The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1884-02-15
The New Town Hall.

The new town hall, the building of
which was ordered at a special town
meeting held Feb. IL. 1888. is completed.
The committee appointed by the meeting
to do the work was Calvin Hill, l.. +.
Knapp. ID. f. BOyce. b. 5. Beckwith w.
b. Wright and the selectmen-then Jo-
seph Battell, w. w. Chapman and John
l.. Buttolph. AT the annual March cleo
ton w. w. Chapman. George Hammond
and A, j. Marshall were made sclcctmen
and have acted with the committee. At
the meeting of Feb. lG, 1888, the sum of
$4,000 was voted. a special meeting,
held October %, last, instructed the
building committee to finish and furnish
the town hall at a cost not to exceed
81 900. Five hundred dollars was voted
in addition, the same to be expended in
grading the grounds. The committee
awarded the contract for the erection of
the structure to Smith & Allen of Mid
dlebury. The Wood place, so-called, at
the corner of Merchants row and Pleas
ant street, was bought, the old house re-
moved and the town hall built.
The style of architecture is that COM
monty known as modern. The material
is brick, with marble trimmings and the
roof of slate. The building faces the
north. At the northeast corner is
tower. The entrance is reached through
an archway, paved with tiles in two col
ors, laid in alternating blocks. At the
sides of this archway are turned marble
| pillars. The marble keystone has the in
scription: Town Hall, 1888" The
height of the building is one story and
basement. Being situated on side hill,
the basement on the west side is entirely
above ground. The height from the
foundation to the caves on the west side
is 20 feet; on the east side, 10 feet. From
the foundation to the top of the tower is
- feet. The extreme length of the struc-
ture is 90 feet; width, II feet. At the
south end of the Pleasant street side is
the stage entrance, covered by a porch.
On the west side and south end there are
four belt courses of white marble; on
the east side and front the courses num-
Der only three. The cornice is a heavy
brick one. The platform of the front
steps is of Isle LaMotte cut stone, Is
feet inches long by 8 feet 3 inches
wide, tagged with slate. The platform
is approached by two steps, also of cut
stone. At the outer corners of the plat
form are blocks of granite. cut to pat
tern, on which will stand iron lamp
posts. So much for the outward appear
feet, though novel, is pleasing.
Inside, the basement is mainly in one
room. At the rear end, under the stage,
however, are several apartments. The
first, in the southeast corner, is a bag
gage-room, entrance to which is had
through a door in the south end ut IA
level with the ground. From the bag
gage room hall leads along the front of
the dressIng-roOms adjoining. These are
fitted up with all needful conveniences
and are light and commodious.
From the front the building is entered
through doors 10 feet inches wide.
They are made in four sections and
double back into recesses at the sides.
Within these doors is the vestibule, 10
feet 6 inches wide by 30 feet inches
long. At the right-hand end are the
easy platform stairs to the gallery; I'M
derneath them, the cellarway. At the
opposite end is dressing-roOm 8 feet S
inches by IL feet s inches, with coat
closet feet inches by feet inches
The ticket office, at the right of the
dressing-roOm, is s feet inches by 4
feet 6 inches in dimensions. The win
. dow of the ticket office is of enamelled
, patterned glass. The upper half of the
door into the dressing-room is also Of en-
amelled patterned glass. with emerald
green corner pieces, From the vestibule
| one reaches the main room through doors
J the same size as those before described
But these are made in two parts of two
. doors each. The center sections art
r hung with spiral spring butts, so as tt
swing either way.