![](https://carolynbatesphoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/015-016_OHJ0620_I_Success_VT-1.jpg)
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.
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![](https://carolynbatesphoto.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/015-016_OHJ0620_I_Success_VT-9.jpg)
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.