History
The concept of the Church Street Marketplace originated as early as 1958 as part of a series of urban renewal discussions. During the summer of 1971, a one-day, experimental street fair was held on four blocks of Church Street, and approximately 15,000 persons attended. The success of the street fair was taken as a demonstration of the feasibility of a mall. By late 1971, Patrick Robins, president of the Downtown Burlington Development Association and local architect Bill Truex (then chairman of the City's Planning Commission) recognized the potential of the mall. With their guidance, a second, week-long street fair was held along Church Street in the summer of 1972. Traffic was rerouted from four blocks of Church Street to the parallel streets, extra transit was added for the week and short-term physical modifications (such as adding trees, benches, and booths) were made on the street. Merchants were allowed full use of the area for display of retail goods and special events were pl
Specialties
Downtown Burlington Vermont's award-winning open air mall is a hub of activity where you'll find historical architecture, year-round festivals, street entertainers, music, over 100 places to shop and dine, and even quiet places to ponder. We invite you find out about exclusive shopping, dining and events in downtown Burlington as well as to explore the area!