bus service from a depot south of downtown to other communities in Vermont as well as to Boston's South Station and Logan International Airport, while Amtrak rail service stops in the nearby village of Essex Junction.
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.
Sister cities
Yaroslavl, Russia
Arad, Israel
Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua
Bethlehem, Palestinian territories
Moss Point, Mississippi — In the fall of 2005, the city decided to help out Moss Point which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina, and held a concert called Hurricane Benefete to raise money.
Sites of interest
Notable residents
- Warren Austin, senator from Vermont and ambassador to the United Nations
- Ralph Abraham, mathematician
- Marc Awodey, artist and writer
- Ben Bagley, musical theater producer and innovator
- Orson Bean, film and stage actor
- Alison Bechdel, cartoonist best known for the comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For
- Harry Blanchard, Formula One driver who raced for the Porsche team
- Murray Bookchin, environmentalist and anarchist philosopher
- Ted Bundy, serial killer
- Peter Clavelle, former mayor of Burlington
- Accie Connor, professional wrestler under the name of D'Lo Brown
- Grace Coolidge, wife of Calvin Coolidge and First Lady
- Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic Party, former presidential candidate in 2004, and former governor of Vermont
- Judith Steinberg Dean, physician and First Lady of Vermont
- John Dewey, philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer
- John Chipman Farrar, writer and publisher
- Jon Fishman, drummer for rock band "Phish"
- Mike Gordon, bassist for rock band "Phish"
- Kevin McKenzie, artistic director American Ballet Theatre
- Paul Hackett, football coach
- Henry Hitchcock, first attorney general of Alabama
- Philip H. Hoff, former governor of Vermont
- Oliver O. Howard, general in the Civil War
- Eugene Hütz, actor and lead singer of Gogol Bordello
- Horatio Nelson Jackson, first person to drive an automobile across the United States
- James Kochalka, cartoonist, singer/songwriter
- Madeleine M. Kunin, diplomat and governor of Vermont
- Patrick Leahy, senator and current chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee
- Page McConnell, keyboardist for rock band "Phish"
- Ross Powers, Olympic gold medalist
- William Hepburn Russell, founder of the Pony Express
- Bernie Sanders, senator from Vermont
- Truman Seymour, Union Army general
- Birdie Tebbetts, baseball player
- Len Whitehouse, baseball player and assistant coach of Burlington High School's varsity baseball team
External links
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- Elevation data: [ USGS—City of Burlington, VT]
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