Morency Paint Shop and Apartment Building facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Morency Paint Shop and Apartment Building
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 Location in Vermont
Location in the United States
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| Location | 73-77 Portland St., St. Johnsbury, Vermont |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1900 |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne, Colonial Revival |
| MPS | St. Johnsbury MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 94000380 |
| Added to NRHP | May 5, 1994 |
The Morency Paint Shop and Apartment Building is a cool old building in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. It was built way back in 1890. This building used to be a paint shop and apartments, all in one! Today, it's only apartments. It's so special that it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
Contents
Exploring the Morency Building's Design
The Morency Paint Shop and Apartment Building stands on Portland Street in St. Johnsbury. This area has a mix of homes and businesses. The building itself is a large, wooden structure with two and a half stories. It has a special roof shape called a cross-gable.
The outside of the building is covered in wooden clapboards. These are long, thin boards that overlap each other. The building sits on a strong foundation made of brick and concrete.
What Makes the Building Special?
A cool two-story porch stretches across the front of the building. This porch has fancy Victorian-style posts and railings. These posts have decorative brackets and are shaped with turns.
At the back, the building has more sections that form an "L" shape. There's another two-story porch here, but it's a bit simpler. This part connects the main building to what used to be a carriage house. A carriage house was like a garage for horse-drawn carriages. Now, this old carriage house is also used as apartments.
Inside, the building is divided into many apartments. Some of these apartments still have their original wooden details. These details date back to when the building was first built in 1890. Other parts have woodwork from the early 1900s. This was when more of the building changed from shops to homes.
The Morency Building's Story
The Morency Paint Shop and Apartment Building was built in 1890. A man named John Morency built it. He was a carriage painter. In the beginning, his carriage painting business was on the first floor of the main building. The floors above were apartments. The carriage barn was at the very back.
A Family Home and Business
The apartments in the building were home to members of the Morency family. They were immigrants from French Canada. This building was a central part of their family life and business.
By 1905, the paint shop had become smaller. It only took up half of the ground floor. The building stayed in the Morency family for many years. In 1915, the bank took over the property for a short time. However, Morency family members bought it back in 1929. The building then remained with the family until 1963.
