Testimonials
Ron Redmond
( 10/06/2009 3:47 PM )
It began as a one-day experiment. It blossomed into one of the most successful and widely emulated urban pedestrian malls in the country.
Senator Leahy
( 10/06/2009 3:47 PM )
As a long-time Burlington resident, I am proud to see what a tremendous success the Church Street Marketplace has been over the past 20 years. There is an historic relationship between the City of Burlington and Church Street. The revitalized business district of the Church Street Marketplace is a gateway to Vermont that draws millions of people every year to the Champlain Valley for social and cultural events. Everyone knows that there is always something going on along Church Street, and the wide array of activities held here year-round helps guarantee that.
Pete Clavelle
( 10/06/2009 3:47 PM )
Church Street has always been an important part of my life. For me as a kid growing up in Winooski, a trip to Church Street – on the Burlington Rapid Transit (BRT) bus for a quarter – was a big deal. A typical shopping spree would include visits to the large department stores – Abernathy's, Magrams and J.C. Penney. Men or boys clothes would be bought at Nate's or Shepard & Hamell's. Woods was the place for sporting equipment. And lunch might be a Valade's at the bus terminal or at the A&W Root Beer where Leunig's is now located. A little later in life, endless summer months would be spent cruising Church Street in my friend's 1956 Pontiac convertible.
Bill Truex
( 10/06/2009 3:47 PM )
Perhaps the first seed was sown for the development of the Church Street Marketplace when my wife and I made a return visit to Copenhagen. We first visited the city while on a leave of absence from Harvard. Not far from the well-known “little mermaid on the rock” was a very congested shopping area, simply a traffic-snarled nightmare. As we were returning home four months later, we stopped in Copenhagen again and found something quite special … the cars had been removed; people were now able to access the street without the hassle of traffic. The change was dramatic! The wonderful image of the joyful crowds made a strong impression.
Pat Robbins
( 10/06/2009 3:47 PM )
Reflecting on our 20th anniversary, I think it's quite remarkable that visionary ideas, great timing, and a lot of good fortune converged to create the Marketplace. But it was the committed, hard-working people I remember most.
Penrose Jackson
( 10/06/2009 3:47 PM )
In late August 1981 we were scrambling to complete construction in time for an early October opening celebration. Would the glass for the canopies arrive in time? Would we be prepared with entertainment and in-store fun for the thousands of people we hoped would come to help us celebrate? Would those people, in fact, come?
Jay Pasackow
( 10/06/2009 3:47 PM )
Church Street seems to have always been part of my life. I was born and raised in Burlington, and my family owned a Church Street business from 1926-1995. It was always there.
Molly Lambert
( 10/06/2009 3:47 PM )
Almost every Saturday, I give my neighbor – an older woman, a good friend – a call. I tell her that I am headed off to downtown and ask if there is anything she needs. And so I begin my weekly reconnection with the wonderful place where I live. A place that certainly has everything I need.
Melinda Moulton
( 10/06/2009 3:47 PM )
Twenty years ago, Lisa Steele and I began envisioning a new Burlington Waterfront. In 1982 the Waterfront was an old rail yard surrounded by barbed wire, a grain company, a junk yard, and assorted rough and tumble relics of our industrial age. As we moved forward in the revitalization effort, we became aware of a similar project just a few blocks away.
Ed Moore
( 10/06/2009 3:47 PM )
In the summer of 1968 in a 1962 Chevy II, my wife and I, our two young boys, and my mother-in-law made the ten hour trip from New Jersey to Essex Junction to visit family. It was our first foray into Vermont. For most of the time while we were “on vacation,” one thought remained constant in my mind: “Never again!” For someone born and raised in the city, and who still worked in a major metropolitan area, Vermont seemed like the kind of place where it took an hour and a half to watch “60 Minutes.”