Four Blocks of Bricks, All Walks of Life

Burlington, Vt., is home to one of America's few pedestrian malls--the Church Street Marketplace

Story and photos by Meg Griswold

The quaint, brick-lined street is calmly bustling on a warm Saturday afternoon in September. American flags fly from the lampposts and people fill the outdoor patio seating while enjoying lunch and the company of their loved ones.

The street's atmosphere is welcoming and cheerful. As an elderly couple strolls by holding hands, a mother is giving a bright red apple to her daughter. There are teenage boys enjoying live street performers, and girls with shopping bags swinging from their wrists. There is laughter heard at a distance, conversations are taking place, and there are shrills of excitement from a toddler who has just see a magician perform a trick.

"It's always clean and it's always been classy. There is never a dull moment."

On Church Street in Burlington, Vermont, "there is never a dull moment" according to John Klemchuk, an employee of the locally owned The North Face store. "Church Street is an interesting place, and it's always clean and classy. It's definitely Vermont's main tourist place."

Church Street Marketplace is one-of-a-kind in Vermont. But if you're looking for another place like it, take a trip to Boulder, Colorado, and there you would find it's near-twin — Pearl Street Mall. Both pedestrian malls are lined with rustic lampposts and incorporate rustic architecture. Only a few other pedestrian malls are doing well in this time of industrialized shopping centers; the similar streets are located in Aspen, Colorado, Charlottesville, Virginia, and Santa Monica, California.

"Church Street Marketplace is a government-run, commercial area." Klemchuk says. "Businesses come in and they're very successful. I see restaurants come and go more frequently than shops. I can only recall four major shop changes in the past years." Klemchuk says, who has been working at The North Face store since 2006, and has been living in Burlington since 2003.

The Church Street Marketplace, which originated in 1958, is four blocks long, offering a wide variety of dining, shopping, and entertainment. "The pedestrian walkway is lined with many three and four-story Italianate commercial buildings housing shops and restaurants," the historical records of The University of Vermont say. "The streetscape of this portion of Church Street has remained relatively unchanged over the years with the exception of some newer development in the northeast blocks."

The event that officially made Church Street successful was a one-day street fair that took place in 1971. With 15,000 attendees, "the city of Burlington knew it had the feasibility of a mall."

Since 1958, there have been numerous updates on Church Street. According to Mimi Gutchall, the Manager of Licensing and Permits on the Marketplace Team, there have been several "major capital improvements." There has been extensive work on "bricking" the streets, and soon to be taking place will be "intersection improvements and updating of the 27-year-old electric." With these improvements and changes, Church Street Marketplace is becoming more tourist-friendly with a more welcoming atmosphere.

Allie Hartmann, a student of Burlington's Champlain College, has fond memories of growing up near Church Street. "One of my favorite places to eat is at Sweetwaters. It's a more casual restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating. They have the best French fries! I always go there because they have dishes to please everyone."

"The atmosphere is so diverse. I came downtown the other day and there were a lot of Irish dancers."

The mix of culture at the Marketplace is seen from everyone's eyes. When several different people were asked to explain their perspective of Church Street, they all commented on the atmosphere. "The atmosphere is very rich with culture," Jennifer Gorea says, a sophomore at Burlington's Champlain College. "I also love the different variety of stores there, you could find almost anything."

Another student of Champlain College, Jess Fillius, whole-heartedly agreed, "The atmosphere is so diverse. I came downtown the other day and there were a lot of Irish dancers and street performers."

The various performers contribute significantly to the atmosphere on Church Street. "The street performers and the events bring a lot of different people together," Gutchall says. "On top of that, there's the shopping and the cafes that offer a lot. The residents of Vermont benefit from the Marketplace, but we also see a lot of people from the surrounding states as well as Canada. It makes it really nice."

As slight construction has been happening on Church Street, there are still no restaurant chains that have come to the area. "Local businesses are the best at surviving here," Klemchuk says. "Big chains such as Olive Garden wouldn't survive because the people would rather see locally-owned businesses."

One locally owned attraction that gets a lot of attention on Church Street is Smokejacks Restaurant, which was established in 1997. USATODAY featured the restaurant in a 2004 article, "Places to eat a burger worthy of paradise."

Gorea is one Church Street pedestrian that does not care to see big chains. "My favorite stores and restaurants are the family-owned ones that have been around for a while and you can't find anywhere else."

Gorea spends several of her afternoons and evenings at the Church Street Marketplace. "One big reason I go to Church Street is for the local chocolate shop, Lake Champlain Chocolates," Gorea says. I have to buy chocolate-covered sunflower seeds every time I come to the street. You have to try them!"

What's your favorite thing to do on Church Street Marketplace?