Liverpool Road is a street in Islington, North London. It covers a distance of  between Islington High Street and Holloway Road, running roughly parallel to Upper Street through the area of Barnsbury.  It contains several attractive terraces of Georgian houses and Victorian villas, many of which are listed buildings. There are a number of pubs, small businesses and restaurants along its route, as well as some secluded garden squares. The vast majority of the street is residential, with a bustling shopping and business area at the southern, Angel, end.

History

Liverpool Road was formerly named the Back Road, one of a trio of roads with Upper Street and Lower Street (later renamed Essex Road) meeting at the Angel Inn.
By the late 16th century the Back Road ran mostly through open country from Holloway Road at a point named Ring Cross to the High Street in Islington village. It bypassed Upper Street and connected with lanes across the western part of the parish. The Back Road was primarily a drovers' road where cattle would be rested before the final leg of their journey to Smithfield Livestock Market. Pens and sheds known as layers or lairs were erected along the road to accommodate the animals.

Around 1761, a turnpike tollgate was erected just beyond the Angel Inn at the entrance to Islington village at the end of White Lion Street. It was moved in about 1800 nearer to Liverpool Road, but proving a cause of accidents because of a sharp turn, in 1808 it was moved again to a final position midway between the two sites. In 1766, an Act of Parliament fixed a site for a tollgate at the northern end of Liverpool Road at the junction with Holloway Road.

Suburban development began to the south of Holloway Road around the late 1760s with the construction of Paradise Row at the northern end of Liverpool Road.

During the period after the Napoleonic Wars, a rapid rise in population put a premium on building land contiguous to London. Starting in the 1820s, plots in Barnsbury were sold on building leases and a flood of speculative building followed.

The developments along Liverpool Road were mostly on fields belonging to different owners, leading to a remarkable number of subsidiary names, including:
 Bride, Anns, Barford, Manchester, Park, Barnsbury, Barnsbury Park, King Edward, Wellington, Strahan, Cloudesley, Elizabeth, Felix, Liverpool and Paradise Terraces
Felix, Seymour, Morgans, Park, Chapel and Trinidad Places; Park Place West
Albion, Felix, Oldfield and Lowther Cottages
Barnsbury and Albion Villas
Paradise and Mount Rows
 Nowells Buildings

The Back Road became known as Liverpool Road in 1826, taking its name from the Tory Prime Minister Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, known for his repressive measures to maintain order after the Peterloo Massacre of 1819. The name change was formalised in 1868 when the Vestry decided that "the Liverpool Road be so called from the Upper Street to Holloway Road and the houses re-numbered alternately". Many of the subsidiary names continued to be used for years afterwards.

The house building developments were originally planned for the "comfortably off", wanting to move from congested central London to the more rural suburb of Islington. However, from the 1850s the new railways tempted suburban dwellers to more distant and still countrified areas. Barnsbury was gradually abandoned by the prosperous, and its houses turned into tenements and flats with absentee landlords. The 1860s saw an influx of clerks, schoolmasters, printers, jewellers, milliners, dressmakers, servants and bricklayers. Censuses show house occupancy changing from single households with a servant, to multiple household occupancy, although Charles Booth's poverty map of c.1890 still shows most Liverpool Road households as "Fairly comfortable. Good ordinary earnings". In the first half of the 20th century the street, as with much of Islington and its population, became impoverished.

Liverpool Road suffered damage from high explosives during the Second World War, including:
Nos. 309/311/313 Liverpool Road took a direct hit during a bombing raid on the night of 19 October 1940 and were completely destroyed. The present Wynn Court was later built on the site.
St Mary Magdalene school and the surrounding area were destroyed by a bomb on 7/8 October 1940.
Granary Square 1940/41
London Fever Hospital
On 6 December 1944 a V-2 rocket landed close to Liverpool Road at the junction of Mackenzie and Chalfont Roads, on the site of the present Paradise Park.  The Prince of Wales pub was devastated, killing 68 and injuring 99 people, in the worst V-2 attack on Islington.

After the Second World War much housing in Islington was chronically neglected and damaged, and was taken into local authority ownership. Many older properties were demolished and replaced with council housing, including in Liverpool Road.

Starting about 1960 middle class and professional householders began returning to Islington, to houses which were once elegant but now, more often than not, were endowed with Victorian plumbing hardly suited for modern living. Journalists, architects, lawyers, accountants, teachers and designers were attracted by the style and size of the Regency and Victorian houses and squares and the opportunity to acquire large, characterful properties at prices they could afford, with easy access to the City of London, Westminster and the West End. Consequently, house values soon soared, a trend which has continued to the present.

Liverpool Road today houses a diverse community of different ethnicities and varying levels of income, occupying a mixture of houses and flats, which are owned or rented, both privately and as social housing.

Famous residents

No. 379 Liverpool Road was the residence of Robert Seymour, known for his caricatures and for his illustrations for The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens. In 1836 he had several disagreements with Dickens over the illustrations for Pickwick, and may also have been depressed about his finances and career. In the early hours of 20 April, he walked out into the summer-house in the garden behind his home (then named 16 Park Place West) and wrote a farewell to his "Best and dearest of wives", blaming only his "own weakness and infirmity". He set up his fowling piece (shotgun) with a string on its trigger, and shot himself dead.

A commemorative plaque at no. 60 Liverpool Road marks a top floor studio where Derek Jarman, English film director, gay rights activist and author lived between 1967 and 1969. It was here he worked on artwork and costumes for Sadler's Wells Opera's production of Don Giovanni in 1968.

No. 533 Liverpool Road displays a blue plaque unveiled by the Huguenot Society in 2017, commemorating the British artist Peter Paillou, best known for his paintings of birds. The terrace was built in 1766 as Paradise Row, and Paillou lived in the house between 1776 and 1780.

Other residents have included:

Jenny Logan (1942- ), actress, most familiar as the Shake n' Vac lady, lived at no. 323
Anton Rodgers (1933-2007), actor, lived at no. 323
Jane Tryphoena Stephens (1812?-1896), actress, kept a tobacconist's shop at no. 39 before taking to the stage in 1840
Laurence Edmondson (1986-present), Formula 1 Journalist, owns a flat, which he uses when not travelling with the F1 grand prix circuit.

Places of interest

Pubs

Liverpool Road is supplied with several pubs, formerly to refresh cattle drovers and visitors to the Royal Agricultural Hall, more recently for local residents, including:
 The Pied Bull (no. 1; 1797, now closed)
 The Islington Town House, originally the Agricultural Hotel (no. 13; 1865)
 The Angelic (named after the 1985 film The Angelic Conversation directed by Derek Jarman who lived opposite in the 1960s), originally the George (no. 57; 1817)
 The Pig and Butcher, originally the White Horse Hotel (no. 80; 1827)
 The Regent, originally the Prince Regent (no. 201; 1823)
 The Foxglove, originally the Windsor Castle (nos. 209–211; 1856, rebuilt 1937)
 The Rainbow (no. 200; 1833, rebuilt 1879, now closed)
 King's Arms (no. 264; 1793, now closed)
 The Adelaide Arms (no. 385; 1839, now closed)
 Gallagher's, originally the Albion (no. 412; 1856, now demolished)
 The Duchess of Kent, originally the Fox and Fiddle (no. 441; 1843)
 Adam and Eve (no. 475; 1805, now closed)
 The Victoria Tavern (junction with 203 Holloway Road; 1841)

Chapel Market and Angel Central

At its southern, Angel end, Liverpool Road parts from Islington High Street at the former Pied Bull pub. Moving northwards, the street passes Chapel Market, Angel Central shopping centre, and other shops and supermarkets until reaching Tolpuddle Street.
From there onwards, the remaining 90% of the length of the street is primarily residential, with a few small businesses.

Royal Agricultural Hall

The Royal Agricultural Hall (originally named the Agricultural Hall) was the primary exhibition site for London until the Second World War and the largest building of its kind, holding up to 50,000 people.

It was built in 1862 by the Smithfield Club on the site of William Dixon's cattle lairs, at a cost of £32,000. The construction was inspired by the Crystal Palace, which had been designed for the Great Exhibition of 1851. The original purpose of the Agricultural Hall and its location were related specifically to its proximity to Smithfield, the great livestock market, and took advantage of Liverpool Road's function as a cattle route. The hall was 75 ft high and the arched glass roof spanned 125 ft. It was built for the first annual Smithfield Show in December 1862 but was subsequently popular for other purposes, including recitals and the Royal Tournament. The most glamorous event to take place was the Grand Ball held for the Belgian Volunteer regiments during their visit to England in July 1867. Other events at the "Aggie" included military tournaments, walking matches, missionary exhibitions, musical recitals, dairy shows, balls, mule and donkey shows, revivalist meetings, circuses, dog shows, motorcycle and cycle shows, trade fairs, and in 1870 a bullfight. In 1884 the prefix "Royal" was added because of the number of visits by Queen Victoria and members of the Royal Family.

In 1943, after the nearby Mount Pleasant sorting office was bombed, the building was requisitioned for use during World War II and never re-opened to the public. It continued as a sorting office until 1971, then lay empty and deteriorating until eventually the main hall was redeveloped as the Business Design Centre in the 1980s. The remainder of the building was demolished and the main entrance moved from Liverpool Road to the Upper Street side.

The Royal Agricultural Hall features as the location for a Victorian walking match in Peter Lovesey's 1970 novel  Wobble to Death, and its BBC Radio's Saturday Night Theatre adaptation.

Liverpool Road is unusual in being one of the few streets in London to have a "high pavement". This was constructed in the 1860s to protect pedestrians from being splashed by the large numbers of animals using the road to reach the then-new Agricultural Hall. As a consequence, the pavement is approximately  above the road surface for some lengths of the street.

London Fever Hospital

Old Royal Free Place and Old Royal Free Square were originally the London Fever Hospital, and then from 1948 an annexe to the Royal Free Hospital.
The London Fever Hospital moved to Kettle Field on Liverpool Road in 1848 from its earlier premises at King's Cross when the site was needed as part of the site for the Great Northern Railway terminus at King's Cross Station. Despite much local opposition, Liverpool Road was believed to be a much better position for a fever hospital because it was on the top of a gravel ridge, high and well drained, and thought likely to be free of the miasma, or bad air, held to cause disease.

The architect for the new hospital was Charles Fowler, who received the commission due to the influence of the Earl of Devon. The circumstances caused some controversy: a competition had been held to choose a design, and one by David Mocatta had been formally decided upon by the committee, but it was set aside and Fowler was brought in to carry out the work. Fowler designed the red-brick, colonnaded façade in Palladian style, with two wings. The front façade consisted of the front elevation with three blocks linked by single-storey colonnades very much as seen today. The central block and colonnades were intended to house offices, stores and the committee room. The Victorians used this design to disguise the wards of typhoid and scarlet fever patients, who were admitted from 1849. Behind were two flanking blocks which were occupied by 'superior class wards', incorporating the latest ideas of the time for healthy nursing.

In 1862 Charles Dickens described the hospital as "not only the single hospital of its kind in London but probably the best hospital of its kind in Europe".

The hospital suffered bomb damage during World War II, became part of the Royal Free in 1948, and eventually closed in 1975. From 1990 the surviving buildings were converted to residential use.

Holy Trinity Church

Islington is known for its large (about 30) number of garden squares, and Liverpool Road's route is near to several, including Cloudesley, Gibson, Milner, Lonsdale, Barnsbury, and Arundel Squares. The squares mostly date to the early 19th century when they were included in building plans as an attractive and fashionable amenity to justify charging higher rents from wealthier occupants of the surrounding houses. Cloudesley Square is accessed between nos. 141 and 143 Liverpool Road, from where Holy Trinity Church is visible.

Cloudesley Square was the earliest Barnsbury square to be built, in 1826–9. The centre is occupied by Holy Trinity Church, which was designed by the young Charles Barry in the newly fashionable Perpendicular style and recognisably copying King's College Chapel, Cambridge. A handsome painted window commemorates Richard Cloudesley who died in 1517 and bequeathed to the parish the piece of ground called the "Stony Field" (hence nearby Stonefield Street) upon which the church is built, asking that thirty requiem masses a year should be said for the repose of his soul forever. He bequeathed in his will an allowance of straw for the prisoners of Newgate, King's Bench, Marshalsea prisons and the mad inmates of Bedlam, gowns valued at 6s 8d each for the poor and a number of bequests. These are still administered by the Cloudesley charity.

The church was declared redundant in the 1960s and remained empty until 1980 when it was leased by a Nigerian Pentecostal community, the Celestial Church of Christ. Possession was returned to the Diocese of London in 2018.

Islington workhouse
Islington workhouse was formerly located off Liverpool Road. A workhouse had been operating at nearby locations since 1729, until the first purpose-built building was constructed in 1777 in spacious grounds off the passage then known as "Cut Throat Lane", now the west range of Barnsbury Street, at the junction with Liverpool Road. It ceased to be a workhouse in 1872 and the buildings were demolished and a new block erected at the south-east of the site as the district relieving offices, labour bureau and smallpox vaccination centre. No. 281 Liverpool Road, the curious asymmetrical turreted building of 1872 at the corner, was used until 1969 as the Registrar's Office for Births, Deaths and Marriages.   All the surviving buildings have now been converted to residential use.

The original Liverpool Road route passed along the present Lonsdale Place, off Barnsbury Street. Topographer Samuel Lewis wrote in 1842 that "the course of [Liverpool] road, which once passed in a direct line from the south to the front of the workhouse, and thence turned, easterly, to the top of Barnesbury-street, was changed into its present route in 1796; and by this alteration two dangerous angles, the cause of frequent accidents, were removed".

College Cross

Between nos. 220 and 222 Liverpool Road, a short road leads into College Cross. Here the Church Missionary College stood from 1825 to 1915 on the site of the present Sutton Dwellings. The college was built by the Church Missionary Society on the site of a large 18th century botanic garden.

Thomas Cubitt houses

Nos. 230-254 Liverpool Road, part of the former Manchester Terrace (c.1827) and backing on to College Cross, is one of the few developments in this area known to be by Thomas Cubitt, with segmental arched windows.

Samuel Lewis Trust Dwellings and Laycock Green

The Samuel Lewis Trust Dwellings and adjacent Laycock Green (formerly the site of the Liverpool Buildings) are on the former Laycock Farm.

"Laycock's Farm & Cattle Lairs" started as early as 1720. Charles Laycock, Jnr. who died in 1777 was "one of the greatest goose-feeders and wholesale poulterers in the kingdom". Richard Laycock, who died in 1834 was the proprietor of one of the largest dairies in the country and one of the richest dairy-farmers of his day. Over 500 acres were farmed around Liverpool Road and Upper Street, stretching south as far as what is now Islington Park Street,  formerly known as Kettle Lane. Cattle being driven to Smithfield would often feed and rest overnight in the cattle lairs which remained until the 1890s in the street named after him. His lairs were covered, and hence more profitable than many others along Liverpool Road.

In 1882 the Improved Industrial Dwellings Co. Ltd. built four sets of model dwellings, Liverpool Buildings, on part of the farm site at the western end of Highbury Station Road. These had been demolished by 1990, and the land was landscaped as a public park named Laycock Green.

Samuel Lewis was a wealthy financier and philanthropist, who left an endowment of £670,000 for the purpose of establishing a charity to provide housing for the poor. The Samuel Lewis Trust was set up in 1901 and the Samuel Lewis Trust Dwellings at Liverpool Road was the first of eight London housing projects. The estate of 323 dwellings opened on 4 April 1910 and was built by Wallis and Sons Ltd at a cost of £101,000. The buildings were designed by C S Joseph and Smithem and consist of five rows of blocks with trees between them, including notable pollarded planes, and small island gardens set in paved areas. Nikolaus Pevsner described the estate as "the best illustration in Islington of the tremendous improvement in standards of planning and humane appearance that became apparent in the best working class housing around 1900". The units each had a coal bunker, and there was a bath underneath a wooden top in the kitchens.

In 2001, the Trust celebrated its centenary year and changed its name to Southern Housing Group.

St Mary Magdalene Church and Gardens

St Mary Magdalene Church is situated in gardens between Liverpool Road and Holloway Road. It was built in 1814 to a design by William Wickings as a chapel of ease to the parish church of St. Mary's farther south on Upper Street. The site chosen had space for both the church and a churchyard and burial ground. However, its final cost, £32,636, was so high that a committee of investigation was appointed, which found that much of it was wasted thanks to an absence of a specific contract. Its design drew little praise. It became a parish church in its own right in 1894, and is now part of the parish of Hope Church Islington.

The actress Jane Russell attended a couple of services at the church in November 1954, while she was filming Gentlemen Marry Brunettes.

The church gardens are the church's old burial ground. As the land approached the end of its useful life as a burial plot at the end of the 19th century, an Act of Parliament was passed to allow the transition from remembrance gardens into a public park. Many of the tombs and headstones were removed, the land enlarged and formal rose gardens added.

St Mary Magdalene Academy

A welcome benefit of the building of St Mary Magdalene Church was a new parochial school, built at the rear alongside what became Liverpool Road, opening in 1815 on half an acre of land and catering for 400 children. It ran on the Madras System (hence the nearby Madras Place), reducing costs by using the abler pupils as "helpers" to the teacher, passing on the information they had learned to other students. On 7th/8 October 1940, a bomb destroyed the school and the surrounding area.  A new building was opened in 1954, as a voluntary aided Church of England primary school, junior mixed and infants. The building was rebuilt in 2007, and the school became St Mary Magdalene Academy, with a primary school and a secondary school including sixth form.

Ring Cross
Liverpool Road ends at Holloway Road, at the junction formerly known as Ring Cross. Historian John Nelson wrote in 1811: "The wide part of the highway where the Back Road terminates has been timeout of mind called RING CROSS, probably from a cross standing here antecedent to the Reformation".
A gibbet is alleged to have been in this area where criminals were publicly exhibited in chains, and may have been executed by hanging.

Transport

Liverpool Road crosses the railway lines which form part of London Underground's Victoria line and Great Northern's Northern City Line, as well as London Overground's East and North London lines. The bridge over the railway lines marks the change from the N1 to the N7 postcode.

The first tramway in Islington was opened in 1871 by the North Metropolitan Tramways Co. from the Nag's Head, Holloway Road, to the Angel via both Upper Street and Liverpool Road, and on to Finsbury Square.  It was extended to Archway Tavern and Finsbury Park in 1872. Liverpool Road proved to be "probably the least revenue-providing thoroughfare of any length in London through which trams operated", and the service was halted in 1913. There has been no tram or bus service along the road since.

In 2003, traffic calming measures were introduced along the road to reduce the volume and speed of traffic. After changes in 2019 to the layout of Highbury Corner, there was a substantial increase in vehicles rat running along Liverpool Road and other nearby roads to avoid the disruption caused by the new layout, resulting in significantly increased noise and pollution. Residents are lobbying Islington Council for mitigation measures.

See also

List of people from Islington
Islington Museum
Islington Local History Centre
Business Design Centre
Upper Street
Islington High Street
Barnsbury
Angel, London
The Angel, Islington
Holloway Road

References

Further reading

External links
Charles Booth's London website

Streets in the London Borough of Islington
Islington

Liverpool Road


Kurfa Chele (Aanaa Kurfaa callee) is a District in the Oromia of Ethiopia. It is named after its administrative center, Kurfa Chele. Part of the East Hararghe Zone, Kurfa Chele is bordered on the south by Girawa, on the west by Bedeno, on the northwest by Kersa, and on the northeast by Haro Maya. Towns include Dawe.

Overview
The altitude of this woreda ranges from 1400 to 3400 meters above sea level; Gara Muleta, Dedero and Gebiba are amongst the highest points. Rivers include the Dawe, Gefra Gelana and Gefra. A survey of the land in Kurfa Chele (released in 1995/96) shows that 23.3% is arable or cultivable, 1.4% pasture, 14.7% forest, and the remaining 60.6% is considered built-up, degraded or otherwise unusable. Khat and vegetables are important cash crops.

Industry in the woreda includes 9 grain mills employing 29 people, as well as 68 registered businesses including wholesalers, retailers and service providers. There were 14 Farmers Associations with 8714 members and one Farmers Service Cooperatives with 627 members. Kurfa Chele has 96 kilometers of dry-weather and 55 of all-weather road, for an average road density of 581 kilometers per 1000 square kilometers, the highest in the Zone. About 23.4% rural and 4.2% of the urban population have access to drinking water; normally urban areas in Ethiopia have a larger percentage with access to drinkable water than rural areas.

Demographics
The 2007 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 58,701, of whom 29,675 were men and 29,026 were women; 5,764 or 9.82% of its population were urban dwellers. The majority of the inhabitants said they were Muslim, with 96.44% of the population reporting they observed this belief, while 3.27% of the population practised Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity.

Based on figures published by the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, this woreda has an estimated total population of 54,127, of whom 26,500  were males and 27,627 were females; 4,940 or 9.13% of its population are urban dwellers, which is greater than the Zone average of 6.9%. With an estimated area of 259.69 square kilometers, Kurfa Chele has an estimated population density of 208.4 people per square kilometer, which is greater than the Zone average of 102.6.

The 1994 national census reported a total population for this woreda of 38,559, of whom 19,726 were men and 18,833 women; 2,755 or 7.14% of its population were urban dwellers at the time. (This total also includes an estimate for the inhabitants of one rural kebele, which was not counted; it was estimated to have 9,198 inhabitants, of whom 4,537 were men and 4,661 women.) The two largest ethnic groups reported in Kurfa Chele were the Oromo (94.25%), and the Amhara (5.69%); all other ethnic groups made up 0.06% of the population. Oromiffa was spoken as a first language by 94.16%, and 5.81% spoke Amharic; the remaining 0.03% spoke all other primary languages reported. The majority of the inhabitants were Muslim, with 93.42% of the population having reported they practiced that belief, while 6.45% of the population said they professed Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity.

Notes

Districts of Oromia Region

Kurfa Chele (Aanaa)


Burlington is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Vermont and the seat of Chittenden County. It is located  south of the Canada–United States border and  south of Montreal. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 44,743. It is the least populous city in the 50 U.S. states to be the most populous city in its state.

A regional college town, Burlington is home to the University of Vermont (UVM) and Champlain College. Vermont's largest hospital, the UVM Medical Center, is within the city limits. The City of Burlington owns Vermont's largest airport, the Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport, located in neighboring South Burlington. In 2015, Burlington became the first city in the U.S. to run entirely on renewable energy.

The city and its neighborhoods are ranked among the best places to live in Vermont.

History

Early history to early 20th century
Two theories have been put forward regarding the origin of Burlington's name. The first is that it was named after Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, and the second is that the name honors the politically prominent and wealthy Burling family of New York. While no Burling family members are listed as grantees of the town, the family held large tracts of land in nearby towns, some of which were granted on the same day as Burlington.

One of the New Hampshire grants, the land that was developed as Burlington was awarded by New Hampshire colonial governor Benning Wentworth on June 7, 1763, to Samuel Willis and 63 others. In the summer of 1775, settlers began clearing the land and built two or three log huts, but the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War delayed permanent settlement until after its conclusion. The town was organized in 1785.

In 1808 the world's first lake-going steamboat was built in Burlington.

The War of 1812 was unpopular in Vermont and the rest of New England, which had numerous trading ties with Canada. Neither Vermont nor other New England states provided militia units or financial support. Vermont voters supported the Federalist Party, which opposed the war.

At one point during the war, the U.S. had 5,000 troops stationed in Burlington, outnumbering residents and putting a strain on resources. About 500 soldiers died of disease, which was always a problem due to poor sanitation in army camps. Some soldiers were quartered in the main building at the University of Vermont, where a memorial plaque commemorates them.

In a skirmish on August 2, 1813, British forces from Canada shelled Burlington. This is described as either a bold stroke by the British with an ineffectual response from the Americans or as a weak sally by the British, which was rightly ignored by the Americans. The cannonade lasted about 10 minutes and caused no casualties. The American troops involved were commanded by Naval Lieutenant Thomas Macdonough, later a hero of the Battle of Lake Champlain.

The town's position on Lake Champlain helped it develop into a port of entry and center for trade, particularly after completion of the Champlain Canal in 1823, the Erie Canal in 1825, and the Chambly Canal in 1843. Wharves allowed steamboats to connect freight and passengers with the Rutland & Burlington Railroad and the Vermont Central Railroad. Burlington became a bustling lumbering and manufacturing center – for some time the third largest lumber market in the world – and was incorporated as a city in 1865. Its Victorian-era prosperity left behind much fine architecture, including buildings by Ammi B. Young, H.H. Richardson, and McKim, Mead & White.

In 1870, the waterfront was extended by construction of the Pine Street Barge Canal. This became polluted over the years and was a focus for cleanup in 2009 under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Superfund program. When elected mayor, Bernie Sanders set in place an extensive waterfront beautification plan which included adding public parks, a nine-mile bike path, and a community boathouse.

On September 5, 1901, U.S. vice president Theodore Roosevelt spoke to a Civil War fraternal group in Burlington. Nine days later, he became U.S. president when President McKinley died.

Late 20th century to present

In 1978, the ice cream enterprise Ben & Jerry's was founded in Burlington in a renovated gas station. It became a national brand, with retail outlets in numerous cities.

In 2021, following the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis, the city council scheduled a vote on a "Resolution In Solidarity with the Palestinian People" for September 13. The resolution called on the city council to "express its solidarity with the Palestinian people, condemn anti-boycott legislation, and endorse the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which calls for nonviolent pressure on Israel." The authors' stated reasons for introducing the resolution were Israeli settlements in the West Bank, an ongoing "military siege and an economic blockade" of Gaza, and US military aid to Israel. They also cited reports by Human Rights Watch and B'Tselem that find Israel guilty of the crime of apartheid.

The American Jewish Committee condemned the resolution as "deceptive and one-sided" and criticized it for its sole focus on Israel. A coalition of local rabbis and community groups condemned the resolution as well, citing the timing of the vote during the Jewish High Holy Days, between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and fears that the resolution would fuel antisemitism. Mayor Miro Weinberger called the resolution "inappropriate and counterproductive." In a 6-5 vote, the council decided to withdraw the resolution.

Geography
The city of Burlington is situated on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain, north of Shelburne Bay. It was built on a strip of land extending about  south from the mouth of the Winooski River along the lake shore, and rises from the water's edge to a height of .

A large ravine in what is now downtown was filled in with refuse and raw sewage in the 19th century to make way for further development.

