Wender·Vista
Burlington Church Street Marketplace
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileVermont
four blocks above Lake Champlain, in downtown Burlington

Burlington Church Street Marketplace

— — a street the cars forgot, where the city kept walking.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“Four blocks of brick and bluestone, closed to cars since 1981, climbing gently away from Lake Champlain. The Marketplace runs from Main to Pearl, lined with cafes, bookshops, and the spire of the First Unitarian at the top of the rise. In summer the buskers work the corners and the cafe tables spill onto the pavers; in winter the lights string the bare maples and the snow gets walked into the joints of the brick. from the studio

from the studio
Burlington Church Street Marketplace
— bring it home

Burlington Church Street Marketplace, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Burlington Church Street Marketplace

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

The Church Street Marketplace is a four-block pedestrian mall in downtown Burlington, Vermont, running north from Main Street to Pearl Street and anchored at its head by the steeple of the First Unitarian Church. The street was closed to vehicle traffic and converted to a brick-paved promenade in 1981, the result of a federally funded urban-design project led by architect Bill Truex. It is the spine of Burlington's downtown commerce and one of the most-walked stretches of public street in the state, a short climb from the Lake Champlain waterfront.

— the stone

The pavers are clay brick set in herringbone, edged with bluestone curbs and granite benches, with cast-iron tree grates around the street maples. The original 1981 plan called for stone benches, bollards, and shaded seating areas every block, a vocabulary kept through every renovation since. A major repaving in 2018 replaced the worn brick in long sections without changing the pattern. The First Unitarian Church at the head of the street dates to 1816 and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

— the visit

The Marketplace is open to walkers around the clock, with most shops trading from late morning to evening and the restaurants later. The street hosts about a hundred storefronts at any given count, plus a rotating program of buskers, vendors, and seasonal markets run by the Marketplace district. Free public parking is short; the Marketplace Garage on Cherry Street is the closest paid option. The Burlington waterfront, ECHO Leahy Center, and the ferry terminal sit a four-block walk west, downhill toward Lake Champlain.

— where
United States · Burlington, Chittenden County, Vermont
— position
44.4778° N · 73.2123° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
0.5 km W
Burlington Waterfront and ECHO
lakefront district
0.1 km N
First Unitarian Church
1816 church
1 km E
University of Vermont
university
0.7 km NW
Battery Park
lakeside park
N
Burlington Church Street Marketplace
Burlington Waterfront and ECHO
First Unitarian Church
University of Vermont
Battery Park
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Burlington Church Street Marketplace — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

It runs four blocks through downtown Burlington, Vermont, from Main Street north to Pearl Street. The First Unitarian Church anchors the top of the rise, and the Lake Champlain waterfront sits four blocks west, downhill.

The street was closed to vehicle traffic and converted to a brick-paved promenade in 1981, following a federally funded urban-design project led by architect Bill Truex. It has stayed car-free since.

The First Unitarian Church, completed in 1816, anchors the head of the Marketplace at Pearl Street. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and gives Church Street both its name and its long sight line.

About one hundred storefronts trade along the four blocks at any given count, a mix of independent shops, restaurants, and a handful of national chains. The Marketplace district also runs a rotating vendor and busker program.

Yes. The Marketplace is walkable around the clock in every season, with shops on their own hours. Winter lighting goes up in November, and the cafe tables return to the pavers by late spring.

The Marketplace Garage on Cherry Street is the closest paid option, a block off Church. On-street metered spaces on College, Bank, Cherry, and Pearl also serve the Marketplace, though they fill quickly on weekends.

— about the piece in your home

It has been a meaningful gift for customers who lived or studied in Burlington. Church Street is the part of town most people picture when they think of home. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio carries well.

The brick, bluestone, and string-light palette works in warm minimalist rooms, traditional New England interiors, and modern lofts that want one piece of urban texture. It sits comfortably above a mid-century console or a painted bench.

Yes. City-portrait pieces continue to grow in modern apartments and small offices as an alternative to generic abstracts. A single Medium reads as a quiet focal point on a hallway or kitchen-side wall.

A single Large is the cleanest answer above a standard sofa or console. For longer walls, a 4-tile Mural or a 9-tile Mural lets the storefronts and the steeple breathe across the width.

Yes. For a kitchen backsplash or a bathroom wall, order the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and handle steam and splashes without losing the surface.

A soft microfibre cloth and warm water are all the tile needs. Skip abrasive pads and any cleaner with bleach or solvents, which can dull the thin glossy finish over time.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to the studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. Reid Wender is the eye behind the catalogue, and the work is not licensed from any outside source.

— if this one stayed with you

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