With 2026 around the corner, here’s a look at Burlington circa 2007, when Google cameras first started photographing the town. That’s less than two decades ago. Nothing much could change in such a short time, right?
Well, actually . . .
THEN — Cambridge Street at Skilton Lane.NOW — CVS, traffic light and a flatter and safer approach from Skilton.THEN — Across from Skilton (photo credit George Moore)NOW — Burlington Heights condo complex.THEN — Building 19 1/2 and the plazas next to it.DownhillUphillNOW — The Shoppes at Simonds Park.THEN — This building.NOW — Mercedes Benz of Burlington.THEN — Empty office buildings and dirt piles.NOW — 3d Avenue restaurants and shopping, including Wegmans.THEN — More empty offices, more dirt.NOW — King’s Dining and Entertainment etc.THEN — Millipore Sigma.NOW — Lifetime Athletic and Lifetime ApartmentsTHEN — Siemens Nixdorf atop Summit Drive.NOW — Millipore Sigma, whose liquid “M” sign acts like a lava lamp and can be seen all around town.THEN — Erstwhile Reed Ham Works building on the right.NOW — A branch office of the state Department of Children and Families.THEN — New England Executive Park, next to the Burlington Mall.NOW — The District restaurant area, and an ICE facility farther down.THEN — Memorial Elementary School.NOW — Memorial Elementary School.THEN — Marshall Simonds Middle School.NOW — Marshall Simonds Middle School.THEN — Sears.NOW — Stores and food.THEN — Sears Auto Center.NOW — Stores and food.THEN — Corner of Terrace Hall Ave. and Middlesex Turnpike.NOW — Starbucks drive-through, hair salon, fire station instead of fire shoebox.THEN — Vacant Wildwood Elementary SchoolNOW — Wildwood Park.THEN — Gas station that began life as Jack Kilmartin’s Esso station.NOW — Convenient MD Urgent Care.THEN — Vacant lot, former location of Burlington Dodge on Middlesex Turnpike.NOW — Shopping plaza.THEN — Grass.NOW — Greenleaf Way, including Primrose School and Stonebridge Senior Living.THEN — This wasn’t the Middlesex Turnpike (ignore Google’s labeling). The Turnpike passed Lord Baron and a bunch of houses on the way to Bedford.NOW — This is indeed the Middlesex Turnpike, and it continues straight. The old Turnpike is now the Turnpike Extension and ends at Crowley Street in Burlington.THEN — Kent Cottage, alone and abandoned.NOW — It has friends from a different country and different century.THEN — Beacon Village reeked of 1970s.NOW — Beacon Village has lightened up.THEN — Old houses along Cambridge Street on the way to the high school entrance.NOW — Commercial buildings and condos.THEN — Woodward’sNOW — Dunkin’ Donuts on the Woodward’s site, and a new office complex on the other corner.
Other dearly departed:
Video VillageTown GroceryBurlington Auto SupplyPatterson’sBurlington House of PizzaL’AndanaRoche Bros.Fresh City and Ginger PodDandelion GreenLord & TaylorTower RecordsChili’sLester’s Roadside BBQForm In TeakLemon TreeDonahue’s Furniture
But wait. Here’s more from 2007.
McDonald’s still had the classic lookThere was no Citizens Bank on the corner of Mall Road and Lexington Street.There was no TD bank across the street, next to DD.No Santander Bank or clock tower on the corner of Cambridge and Winn.The Burlington “skyscraper” had landscape design out front, including a big red “V.”Newbury Comics was in the Vine Brook Plaza instead of the Mall.Keurig Dr. Pepper world headquarters under construction.This is now a DB dance studio and seems to have more movement inside.
RIP to some familiar houses:
73 Winn Street. Gone.“Log cabin” on the corner of Great Pines and Hillcrest. Gone.Manning house at 5 Francis Wyman. Gone.
What does the near future hold? Something is brewing at 128 Lexington Street, next to the old Knights of Columbus:
And a traffic light is coming to Winn Street at Mountain Road:
Lastly, some observations from adjacent towns.
The Billerica Mall was still standing (barely) in 2007:
So was the Woburn Mall. In fact, it was there until 2020. Burlington Retro did a video walk-through in 2019:
Soon afterward, the Woburn Mall was butchered — along with the English language.
The Butters Row bridge in Wilmington was still a rickety near-death experience in 2007. Now it’s being reborn as an actual bridge instead of a bad dream. With any luck, it will be ready for automobile travel before automobiles become obsolete.
excellent work bob…….sad to see the kent cottage left to decay there surrounded by outlanders….i still remember playing tennis with tali and clare on their tennis courts there in 1948……….press on, carl, bhs, 1954
Thank you. All your hard work is appreciated.
Mike Kirouac
BHS class of 73
Great job Bob. Very well done!
excellent work bob…….sad to see the kent cottage left to decay there surrounded by outlanders….i still remember playing tennis with tali and clare on their tennis courts there in 1948……….press on, carl, bhs, 1954
Love these!
Love the work you do. Brings me back to when things were so much easier.
wow – still think of the OG McDonalds at Rt3a