Neighborhoods
Burlington is characterized by its neighborhoods, which are generally recognized as follows:
 Downtown - The city's commercial hub is north of Maple Street, west of South Willard Street, and mostly south of Pearl Street (as it includes all property along Pearl Street that is west of South Willard Street).
 Hill Section - Burlington's wealthiest neighborhood is east of South Union Street and Shelburne Street, and south of Main Street, but excludes UVM and University Terrace while including all of Champlain College.  The Hill Section is where the Burlington Country Club is situated.
 The Intervale - The Intervale cannot be considered a neighborhood but is a large area encompassing many locally owned organic farms and nature preserves along the Winooski River. Located to the north of the Old North End and east of the New North End, it is included on this list because its total area is larger than that of most neighborhoods in Burlington.
 New North End - Burlington's most populous neighborhood, a northwest suburban extension of the city, includes all points north of Burlington High School, as well as Leddy Park, Ethan Allen Park, and North Beach, and is west of Vermont Route 127 (the "Burlington Beltline").
 Old North End - Burlington's oldest and most densely populated neighborhood is north of all property along Pearl Street, west of Hyde Street and North Willard Street, and is inclusive of areas north of Downtown and west of the University District but south of the New North End and the Intervale. It is here that Burlington's largely Jewish neighborhood known as Little Jerusalem flourished from the 1880s to the 1930s.
 South End - A once mostly industrial and now mostly artistic district south of Downtown and west of the Hill Section, it includes the waterfront Oakledge Park and is home to the headquarters of many of Burlington's nationally known companies like Burton Snowboards and Dealer.com.
 University District - The University District is north of the Burlington Country Club, south of the Winooski River, east of Willard Street north of Main, and east of a large chunk of the Hill Section. It includes UVM and many former single-family homes converted to student and yuppie apartments (although these are everywhere throughout the city limits and metropolitan area).

Climate

Burlington has a hot-summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa), with cold winters and humid summers. The monthly daily average temperatures range from  in January to  in July. The annual precipitation of  is well-distributed throughout the year, but the summer months are the wettest. The city's location east of Lake Champlain sometimes accounts for localized snow squalls, producing up to  in 12 hours on rare occasions. Annual snowfall averages , but this figure can fluctuate greatly from one year to another. Extremes have ranged from  on January 15, 1957, and February 12, 1979, to  on August 11, 1944. The most recorded snowfall from a single storm is , which fell January 2–3, 2010.

For the Northeastern United States, a heat wave is defined as having three consecutive days of  or more. There were six such heat waves from 2000–2009.

Demographics

Population
According to the 2020 United States census, there were 44,743 people living in Burlington. The racial makeup of the city was 85.6% White, 4.4% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian, 4.6% Asian, and 4.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.8% of the population.

There were 17,174 households and the average number of persons per household was 2.16.

Personal income
According to the American Community Survey for 2017–2021, the median income for a household in the city was $59,331. Among workers with full-time, year-round work, males had a median income of $50,552 versus $38,418 for females. The per capita income for the city was $34,054. About 23.8% of the population was below the poverty threshold.

The median value of owner-occupied housing units was $338,100.

Economy
Burlington's economy centers on education, health services, trade, transportation, and utilities, and some manufacturing. In , the city had an unemployment rate of 2.1%. Mean annual wages were $63,180 in ; the state was $59,190.

As of , Moody's set the city's bond credit rating at Aa3, "high" quality.

Business and industry
The largest employers in the city, and the state overall, are the University of Vermont Medical Center and the University of Vermont, employing over 8,200 and 4,125 people, respectively. Other companies in Burlington include Blodgett Ovens, one of the oldest and largest commercial oven companies in the country, which manufactures restaurant equipment. General Electric develops software for the healthcare industry in South Burlington at the former headquarters of IDX Systems, which it purchased in 2006. General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products division employ 450 workers locally. A solely owned subsidiary, the division is based here. Dealer.com, a leading automotive internet marketing company, employs over 700 people.

Ben & Jerry's began in 1978 when Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield opened their first ice cream scoop shop in an old gas station in Burlington and now has a worldwide market and is based in neighboring South Burlington. Vermont Teddy Bear Company, whose founder started on a cart on a Burlington street, now ships custom teddy bears worldwide and is based in nearby Shelburne.

Corporate headquarters located in Burlington include Burton Snowboards, Bruegger's, Lake Champlain Chocolates, Rhino Foods, and Seventh Generation Inc.

Retailing and tourism

In , Burlington had $591.7 million in retail sales.

The Church Street Marketplace, a four-block pedestrian mall in the heart of the city, is the site of festivals throughout the year. The American Planning Association named the Marketplace one of America's "Great Public Spaces." In 2022, USA Today named the Marketplace the "Best Public Square" in the country. Events such as the "South End Art Hop" and public galleries such as Pine Street Art Works, provide a forum for the visual arts in the South End.

A "Festival of Fools" had an estimated 25,000 attendees at the Marketplace in 2009. The "Vermont Brewers Festival" had 9,600 attendees in 2009, and the "Giant Pumpkin Regatta and Festival" had 5,000 attendees that same year; Saturday Night Live satirized the event. One of the largest year-round farmers' markets in the state of Vermont is located in the city.

Arts and culture
Dragon boat races to benefit charity have been held in Lake Champlain in August since 2006. In 2009, there were approximately 2,000 participants on 86 teams.

An annual First Night community celebration of the arts on New Year's Eve was founded in 1983 with funding from the National Endowment on the Arts and Vermont Council on the Arts. It ran for 35 years before shutting down in 2018.

Drag troupe, the House of LeMay, hosts the annual "Winter is a Drag Ball" which raises funds for HIV/AIDS-related organizations.

The Emily Post Institute, an etiquette organization, is headquartered here.

Local music

The city has, over the years, supported several local band and has launched a handful of national acts. The most famous of these is Phish, which originated at UVM in 1983.

Other acts with ties to the city include Matisyahu, Kat Wright, Strangefolk, The Essex Green, RAQ, James Kochalka, The Jazz Mandolin Project, Pork Tornado, Anaïs Mitchell, Greg Davis, Koushik, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Dispatch, Prydein, Eugene Hutz of Gogol Bordello, Morgan Page, KT Tunstall, Rubblebucket, The Vacant Lots, Drowningman, 99 Neighbors and Twiddle.

Local art
The "South End Art Hop" is an annual event presented by the South End Arts and Business Association. Artists join businesses, artist studios, and galleries, which in turn open their doors to the public throughout the post-industrial section of Burlington, known as the "South End". The first Art Hop in 1993 had a little more than thirty artists and a dozen sites participating. In 2008, over 600 artists showcased their works in over 100 sites throughout the South End of Burlington. The event takes place on the Friday and Saturday following Labor Day in September.

The city has an art department, Burlington City Arts, which serves many roles including cultural planning, education, showing contemporary art and hosting cultural events at The BCA Center. Burlington City Arts also runs a program in collaboration with UVM Medical Center, Art from the Heart, where patients have access to art supplies and devoted volunteer time.

Public library

The Fletcher Free Library was established in 1873, endowed by Mary Martha Fletcher, the daughter of a local businessman, but outgrew its initial building on Church Street by 1901. A new building was constructed in 1901–04 with funds provided by industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, making it the first of the four Carnegie libraries in Vermont. It was designed in the Beaux-Arts style by Walter R. B. Willcox of Burlington, who won a competition to receive the commission.

The building had major settling problems in 1973 where it had been built over a former railroad ravine, which had been improperly filled in, and the library's collection was moved elsewhere. The possible razing of the building was stopped by a citizens' committee, which successfully had it added to the National Register of Historic Places, and a grant allowed the stabilization and repair of the building. A new modern addition was completed in 1981.

The largest public library in Vermont, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Fletcher Free Library had a budget of over $1 million in 2002. It circulated more books, had more visitors, and had more computers, than any other library in Vermont. In addition to its primary services as Burlington's public library, it is also a community center, a cultural resource for newly arrived immigrants to the Burlington area, and the city's only free public access computer center.

Sites of interest

 Ethan Allen Homestead Museum
 Chittenden County Historical Society & Museum
 World's Tallest Filing Cabinet
 ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain
 Robert Hull Fleming Museum at the University of Vermont
 Flynn Center for the Performing Arts
Burlington Memorial Auditorium (currently closed)
Burlington Waterfront Park
 The 1885 building of Ohavi Zedek, one of the oldest synagogue buildings still standing in the United States

Landmarks and buildings

Historic buildings

Many of Burlington's historic buildings and sites have been recognized by their inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). In addition to 28 buildings, three shipwrecks and the Burlington Breakwater, the city encompasses 17 historic districts.

Churches and synagogues

Churches in Burlington include the North Avenue Alliance Church, First Baptist Church, First Congregational Church, the Episcopal Cathedral Church of St. Paul, the First United Methodist Church, Christ Church (Presbyterian), the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Joseph—the episcopal see for the Diocese of Burlington, the First Unitarian Universalist Society, Dormition of the Mother of God Orthodox Church (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America), the College Street Congregational Church (United Church of Christ), The Burlington Church of Christ, and the non-denominational Church at the Well. The Conservative Ohavi Zedek synagogue is also located in the city, and there is an active Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Synagogues in Burlington include the Chabad of Vermont, Ohavi Zedek, Ahavath Gerim, Ruach HaMaqom, and Ohavi Zedek Chavurah.

The Howard Mortuary Chapel in Lakeview Cemetery was built in 1882 as a gift to the City of Burlington from Hannah Louisa Howard, a local philanthropist. A native of the city, she was the daughter of John Howard, a successful Burlington hotelier. The chapel was designed in the High Victorian Gothic style by Alfred Benjamin Fisher, on cemetery grounds designed by E. C. Ryer in 1871.

The Ira Allen Chapel, on the grounds of the University of Vermont campus, was completed in 1926, and was designed in the Georgian Revival style by McKim, Mead & White.  The chapel's flashing beacon provides a nighttime landmark for those approaching Burlington from Lake Champlain. The chapel is part of the University Green Historic District.

