Rutland Vermont with Dinner

…continuing with our summer adventures in the northeastern USA.

This view was taken from US Hwy. 4 looking down into the valley where Rutland Vermont is located.

Rutland has an estimated population of about 15,800.  In the early 1800s, Rutland had its beginnings as a small settlement named Mill Village.  High quality marble deposits were discovered in the area and with the arrival of the railroad in 1851, plus the decline of Italian quarries, Rutland grew to be one of the world’s leading marble producers.  Experienced Italian marble workers and their families immigrated to the area.  The closing of the quarries in the 1980s and 1990s led to the loss of many jobs in the area.

This handsome 3-story red brick building, called the Metzger Block, is located at 60 Center Street in downtown Rutland.  It was built ca. 1860 for the Verder-Steam Bakery.  The block still has most of its original details including the oversized corbeled cornice and the pilastered and transomed store front.  The interior was completely updated in 1997. 

From what I could determine this office building is well occupied by tenants including the local McDonald’s offices and Blush Salon and Beauty Lounge.  It is on the market so if you’re in the market for some commercial real estate, this building could be yours!  It’s listed for only $299,000.  Check it out at https://www.josiahallen.com/listing/4358308/60-center-street-rutland-city-vt-05701/.

This building is one of many in downtown Rutland that is listed as part of the Rutland Downtown Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. 

This is the new (1999) Rutland railroad passenger depot.  It’s adjacent to the Rutland Shopping Plaza and Merchants Row.  It’s the terminal station for Amtrak’s Ethan Allen Express.  That rail service provides daily 5.5 hour service to and from New York City.  A joint project sponsored by the State of Vermont and Amtrak to extend the Ethan Allen Express north to Burlington Vermont.  Track and tunnel improvements are underway.

Note:

 

·       In 1894, the first polio outbreak in the USA was identified in the Rutland area.  132 people were affected, 7 died and 110 others suffered from some paralysis for life.

This is the Service Building at 128 Merchant’s Row in Rutland.  In 1930, this was not only the tallest building in Vermont at 101 feet tall, but it also was the only skyscraper in the state.  It’s then popular Art Deco style accented its height, making the building seem taller than it was.

At one point the pyramid on top of the building was crowned by an amber glass globe that gleamed brightly at night.  Airplanes didn’t have radar in the 1930s and pilots has to find their way by sight and landmarks.  Pilots approaching Rutland could tell where they were when the Service Building was completed in 1930…

Note:

·       For many years, tall buildings, especially skyscrapers were deemed impractical.  No one wanted to build a structure requiring tenants to climb more than 4 or 5 flights of stairs.  The weird fact is that Elisha Graves Otis, a man from Halifax Vermont, a town with no buildings higher than 3 stories, solved the problem.  He demonstrated the Otis safety elevator in 1853 at the New York Crystal Palace Exhibit, at the World’s Fair.

The Bardwell House was built in 1852.  For many of its early years, this hotel was very well known.  Jay Gould made his home here when he bought up his first railroad holdings at fire sale prices.  FYI, Jay Gould was the epitome of a ruthless robber baron of the Gilded Age.  While he was one of the richest men of his era, he was hated and reviled…with few defenders either then or now.

To learn more about this rather nasty and many faceted character, you can go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Gould.

The 1864 Bardwell House hotel register from the summer of 1864 listed businessmen from Montreal, New York City and Boston.  Others, from as far away as Colorado stayed longer, using the hotel for vacations.  One of the prominent vacationers that summer were Mrs. Abraham Lincoln and her party…

Today this handsome building is a 75 unit apartment complex providing affordable housing through the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  

The Paramount Theater was originally called the Playhouse.  It was built in 1913 in a style which was referred to as the City Beautiful movement.  The interior actually resembled a Victorian era opera house.  Its decor was very over the top…  The theater was renamed The Paramount in 1931, with entertainment shifting from live performances to movies.  The movie theater closed in 1977.  In 1999, a local group began work to restore the theater to its original appearance.  It reopened in the spring of 2000, once again serving as a center for artistic, cultural and educational events.

To check and see what’s going on these days at The Paramount Theater, go to https://www.paramountvt.org/.

This is the Hop N Moose Brewing Company and Restaurant in downtown Rutland.  As per their website, this pub is all about “locally sourced food paired with hand crafted ales and lagers…”

The inside of Hop N Moose features a woodsy industrial look in a long dining area with an equally long bar.

Here is the namesake of the pub and restaurant.  That was one big bull-moose! 

After a long day of exploration, Laurie went for a double Tito’s Vodka and tonic with 2 limes. ($7.50) I ordered a Lake Monster Lager. ($4.50) My lager is a product of the Lake Monster Brewing Company…in St. Paul Minnesota!  I thought for sure that it was a local brew playing off the alleged monster residing in nearby Lake Champlain.

There was an interesting list of 14 different small plates and appetizers that we could have started with…but I chose the Jumbo Bavarian Pretzel with House Made Rutland Beer Cheese. ($8.95) As you can see, this tasty pretzel was indeed huge!  It was a challenge, even for yours truly… The beer cheese sauce was very nice.

When you’re in a restaurant and you notice a solid stone pizza oven, pizza as your entrée has to be a consideration.  Add to that fact that other than the aforementioned small plates and appetizers, only a handful of sandwiches were on the menu, the choice was obvious.

This was our large Pepperoni and Sausage Pizza with Blue Cheese Crumbles. ($18.95) It was good pizza…but the blue cheese was a bit of overkill on my part!  I should have stuck with our usual and left off the blue cheese…but I had to try it once.

All in all, Hop N Moose was a good choice.  It’s located at 41 Center Street in Rutland Vermont.  Phone: 802-775-7063.  To check out the website and menu, go to https://rutlandbeerworks.wixsite.com/hopnmoose.

We passed this building the next day as we began exploring attractions in the area around Rutland.  Located at the entrance to the Vermont State Fairgrounds this is probably the most interesting structure I noted around Rutland.  Unfortunately, other than the obvious fact that it’s an entrance to the fairgrounds and it’s easily over 100 years old, I couldn’t find any other information.  Originally this land was The Rutland County Park.  The Vermont State Fair has been held at this location since 1856.

To learn more about the State Fair (August 13 – 17, 2019) and other events being held here, go to http://www.vermontstatefair.org/events.php.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Next up, visiting a President’s tiny old home town!

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave