Benoit Apartments facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Benoit Apartment House-76 Pearl Street [sic]
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447 Pearl Street (formerly numbered 76)
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 Location in Vermont
Location in the United States
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| Location | 447 Pearl St., St. Johnsbury, Vermont |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1900 |
| Architectural style | Italianate, Queen Anne |
| MPS | St. Johnsbury MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 94000379 |
| Added to NRHP | May 6, 1994 |
The Benoit Apartments are two old apartment buildings located at 439 and 447 Pearl Street in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. These buildings were constructed around the year 1900. They are great examples of two popular building styles from that time: Colonial Revival and Queen Anne.
For a long time, both buildings were owned by the same people. In 1994, each apartment house was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This is a special list of places in the United States that are important to history.
Exploring 439 Pearl Street
The building at 439 Pearl Street used to be known as 74 Pearl Street. It is a two-and-a-half-story wooden building. It has a roof that slopes down on two sides, called a gabled roof. The outside walls are covered with overlapping wooden boards called clapboard.
This building has a simple, classic look. Its corners are plain, and the porches have round columns called Tuscan columns. These columns sit on top of short walls covered with wooden shingles. A special part of the building is a cross gable. This is a smaller roof section that sticks out. It has a fancy Queen Anne-style wooden screen at the top. Below that is a window set back into the wall. Inside, the building still has its original wooden details.
Exploring 447 Pearl Street
The building at 447 Pearl Street was once known as 76 Pearl Street. Like its neighbor, it is also a two-and-a-half-story wooden building with a gabled roof. What makes this building special are its unique features.
It has parts that stick out from the main building, shaped like many-sided polygons. These are called polygonal bays. The tops of these bays look like small towers, giving the building a turreted roof. The porches on this building are also very decorative. They have posts that are shaped by turning wood on a machine. They also have fancy wooden strips with small spindles, called spindled friezes. Inside, many original parts are still there. The main staircase is especially fancy and detailed.
A Look at Their History
The land where these two houses stand was once part of a larger property. This property used to hold the local jail. In 1892, the land was divided into smaller lots. Virginia Benoit, who was the widow of a local barber, bought these lots in 1893.
Old maps show that the house at 439 Pearl Street was finished by 1894. Construction on 447 Pearl Street began around 1900. A town directory from 1904-1905 shows that Virginia Benoit lived at 447 Pearl Street with her family.
In 1912, Virginia Benoit sold both houses to Edgar Roy, who was a blacksmith. The two houses stayed under the same ownership for many years. Eventually, the local housing authority bought them. In the 1990s, the housing authority worked to fix up and improve both buildings.
