This couple refurbished an “obsolete” duplex dwelling, built in 1899 as factory-worker housing.
by John & Deb Caulo / Photos by Carolyn Bates
Built as a duplex for the Queen City Cotton Company, our home is located in
a unique, factory-town neighborhood in Burlington, Vermont. Constructed at the turn of the century, it had side-by-side units each with an identical six-room plan, with no indoor plumbing or central heat. Each duplex had an outhouse in the backyard, and a coal stove on the first floor, which heated the house.
Fourteen duplexes were built in the neighborhood called Lakeside—aptly named for its location on the shore of Lake Champlain. The original town plan was organized around a common green, and the town included a doctor’s office, child care, and a company store.