Two of the cathedrals in Burlington—the Episcopal Cathedral Church of St. Paul and the former Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception—are modern structures built after their predecessors were destroyed by arson fires in 1971–1972. The Episcopal Cathedral was completed in 1973 and was designed by Burlington Associates (now TruexCollins) in the Brutalist style, while the Roman Catholic Cathedral was built in 1974–1977 and was designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes, with the park-like grounds designed by landscape architect Dan Kiley. Immaculate Conception was closed in 2018 and replaced by the Cathedral of Saint Joseph (Neoclassical, 1887).

Sports

The Vermont Lake Monsters of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League, a collegiate summer baseball team, were formerly called the Vermont Expos. The team changed its name in 2007 after its parent Major League Baseball club, the Montreal Expos of the National League, moved from Montreal to Washington, D.C., and became the Washington Nationals. In 2010, the Lake Monsters ended its 17-year association with the Expos/Nationals and became the Class A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics of the American League. The Lake Monsters play on the campus of the University of Vermont at Centennial Field.

Burlington has a rich hockey history, and was the location of the first known international ice hockey match, held between the Montreal Crystals and employees of the Van Ness House, a local hotel, during the 1886 Burlington Winter Carnival. The University of Vermont's men's hockey team, the Catamounts, play their home games at the 4,007-seat Gutterson Field House on the UVM campus.

A professional basketball franchise, the Vermont Frost Heaves, played half of their season in the city until the team folded in 2011. The team, which originally was part of the American Basketball Association—not to be confused with the 1970s-era major basketball league of the same name that merged with the National Basketball Association—moved to the Premier Basketball League in 2008 and split their regular-season home games between Burlington and Barre. The Frost Heaves, owned by Sports Illustrated writer Alexander Wolff, played their Burlington games at the Memorial Auditorium, on South Union Street, at the corner of Main. However, the franchise folded in early 2011.

The Vermont City Marathon has drawn thousands of competitors annually. A local Golden Gloves boxing tournament has been held annually since 1946.

Burlington was a venue site for the 2012 International Ice Hockey Federation Women's World Championship.

Government

Burlington has had a mayor–council form of government since 1865 with its first mayor being Albert L. Catlin. Democrats and Progressives make up the majority of the council. Miro Weinberger, the current mayor, is a Democrat who was first elected in 2012. The city council has twelve seats. Prior to 2020, they were occupied by five Progressives, four Democrats, two Independents, and one Republican. After the 2020 city elections, the Republican seat flipped to Democratic, and one Independent seat flipped to Progressive. As of the 2023 city elections, Democrats control half the city council seats.

U.S. senator and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders served as the mayor of Burlington from 1981 to 1989. His election in 1981 unseated longstanding mayor Gordon Paquette and drastically altered the political landscape of the city. Mayor Sanders created a government that was run by young Progressives, including Peter Clavelle, who was elected mayor of the city when Sanders stepped down to run for higher office. Peter Clavelle, Burlington's longest-serving mayor, held the office from 1989 to 1993, and again from 1995 to 2006.

In the 1980s, the successive reelections of a self-proclaimed "socialist" drew attention from the national media. Sanders has dispelled the notion that his first victory, secured by a narrow margin, was "just a fluke".

The large transient student population votes in local, state, and national elections, resulting in a considerable impact on local elections. The city signed up 2,527 new voters in the six weeks from September 1, 2008, the highest number for that time frame in over nine years.

As a nonprofit institution, the University of Vermont pays no real estate taxes; however, like many other educational institutions, it makes an annual payment in place of taxes. In 2007, the college agreed to raise this from $456,006 to $912,011 in 2010 plus a "public works" supplement rising from $180,040 to $191,004 over the same time frame.

The city maintains three parks on Lake Champlain. All three are free for public access, with two having parking fees.

City council members
In March 2021, Burlington residents voted to implement ranked-choice voting for city councilors. It passed with 64% support. In March 2023, Burlington residents voted to expand ranked-choice voting in city elections, to include races for mayor, city councilors, School Commissioners, Ward Clerks, and Inspectors of Election. This passed with 64% support.

Education

Public schools
Burlington School District operates the city's public schools.

Schools:
 Burlington High School
 The Sustainability Academy (at Lawrence Barnes Elementary)
 Edmunds Elementary School, named after George F. Edmunds, a U.S. senator for 25 years, from 1866 to 1891
 Edmunds Middle School, (formerly Burlington High School)
 Lyman C. Hunt Middle School
 Flynn Elementary School
 Champlain Elementary School
 C. P. Smith Elementary
 The Integrated Arts Academy (at H.O. Wheeler Elementary)

Magnet schools
In Burlington, students have two choices of magnet schools: the Integrated Arts Academy at H.O. Wheeler (IAA) and the Sustainability Academy at Lawrence Barnes (SA).

Private schools
Christ the King School
Mater Christi School
Rock Point School

Colleges and universities

The University of Vermont (UVM) and Champlain College are located in Burlington. The UVM Medical Center is home to one of the ten most selective medical schools in the U.S., the Robert Larner College of Medicine. The Community College of Vermont had a site located in Burlington until 2010 when a new building in the adjacent city of Winooski was constructed for the college. Saint Michael's College and a satellite campus of Southern New Hampshire University are in the neighboring town of Colchester. Vermont Technical College also has a satellite campus in nearby Williston.

Media

Newspapers and other publications
Burlington is the media center of northern and central Vermont. It is served by:
 The Burlington Free Press, a daily newspaper delivered throughout Vermont
 Seven Days, a free weekly newspaper delivered in bulk to pickup points throughout the Burlington metropolitan area and central Vermont, emphasizing arts and culture
 Vermont Business Magazine
 VTDigger
 The Natural Philosopher, a monthly science news journal articulating primary literature in neuroscience, biochemistry, and genetics. The Natural Philosopher is a student-run publication based at the University of Vermont.

Radio
Major radio stations that are based in Burlington and serve the region:
 WBTZ (The Buzz) – 99.9 FM (modern rock)
 WCPV (101.3 ESPN) – 101.3 FM (sports)
 WCVT (101 The One) – 101.7 FM (classic album tracks)
 WEZF (Star 92.9) – 92.9 FM (hot adult contemporary)
 WIZN (The Wizard) – 106.7 FM (classic rock)
 WJOY – 1230 AM (adult standards)
 WKOL (KOOL 105) – 105.1 FM (classic hits)
 WNCS and W227AQ (The Point) – 104.7 and 93.3 FM, respectively (Triple-A)
 WOKO  – 98.9 FM (country)
 WOXR (Vermont Public Radio) – 90.9 FM (classical)
 WRUV (University of Vermont) – 90.1 FM (variety)
 WTNN (Eagle Country) – 97.5 FM
 WVMT – 620 AM (news/talk)
 WVPS (Vermont Public Radio) – 107.9 FM (news & information), National Public Radio
 WWPV (Saint Michael's College) – 92.5 FM (variety)
 WXXX – 95.5 FM (Hit Music Station)

Television

Five network-affiliated television stations serve the greater Burlington area. They include WFFF-TV channel 44 (Fox), its sister station WVNY channel 22 (ABC), WPTZ channel 5 (NBC, with Me-TV on DT3), its sister station WNNE channel 31 (CW), and WCAX-TV channel 3 (CBS). All of the stations (including WVNY and WNNE which share news departments with WFFF-TV and WPTZ, respectively) operate news departments. Although licensed to Burlington, WCAX is based in neighboring South Burlington, while WPTZ is based in Plattsburgh, New York, with a news bureau in nearby Colchester. WFFF and WVNY are also based in Colchester, while WNNE is licensed to Montpelier. Comcast is the metro area's major cable television service provider, although residents within the Burlington city limits are also served by municipally-owned Burlington Telecom.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Bus
Burlington is the central focus of Green Mountain Transit (GMT), which provides bus service within the city and to and from surrounding municipalities.

On June 15, 2011, the Chittenden County Transportation Authority announced that it had changed its charter, effective July 1, 2011, to allow municipalities outside Chittenden County to join CCTA as member communities, thereby allowing CCTA to become Vermont's first regional transit authority. As part of its expansion, the CCTA merged with the Green Mountain Transit Authority (GMTA), which provided bus service in the Barre-Montpelier area and surrounding communities in central Vermont.

Greyhound provides intercity bus service from the Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport and Downtown Transit Center bus station to other communities in Vermont, and to Montreal's Gare d'autocars de Montreal and Boston's South Station and Logan International Airport. Premier Coach's Vermont Translines also provides intercity bus service between Burlington and Albany, New York, along the U.S. Route 7 corridor in a partnership with Greyhound, also from the airport. Megabus provides service between Burlington and Boston with a stop in Montpelier, Vermont.

Rail
Burlington is connected to New York City via Amtrak's Ethan Allen Express, which began serving the city in July 2022. Service is to Union Station, built on the city's waterfront in 1916. The extension to Burlington was first proposed in 2013 by Vermont governor Peter Shumlin. Prior to this, the nearest Amtrak station was located about  to the east in Essex Junction, Vermont, which is served by the Vermonter.

