Browse Items (52 total)

  • Collection: Montpelier - Then and Now

97 College Street, Dean K. Lillie House

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Dean K. Lillie, Montpelier alderman and one-term mayor, shown here in his 1914 Stanley Steamer 606 roadster,, lived with his wife and family in this Italianate house at 97 College Street from 1907 until 1932. Lillie was in the granite industry in…

12 Main Street, Texaco Station

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The property at 12 Main Street has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past 90 years. A Texaco Station was built there in 1932. At first it was called Sequin’s Service Station; later and longer it was known as Nun’s Service Station. In the…

39-41 College Street, Vermont College

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After the Newbury Seminary purchased the Sloan U.S. Army General Hospital in Montpelier in 1866, school administrators built a wooden, three-story central dormitory using remnants of the old Civil War hospital. This building was used by a succession…

39 School Street, L. Bart Cross House

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Montpelier businessman Lewis Bartlett Cross, his chauffeur, daughter Carrie, and an unidentified woman pose in a 1911 Cadillac touring car in front of their 39 School Street home. L. Bart, as he was known, was the son of the founder of C.H. Cross &…

2 State Street, Hubbard Building

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The brick building at the southwest corner of State and Main (2 State Street), one of the oldest buildings in the downtown, has withstood fires, floods, and changing styles. It was built in circa 1826 by Chester Hubbard and inherited by his son,…

1 National Life Drive, National Life Insurance Company

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When National Life Insurance Company opened their seventh headquarters building on a hill overlooking Montpelier in 1960 it made a bold statement. They built a sleek, International style building with landscaped grounds, a sweeping driveway, and a…

9 Heaton Street, Heaton Hospital Nurses' Home

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The trustees of the Heaton Hospital constructed a large nurses’ home across the street from the city’s hospital in 1925. The building had 55 bedrooms and common rooms. Eventually a nursing school operated there, enrolling 43 students by 1941. The…

112 State Street, Central Vermont Railroad Station

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The Central Vermont Railroad bypassed Montpelier, but for portions of the 19th and 20th centuries a busy spur line connected a
station across the street from the Statehouse to the economic lifeline
of its time. In 1880 the original 1850 station was…

41 Northfield Street, Athenwood

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Today, Northfield Street seems a busy place for a summer home, but in 1850 when aspiring artist Thomas Waterman Wood chose the site for his carpenter Gothic cottage “Athenwood” the street was a country lane overlooking the capital city. The house was…

64 State Street, Christ Church

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This is what mud season looked like at the intersection of State and Elm Streets in 1874! The streets had not yet been paved and planks were placed across the mud to keep pedestrians’ feet somewhat dry. This photograph shows that the south side of…

61 College Street, Harvey House

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Is this the same house? It is, but this house at 61 College Street now has a different facade. This was the home of Rooney M. Harvey who represented Topsham in the state legislature and Orange County in the state senate before moving to Montpelier…

Main Street Bridge, Looking North

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110 years ago, the entrance to Montpelier’s downtown was filled with vertical structures, a stark contrast to today’s spare appearance. Cars traversed a wide 1898 Pratt Truss bridge over the Winooski. The E. W. Bailey grain elevator stood sentinel…