Browse Items (31 total)

State Street has housed many hotels and guest houses over the years. One of them was the Riverside Inn at 128 State Street. This impressive French Second Empire-style building was constructed in 1869 out of the remains of the smaller episcopal…

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…

This is what real estate development along Marvin and Bingham Streets looked like in the mid-1930s. Bingham Street, seen running left to right in these photos, was built in 1895 by Morton Marvin who owned the house at 100 East State Street.…

In the 1960s there were two motels on Northfield Street on either side of the Brown Derby Supper Club: Sowma’s Motel and the Brown Derby Motel. All three establishments were owned by Montpelier entrepreneur Abe Sowma. The postcard above shows Sowma’s…

In the early 20th century homeowners created “real photo postcards” of their homes, giving us a personalized view of history. This is the home of Hermon, Ellen and Emily Hopkins at 76 College Street. Mr. Hopkins was the long-serving treasurer of…

The Twin City Motel on the Barre-Montpelier Road, soon to be acquired by the Good Samaritan Haven, is a well-maintained example of Vermont’s early tourist infrastructure. Located on a busy country road between two cities, this stop provided gas,…

Yes, Montpelier used to have a YMCA! It was located on State Street where the Northfield Savings Bank portion of the Capitol Plaza Hotel is now located. The building had a large gymnasium in the back that featured a popular basketball court and the…

Color postcard of The Wayside Restaurant on Route 302 in Berlin, Vermont. The photograph features wood siding on the left side of the restaurant, large windows, the Wayside lettering on the brick chimney, along with an empty parking lot and hillside…

Color postcard of The Wayside Restaurant on Route 302 in Berlin, Vermont. The photograph features wood siding on the left side of the restaurant, large windows, the Wayside lettering on the brick chimney, along with an empty parking lot and trees on…

Color postcard of the Howard Johnson's restaurant on Route 302 in Berlin, Vermont. The image shows the restaurant with its famous cupula and two blue cars parked alongside. This view includes an ornate sign advertising the restaurant, "ice cream,…

Color postcard of the Howard Johnson's restaurant on Route 302 in Berlin, Vermont. The image shows the restaurant with its famous cupula and three blue cars parked alongside. The building is white with a light orange roof and robin's-egg-blue…

Postcard with black and white photograph of the aftermath of an explosion of a dynamite shack at Benjamin Falls Farm, August 1932, in Berlin, Vermont. There is a huge crater and a crowd of dozens gathered around the perimeter with more coming up the…