Rail service began in Burlington in 1849. From the late nineteenth century to 1953, the Rutland Railroad provided passenger service on the Green Mountain Flyer and the Mount Royal from Burlington to Troy, New York, with connecting service to New York City via the New York Central Railroad. The last passenger train to run north via the Burlington Tunnel to Alburgh, a town in the northwest extremity of Vermont, was in June 1938. From 2000 to 2003, the Champlain Flyer was a commuter service from Burlington south to the town of Charlotte, Vermont.

Air
Air carriers at Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport (BTV) provide the area with commercial service to major regional hubs and international airports. While scheduled carriers have not traditionally offered scheduled commercial flights to destinations outside the United States, there is a Customs Port of Entry for unscheduled flights. From 2011 to 2018, the only available international commercial flights for BTV were via Porter Airlines' winter seasonal service to and from Billy Bishop Airport in Toronto.

Major roads
Burlington is served by one major Interstate highway, along with its spur route into the southern part of the city, and is at the junction of two U.S. highways. Several Vermont state highways also provide routes into and through the Burlington area.

  Interstate 89 – Though it does not directly enter the Burlington city limits, I-89 has interchanges in neighboring South Burlington, Winooski, and Colchester that provide access to downtown.
  Interstate 189 – I-189 connects I-89 in South Burlington to U.S. 7 at the southern end of Burlington.
  U.S. Route 2 is the main east–west route entering Burlington. After entering the city from the east, westbound U.S. 2 turns north to run concurrently with U.S. 7 towards Winooski and Colchester. The intersection with Interstate 89 is used by 42,000 cars daily.
  U.S. Route 7 is the main north–south route through Burlington. Northbound U.S. 7 joins westbound U.S. 2 in downtown Burlington, and the two routes run concurrently north to Colchester before diverging.
  Vermont Route 127 connects downtown and the Old North End with the New North End and the town of Colchester. Throughout the New North End, VT-127 is a limited-access highway officially named the Winooski Valley Parkway, though commonly known as the "Burlington Beltline".

Ferry service
Burlington is the headquarters of the Lake Champlain Transportation Company, a privately held company that offers ferry service for the North Country of New York state and the Champlain Valley region of Vermont. Summer seasonal service is available from Burlington's King Street Dock to Port Kent, New York. One line of year-round 24-hour service is provided from the nearby town of Grand Isle, Vermont, to Plattsburgh, New York, with another line of daily service from Charlotte, Vermont, to Essex, New York.

Internet
The city has municipal fiber broadband, which provides telephone, broadband internet, and television. In 2008, cable management tried to drop Al-Jazeera English from the lineup. This was successfully thwarted by protesters and the station was, in 2009, one of three "small cable operators" in the nation to carry this channel.

Electricity
Like many Vermont municipalities, Burlington owns its own power company, Burlington Electric Department. In 2009, the department announced that it would purchase 40% of the output of the 40 MW Sheffield, Vermont, wind-generated electricity when it became available.

Renewable energy
Burlington began operating on 100% renewable energy in 2014 after being a pioneer in the renewable energy sector for decades. The Burlington Electric Department, which began operating in 1903, originally used coal as a primary source of energy. However, after experiencing the effects of fluctuating coal prices throughout the second World War, the department slowly began using wood as an energy source because of the price and overall energy efficiency of wood. Since then, the city has experienced a sustainability boom, and today runs on 100% renewable energy. A succession of mayors in the city, along with corresponding public interest, are credited with this change. Gordon Paquette made the decision to completely transition from coal to wood at the McNeil Generating Station in 1977, and Bernie Sanders picked up this momentum of the environmental movement in the small city. This continued with Peter Clavelle, who mandated recycling in the city, and passed a number of bonds which funded energy improvements in infrastructure. In 1995, the city issued the Legacy Plan, which aimed to "go beyond the branding and rhetoric and create actual examples that will resonate and make a difference in people's lives."

Today, that plan has come to fruition in many ways. The city operates entirely on energy from the Winooski One Hydro Plant, a series of wind turbines and solar panels, as well as the sustainably-sourced wood burning plant at McNeil Generating Station. This made Burlington the first city to run completely on sustainable energy sources: a landmark for green infrastructure. Along with keeping energy rates low for customers, sustainability in the city extends beyond energy infrastructure. A non-profit organization in the city started an incubator farm that produces 30,000 pounds of fresh, local food for those facing food insecurity. The city has also worked on drastic building restoration projects, installed bikeways for more efficient transportation, and prioritized energy saving in the downtown.

In September 2019, the current mayor Miro Weinberger announced plans to get the city to net zero status by 2030. This would mean that the city would produce and consume equal amounts of energy. In October 2020, Burlington Electric proposed an ordinance that would require all buildings in the city to switch to electric energy sources. This would put the city closer to that net-zero goal, and continues its legacy as a trailblazer for sustainable infrastructure.

Health and social services
Burlington is home to University of Vermont Medical Center, a tertiary referral hospital for Vermont and the North Country of New York, Level I Trauma Center, and teaching hospital.

In 2008, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that Burlington ranks high among U.S. metropolitan areas by having the largest proportion of people – 92 percent – who say they are in good or great health.  The report went on to rate it best in exercise and lowest in obesity, diabetes, and other measures of ill health. In 2009, Children's Health Magazine rated Burlington the best city in the country to raise a family.

In 2010, the government banned smoking within  of the city's parks and recreational areas.

Howard Center, headquartered in Burlington, provides social services to state residents, and runs Vermont's first and the area's only methadone maintenance program, the Chittenden Clinic.

Notable people

Sister cities

Sister cities
Burlington's sister cities are:
 Arad, Israel
 Bethlehem, West Bank, Palestine
 Burlington, Canada
 Honfleur, France
 Moss Point, Mississippi, United States
 Nishinomiya, Japan
 Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua
 Yaroslavl, Russia (suspended in 2022)

Sister lakes
Burlington's sister lakes are:
 Lake Ohrid, on the border of North Macedonia and Albania
 Lake Toba, Indonesia

See also
Five Sisters (Burlington, Vermont)
University of Vermont
Champlain College

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links

 City of Burlington official website

Burlington, Vermont metropolitan area
Cities in Chittenden County, Vermont
Cities in Vermont
County seats in Vermont
Populated places established in 1783
1783 establishments in Vermont

Burlington, Vermont


Holmenkollen Chapel  (Holmenkollen kapell) is located in the neighborhood of Holmenkollen in the Vestre Aker borough of Oslo, Norway. The original chapel from 1903 was destroyed by arson in 1992. The new chapel was completed in 1996.  Holmenkollen Chapel is a listed site, registered in Norway's cultural heritage database.

Planning and construction of the former chapel
Holmenkollen Chapel was first built in 1903 after designs by architect Holger Sinding-Larsen as a paneled wooden pole construction.
"Holmen og Voxenselskabet" was founded in 1880 for the acquisition and development of the area as a recreational area for locals. When the company disbanded in 1890, it gave one of its plots of   to the municipality of Oslo to build a sports chapel.

Closely related to Holmenkollen Chapel was Fortidsminneforeningen. This association was established in 1844 with several painters as initiators. It was primarily the painter Johan Christian Dahl who spoke in favour of a stave church design. The association was the birthplace of a young generation of Norwegian architects around the turn of the 20th century, reviving the tradition of Norwegian historic wooden architecture. They searched back to the early Middle Ages, when Norway had its Golden Age. They emphasized identity and their own history, nature and architecture. Holmenkollen Chapel was a direct result of the young generation of architects' emerging awareness of this heritage.

From chapel to church
From its opening in 1903, the building was used as a chapel. Only in 1913 was it dedicated to the use of church services and church ceremonies such as baptism, confirmation, marriage and funerals in addition to sports services. The chapel was intended as a facility for hikers who wanted to attend a Sunday service, even if they chose to go up into the heights for exercise and fresh air. Hiking in the woods was almost fashionable in the late 19th century.

Tourist hotels, restaurants, spas and sanatoriums were built in the area, making it a destination also for the growing population of the capital Christiania, (now Oslo). Nature trails and roads led up the Holmenkollåsen (the hill at Holmenkollen).

Royal Lodge
In 1910, the Royal Lodge (Kongsseteren), located close to the chapel, was presented to King Haakon and Queen Maud as a coronation gift from the Norwegian people. The Royal Lodge is a regular haunt of the Norwegian royal family. Whenever they are there – especially during the Christmas holidays and the traditional Holmenkollen competitions in March – they visit the Holmenkollen Chapel.

Fire and reconstruction

The chapel was burned down in an act of arson on 23 August 1992. The police first concluded that the fire was not intentional, but that it was due to a defect in the electrical system. Later, this explanation was withdrawn and the black metal artists Varg Vikernes (of Burzum) and Bård "Faust" Eithun were tried and sentenced; Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth had also participated, but was murdered by Vikernes before the trial.

An early proposal from the church to build a modern chapel was soon abandoned as a result of a popular demand to build a church that looked like the original building. With half of the funds from the private collection, a new chapel was designed by architect Arne Sødal and built in 1996.

The new chapel
The new chapel was built with inspiration from the stave churches of Rauland and Heidal, built with massive planks and pine walls. Its arches are made of solid spruce roots and only old handicraft techniques were used. To facilitate construction, an accurate 3-dimensional model was made first. Drawings based on the model were used for making all of the components in Vågå before they were brought to Holmenkollen by road and assembled as a kit.

