A statue of Vermont folk hero Ethan Allen stands
guard outside the massive front doors of the Vermont
State House in Montpelier. Inside, the marble-floored halls
lead to colorful displays of Civil War flags and other memorabilia
from Vermont's past. The legislative chambers are virtually unchanged
from a century ago. The Vermont State House is much more than
an imposing granite structure. It is an architectural treasure
as well as a splendid museum of the state's political and military
history. Artifacts are found in several area museums, and historic
architecture pervades the downtown districts in Montpelier, Barre,
Northfield and Waterbury. Self-guided Walking
Tours of historic buildings are available for Montpelier,
Barre and Waitsfield.
More than 30 sites in Central Vermont are part of National Register of Historic Places tour of the region.
The Vermont
Historical Society is in the Pavilion Building near the State
House. Vermont's past is captured in exhibits of costumes, furnishings,
tools, paintings and curiosities. The library has a collection
of maps, manuscripts and photographs.
The Wood art Gallery is
located in one of Montpelier's architectural gems, College Hall
on the Vermont College Campus.
Central Vermont's most famous artist, Thomas Waterman Wood, was
born and raised in Montpelier in the early 1800s. He summered
his entire adult life in a gothic cottage that graces Northfield
Street. Montpelier, its people and the surrounding countryside
became subjects for Wood, whose portraits and genre paintings
- paintings that depict everyday life - soon became highly respected.
The Barre Opera House occupies
the second story of the municipal building in downtown Barre.
After decades of non-use and decay, the opera house was partially
reopened in 1980. A $1-million project restoring the facility
to its original grandeur is now nearly completed. Similar in design
to Ford's Theatre in Washington, D. C., the opera house was a
focal point for community activity from 1865 to the early 1940s.
Every type of live performance was held there - concerts, vaudeville
and boxing matches. Entertainers on the Barre stage included Boris
Karloff, George M. Cohan and Eugene O'Neill.
Norwich University, the
nation's oldest private military college, just 10 miles south
of Montpelier, is home to some beautiful buildings as well as
a military museum. Exhibits interpret the history of the institution
and achievements of alumni.
Steeple at norwich UniversityHope Cemetery in Barre. The cemetery shows the skills and art of Barre craftsmanship in granite sculpture and design.
Covered bridges dot the landscape. One site in Northfield Falls just
off Route 12 is unique in the eastern United States. Two covered
bridges are just a few yards from each other, and two others are
close by.
A bridge spanning Sunset
Lake in Brookfield floats on pontoons because the depth of
the lake makes a pillared bridge impractical. Crossing the bridge
with an automobile is a somewhat eerie - but safe - experience.
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