Buildings

Brattleboro, Vermont (3)

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Looking north from the corner of Main & Canal Streets in Brattleboro, Vermont, around 1917. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.

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The scene in 2014:

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Taken from across the street from the photos in this post, the 1917 scene shows some of the industrial development along the Whetstone Brook near its confluence with the Connecticut River just to the east (right) of this scene. Many of the buildings still exist, with the oldest one in this scene being the 1850 Van Doorn/Culver Block, in the foreground with the tall gabled roof.

The top photo is part of a panoramic view; the other parts can be viewed here:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 4

Brattleboro, Vermont (2)

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Facing northwest from the corner of Main & Canal Streets in Brattleboro, Vermont, around 1917. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.

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The scene in 2014:

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The building in the right-center of these two photos is the Wilder Building, which was built in 1875.  It is at the southern end of Main Street, and is directly adjacent to the Whetstone Brook.  In 2004, the top two floors of the building were heavily damaged by a fire, but the historic building was able to be restored, and today it continues to be used for mixed-use residential and commercial purposes.  Further up Main Street to the right is the 1936 Latchis Hotel, which replaced the three-story commercial building in the 1917 photo.  On the far right is the Barber Building, located at the corner of Main Street and Flat Street.  It was built in 1915, so it was brand new in the 1917 photo, and today it is home to Sam’s Outdoor Outfitters.

The top photo is part of a panoramic view; the other parts can be viewed here:

Part 1
Part 3
Part 4

Brattleboro, Vermont (1)

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Brattleboro, Vermont, facing east from the corner of Main and Canal Streets around 1917. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.

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The scene in 2014:

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The 1917 photo provides an interesting contrast between old and new, with horse-drawn carriages making their way up and down Canal Street to the left, and modern automobiles parked in front of the Hoadley Hotel to the right.  All of the buildings are now gone, and today the site is home to the Brattleboro Food Co-op.

The top photo is part of a panoramic view; the other parts can be viewed here:

Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Hotel Brooks, Brattleboro, Vermont

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Main Street in Brattleboro, looking south toward High Street around 1905. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The scene in 2014:

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These photos were taken facing the opposite direction of the ones in this post, and faces the historic Hotel Brooks on the right-hand side of the photos.  Built in 1871, it was once a popular hotel and summer resort, but has since been extensively renovated.  The outward appearance looks the same, but the interior was drastically changed in the 1970s, and the upper floors were damaged by a fire in 2011.  Currently, the building is undergoing repairs, as can be seen with the boarded-up storefronts.

Main Street, Brattleboro, Vermont (3)

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Another scene on Main Street in Brattleboro around 1907, looking north toward the corner of Main and High Streets. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The scene in 2014:

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Unlike the other two 1907 photos of Brattleboro here and here, this scene actually shows some substantial changes over the years. Barely visible on the far right is the Vermont Savings Bank Block, which was built in 1869 with the ornate facade.  The building is actually still there, but the facade was reconstructed in 1935.  To the left of it is a modern commercial building, and past it is the c.1850 Paramount Theatre building, which was significantly reconstructed in 1937 and converted into a movie theater.  Further down Main Street is the Centre Congregational Church, which was built in 1843 and has seen several alterations over the years.

Main Street, Brattleboro, Vermont (2)

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Looking up Main Street in Brattleboro from the corner of Canal Street, around 1907. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress, Detroit Publishing Company Collection.

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The scene in 2014:

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This view gives a good overview of the architecture on the east side of Main Street, very little of which has changed in the past century.  Many of the buildings were even fairly old when the first photo was taken, including the circa 1850 Van Doorn/Culver Block in the center of the 2014 photo.  Beyond it are several commercial blocks from around the turn of the century, and the oldest buildings are at the top of the hill and date to around 1840-1845, making them probably the oldest commercial buildings in downtown.  With the exception of the building on the right-hand side in the foreground of the 1907 photo, all of the buildings still exist today, forming part of the Downtown Brattleboro Historic District.