The chapel has new stave church features, and benefits from dragestil wood carvings. The chapel serves as a new working church. In addition to the church, the complex contains an assembly hall, kitchen and meeting rooms.

References

External links
 Parish website in Norwegian

Lutheran churches in Oslo
Holmenkollen
Churches completed in 1996
1903 establishments in Norway
20th-century Church of Norway church buildings
Churches completed in 1903
Wooden churches in Norway
National Romantic architecture in Norway
Churches destroyed by arson
Buildings and structures in Norway destroyed by arson

Holmenkollen Chapel


The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a Cup Series event scheduled for that weekend.

The series was previously called the Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series in 1982 and 1983, the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series from 1984 through 2002, the NASCAR Busch Series from 2003 through 2007, and the NASCAR Nationwide Series from 2008 through 2014. Since 2015, it is sponsored by Comcast via its consumer cable and wireless brand Xfinity.

History

The series emerged from NASCAR's Sportsman division, which had been formed in 1950 as NASCAR's short track race division. It was NASCAR's fourth series (after the Modified and Roadster series in 1948 and Strictly Stock Series in 1949). The sportsman cars were not current model cars and could be modified more, but not as much as Modified series cars. It became the Late Model Sportsman Series in 1968, and soon featured races on larger tracks such as Daytona International Speedway. Drivers used obsolete Grand National cars on larger tracks but by the inception of the touring format in 1982, the series used older compact cars. Short track cars with relatively small 300 cubic inch V-8 motors were used. Drivers used smaller current year models featuring V6 motors.

The modern-day Xfinity Series was formed in 1982, when Anheuser-Busch sponsored a newly reformed late-model sportsman series with its Budweiser brand. In 1984, the series switched sponsorship to Anheuser-Busch's Busch Beer brand and was renamed the Busch Grand National Series.

"Grand National" was dropped from the series' title in 2003 as part of NASCAR's brand identity (the "Grand National" name was later used for the Busch East and Winston West series as part of a nationwide standardization of rules for NASCAR's regional racing; both series are now run under ARCA Menards Series banner after NASCAR purchased the organization in 2018). Anheuser-Busch dropped the sponsorship after the 2007 season; Nationwide Insurance took over the sponsorship for the 2008 season, renaming it the Nationwide Series. The Nationwide sponsorship was a seven-year contract, and did not include the banking and mortgage departments of Nationwide. The sponsorship reportedly carried a $10 million commitment for 2008, with 6% annual escalations thereafter.

On September 3, 2014, it was announced that Comcast would become the new title sponsor of the series via its cable television and internet brand Xfinity, renaming it the Xfinity Series. In 2016, NASCAR implemented a seven-race Chase system similar to the one used in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Xfinity race fields have varied in the number of drivers. Prior to 2013, the grid size resembled its Cup counterpart with 43 cars per race; that year, it shrank to 40 maximum cars. The field was further reduced in 2019 and 2020 to 38 and 36, respectively. During the 2020 season, fields were temporarily increased to 40 cars to accommodate part-time teams that were otherwise unable to qualify due to such sessions being canceled in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Races held outside the U.S.
On March 6, 2005, the series held its first race outside the United States, the Telcel-Motorola 200. The race was held in Mexico City, Mexico at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, a track that has held Formula One and Champ Car races in the past. It was won by Martin Truex Jr. On August 4, 2007, the series held its second race outside the United States, at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec, another road course. It was won by Kevin Harvick, while Quebec native Patrick Carpentier finished second. In July 2008, NASCAR announced that the Nationwide Series would not return to Mexico City in 2009, and in 2012 they announced that it would not be returning to Montreal in 2013.

Playoffs

In 2016, the NXS and Truck Series adopted a playoff format similar to the NASCAR Cup Series Chase for the Championship. Unlike the Cup Series, whose Chase consists of four rounds, the Xfinity Series and Truck Series both use a three-round format. After each of the first two rounds, the four Chase grid drivers with the fewest season points are eliminated from the grid and Chase contention.

 Round of 12 (races 27–29)
 Begins with 12 drivers who qualify for the Chase grid with 2,000 points, plus the bonus Playoffs' points acquired in regular season.
 Round of 8 (races 30–32)
 Begins with eight drivers, each with 3,000 points
 Championship 4 (final race)
 The last four drivers in contention for the season title will have their points reset to 4,000 points, with the highest finisher in the race winning the NXS title.

Television broadcasting

United States
In the 1980s, races were sparsely shown, mainly by ESPN if they were covering the cup race at the same track. Starting in 1990, more races began to be shown. By the mid-1990s, all races were shown. Most standalone races were aired on TNN, which helped grow coverage of the series, while races that were companion races with Winston Cup dates mostly aired on the network airing the Cup race. TNN aired some of these races, which also aired on CBS, NBC, ESPN, ABC and TBS.

From 2001 until 2006, Fox Sports covered the entire first half of the Busch Grand National season, while NBC and TNT both aired races during the second half, with Turner Sports producing all the coverage for both networks. However, in even numbered years, coverage was changed, with the opening race at Daytona airing on NBC in 2004, on TNT in 2002 and 2006 (due to NBC's coverage of the Winter Olympics) and the track's July race airing on FX. Large portions of Fox's coverage aired on sister network FX, with a few marquee events on the network itself.

From 2007 until 2014, ESPN was the home of the renamed Nationwide Series. Generally four races per season aired on ABC, with the remainder on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNews. Early in ESPN's run, ESPN Classic was used for NNS overflow, however with less carriage of that network, this practice ended. Fox Sports made a return to the series, airing the 2011 Bubba Burger 250 at Richmond on Speed Channel, as ESPN gave up its exclusive rights to the race because of programming conflicts.

In 2015, the NXS returned to Fox Sports during the first half of the season. Like the previous time Fox held rights to the series, most of the coverage aired on cable, though this time it aired on FS1. Four races aired on Fox itself until 2019, when all races moved to FS1. The second half of the NXS season is televised by NBC Sports. Four to five races air on NBC itself, while the others air on NBCSN (until 2020) or, during the Olympics, CNBC or USA Network (prior to 2020). Since 2021, USA Network had carried all races not aired on NBC or Fox Sports.

The Xfinity Series will move exclusively to The CW in 2025 as part of a seven-year deal.

Latin America
The NXS is available in most Latin American countries on cable and satellite TV. Since 2006, (formerly called SPEED until 2013) carries live coverage of all events. The races are also shown on Fox Sports Latin America, some of them live and some tape-delayed depending on the network's schedule. Televisa Deportes also broadcast a 30-minute recap every Sunday morning on national television in Mexico. In Brazil, BandSports carries all three series.

Australia
Network Ten's additional high-definition service, ONE, began broadcasting races from the NXS live or near live during the 2008 season. ONE continued to air highlights packages of each race until the end of 2014. Broadcasts of the series are now exclusively shown on the Fox Sports pay TV channels.

Canada
All races are live on TSN channels using FOX's or NBC's coverage. Also, races are broadcast on RDS or RDS2 in French using the world feed produced by NASCAR.

Europe
In 2012, Motors TV broadcasts all Xfinity races live, delayed and highlights, until 2018 when the channel ceased operations.

In Portugal, SPORT TV broadcasts every Xfinity races live.

In the United Kingdom, the Xfinity races—in full and highlights—are available on Premier Sports 2.

Asia
All races are live on Sports Illustrated Television channels using FOX's or NBC's coverage with highlights on Fox Sports Asia.

Cup Series drivers in the Xfinity Series

Since the early days of the Xfinity Series, many NASCAR Cup Series drivers have used their days off to drive in the NXS. This can be for any number of reasons, most prominent or often claimed is to gain more "seat time", or to familiarize themselves with the track. Examples of this would be Dale Earnhardt, who won the very first NXS race, and Kyle Busch, who has won the most races in NXS history.

In recent years, this practice had been dubbed "Buschwhacking" by its detractors. The colloquialism originated when Anheuser-Busch was the main sponsor of the series by combining the name "Busch" with the term "bushwhacker," but it has gradually fallen out of use since Anheuser-Busch's sponsorship ended. Other nicknames, such as Claim Jumper (for when Nationwide was the series sponsor), and Signal Pirate (for the current sponsor Xfinity) have never really caught on, although the generic term "Cup leech" is often used after the end of Busch sponsorship.

Critics claim that NASCAR Cup Series drivers racing in the NXS take away opportunities from the NXS regulars, usually younger and less experienced drivers. On the other hand, many fans claim that without the NASCAR Cup Series stars and the large amount of fan interest they attract on their own races, the NXS would be inadequate as a high-tier division. In addition, many NXS drivers have welcomed the Cup drivers because it gives them the opportunity to drive with more seasoned veterans.

