Built in 1890 by a carriage painter, it is a good example of Victorian vernacular mixed commercial and residential architecture.

[1] The Morency Paint Shop and Apartment Building stands on the south side of Portland Street (United States Route 2), a mixed residential-commercial area east of downtown St. Johnsbury.

It is a rambling 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame structure, with a cross-gable roof on the main section, and a series of extensions to the rear that bend around form an L shape.

The interior is divided into apartments, some of which retain woodwork dating to the original construction, or to the early 20th century, when more of the building was converted from its commercial use.

The residential units were occupied by members of the extended Morency family, who were French Canadian immigrants.