In 2007, the NASCAR Cup Series began racing with the Car of Tomorrow, a radically new specification different from the NXS. NASCAR Cup Series drivers have admitted that driving the Xfinity car the day before the race does little to help with the NASCAR Cup Series race, as the cars differ greatly. This loosely resulted in the new Nationwide Series car making its debut in the 2010 Subway Jalapeño 250 at Daytona International Speedway. This car has a set-up closer to the current Cup car and some Cup drivers who have tested the car say it has similar handling characteristics. The new car has gone full-time since the 2011 season. In 2007, six out of the top ten drivers in the final point standings were Cup regulars, with Jason Leffler being the only non-Cup driver in that group to win a race in 2007. This number decreased from 2006 when 8 out of 10 drivers were Cup regulars. The decreased number is attributed to Cup regulars running only partial schedules, allowing for more NXS regulars to reach the top ten in points. However, the champions from 2006 to 2010 were all Cup regulars driving the full series schedule (Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch, and Brad Keselowski). As a result, beginning with the 2011 season, NASCAR implemented a rule stating that drivers could only compete for the drivers' championship in one of three national series (Cup, Xfinity, and Truck) of the drivers' choosing.

On October 26, 2016, NASCAR announced plans to limit Cup participation in the lower series starting in 2017. Cup drivers who were competing for points in the Cup Series with at least five years of experience in the series would be allowed to compete in up to 10 NXS races, but are banned from racing in the series' regular season finale, Chase, and Dash 4 Cash races.

Xfinity Series cars

In the early 1980s, teams were switching from the General Motors 1971–77 X-Body compact cars with 311-cubic inch engines. Later, teams were using General Motors 1982–87 G-body cars. Ford teams have used the Thunderbird cars consistently.

In 1989, NASCAR changed rules requiring cars to use current body styles, similar to the Cup cars. However, the cars still used V6 engines. The cars gradually became similar to Cup cars.

In 1995, changes were made. The series switched to V-8s with a compression ratio of 9:1 (as opposed to 14:1 for Cup at the time). The vehicle weight with driver was set at 3,300 pounds (as opposed to 3,400 for Cup). The body style changes, as well as the introduction of V-8s, made the two series' cars increasingly similar.

The suspensions, brake systems, transmissions, were identical between the two series, but The Car of Tomorrow eliminates some of these commonalities. The Car of Tomorrow is taller and wider than the Generation 4-based vehicles in the then-Nationwide Series, and until 2010, it utilizes a front "splitter", opposed to a front valance. The Car of Tomorrow also set pole speeds slower than the NXS cars at companion races.

Previously, Busch Series cars used fuel that contained lead. NASCAR conducted a three-race test of unleaded gasoline in this series that began on July 29, 2006, with a race at Gateway International Raceway. The fuel, Sunoco GT 260 Unleaded, became mandatory in all series starting with the second weekend of the 2007 series, with Daytona being the last race weekend using leaded gasoline.

Another distinction between the cars started in 2008: Goodyear had developed a rain tire for NASCAR road course racing in both series but NASCAR had yet to use them under race conditions by the time NASCAR abandoned the program for the Cup Series in 2005 (the Cup Series eventually used rain tires at the 2020 Bank of America Roval 400 and 2021 Texas Grand Prix), but the Busch Series continued to use rain tires in races at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez and Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, since the races could not be planned with rain dates. When rain started to fall at the 2008 NAPA Auto Parts 200, the tires were used in the rain for the first time.

Another distinction was added in 2012, when NASCAR changed the fuel delivery system in the Cup cars from carburetion to fuel injection. NXS cars continue to use carburetors. Furthermore, with the Cup Series' switch to Next Gen car in 2022, Xfinity cars (as well as Truck Series vehicles) continue to use traditional five-lug steel wheels and centered door numbers, as opposed to an aluminum center lock wheel and numbers being placed behind the front wheel on the Next Gen.

Specifications for Generation 4 NXS car

 Chassis: Steel tube frame with integral safety roll cage – must meet NASCAR standards
 Engine displacement:  Pushrod V8
 Transmission: 4-speed manual
 Weight:  minimum (without driver);  minimum (with driver)
 Power output: 650–700 hp (485–522 kW) unrestricted, ≈450 hp (335 kW) restricted
 Torque:
 Fuel: 90 MON, 98 RON, 94 AKI unleaded gasoline provided by Sunoco 85% + Sunoco Green Ethanol E15
 Fuel capacity:
 Fuel delivery: Carburetion
 Compression ratio: 12:1
 Aspiration: Naturally aspirated
 Carburetor size: 390 ft³/min (184 L/s) 4 barrel
 Wheelbase:
 Steering: Power, recirculating ball
 Tires: Slick (all tracks) and rain tires (road courses only if in case of rainy conditions) provided by Goodyear Eagle
 Length:
 Width:
 Height:
 Safety equipment: HANS device, seat belt 6-point supplied by Willans

Xfinity "Car of Tomorrow" (CoT)

The then Nationwide Series unveiled its "Car of Tomorrow" (CoT) at the July 2010 race at Daytona International Speedway. Before being fully integrated in the 2011 season, it was also used in 2010 races at Michigan International Speedway, Richmond International Raceway and Charlotte Motor Speedway. The Xfinity CoT has important differences from the NASCAR Cup Series CoT, and the now-retired Generation 4 style car. The body and aerodynamic package differs from the NASCAR Cup Series cars, marketing American pony cars from the 1960s such as the Ford Mustang, Dodge Challenger, and Chevrolet Camaro. The change to share the same CoT chassis as the Cup series resulted in the wheelbase being lengthened from 105 to 110 inches

Each manufacturer uses a distinct body design (similar to 1960s muscle cars), built within strict aerodynamic guidelines provided by NASCAR. The Chevrolet car body currently resembles the Camaro SS, after initially running the Impala and then the Zeta-based Camaro (which coincided with GM's Cup car being its four-door Zeta counterpart, the Holden VF Commodore based Chevrolet SS, being used in Cup at the time). Ford uses the Mustang GT. Toyota runs the Camry, reconfigured in 2015 to resemble the current production model. Toyota announced they would be running the Supra starting in 2019, replacing the Camry, which had been run in the series since Toyota joined the Xfinity Series in 2007. Dodge teams used the Challenger R/T model, despite the manufacturer pulling all factory support after 2012 (though it continued in Canada as FCA Canada still supports the Pinty's Series). Following Dodge's exit, smaller underfunded teams continued to run second-hand Challenger chassis without factory support (thus earning the nickname "Zombie Dodges"). As a result of a rules change after the 2018 season, all Challenger chassis were rendered ineligible for competition, as the series made the switch to composite body panels. Since FCA had pulled factory support years earlier, no new body was submitted for competition, ending the possibility of running a Challenger chassis in the series.

Manufacturer representation

Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series (1982–1983)
Chrysler
Dodge Challenger: 1982

Ford
Ford Fairmont: 1982–1983

General Motors
Chevrolet Malibu: 1982–1983
Oldsmobile Omega: 1982–1983
Pontiac Ventura: 1982–1983

Busch Grand National Series (1984–2002)
Chrysler
Dodge Intrepid: 2002

Ford
Ford Fairmont: 1984–1986
Ford Thunderbird: 1987–1997
Ford Taurus: 1998–2002
Mercury Cougar: 1984

General Motors
Buick Regal: 1985, 1988–1995 (no factory support after 1991)
Buick LeSabre: 1986–1989
Chevrolet Monte Carlo: 1986–1988, 1995–2002
Chevrolet Nova: 1984–1988
Chevrolet Lumina: 1989–1995
Oldsmobile Omega: 1984–1987
Oldsmobile Delta 88: 1986–1987
Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme: 1988–1995 (no factory support after 1992)
Pontiac Ventura: 1984–1987
Pontiac Grand Prix: 1988–2002

Busch Series (2003–2007)
Chrysler
Dodge Intrepid: 2003-2004
Dodge Charger: 2005–2007

Ford
Ford Taurus: 2003–2005
Ford Fusion: 2006–2007

General Motors
Pontiac Grand Prix: 2003–2005 (no factory support after 2003)
Chevrolet Monte Carlo: 2003–2005
Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS: 2006–2007

Toyota
Toyota Camry: 2007

Nationwide Series (2008–2014)
Chrysler
Dodge Charger: 2008–2010
Dodge Challenger R/T: 2010–2014 (no factory support after 2012)

Ford
Ford Fusion: 2008–2010
Ford Mustang GT: 2010–2014

General Motors
Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS: 2006–2007
Chevrolet Impala SS: 2008–2009
Chevrolet Impala: 2010–2013 (no factory support in 2013)
Chevrolet Camaro SS: 2013–2014

Toyota
Toyota Camry: 2008–2014

Xfinity Series (2015–present)
FCA US (Chrysler)
Dodge Challenger R/T: 2015–2018 (no factory support)

Ford
Ford Mustang GT: 2015–present

General Motors
Chevrolet Camaro SS: 2015–present

Toyota
Toyota Camry: 2015–2020 (no factory support after 2018)
Toyota Supra: 2019–present

Seasons

Pre-Xfinity Series champions

 Driver in bold has won at least one NASCAR Cup Series championship
 Driver in italics has won at least one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship

All-time win table
All figures correct as of Dead On Tools 250 at Martinsville Speedway (October 28, 2023.)

See also

 List of auto racing tracks in the United States
 List of NASCAR drivers
 List of NASCAR series
 List of NASCAR teams
 List of NASCAR Xfinity Series champions
 Dash 4 Cash
 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
 NASCAR Cup Series

References

External links

Stock car racing series in the United States

NASCAR Xfinity Series