Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1911-02-10
THE RETREAT CASINO
Exterior Practically Finished and
Interior Wei Advanced
viii Contain over 300 Rooms-Large
Gymnasium and Swimming Pool-Most
Approved Ideas In Construction.

Approved Ideas In construction
Practically all of the work on the ex-
terror of the Casino building whlch is |
being erected by Contractor John I.
Pellet on the Brattleboro heTeat
grounds has been completed and the In
terror work is well under way ms
building which contains four floors ana
is designated for the accommodation OF
the nurses, attendants and others, Will
contain a large gymnasium, stage, SWIM
ming pool and an arts ana crafts room
besides rooms for meeting various other
reouirements The outside is composed
largely of yellow brick and mountain
stone, and the harmony of color and ar
chitecture adds much TO the appearance
of the grounds The main entrance leads
| into the gymnasium, with its two large
! 6replaces, where there is stage 80 feet
| long by 10 feet deep, suitable for a great
variety of entertainments. The arch of
| the stage is constructed around two great
| steel Orders bolted together, which gives
| added strength to the building. Several
| such Orders have been used in the con-
| struction of the Casino in addition to the
| large pieces of lumber that have been
used.
The rough material that has been put
| in up to the present time gives a visitor
| an idea of what the strength of the build
| ing will be when 1t is completed that no
| inspection of the finished building could
RlNt. EVERY SllCh, DOsIb, JOiSl VI ONhc'
piece of lumber that has gone into the
construction has been used with the iuea
| of placing 1t In such way that the
| building will be strengthened. The root
| of the gymnasium is supported by two
| large joists, which in turn are supported
| by a series of "straining joists" up on the
top floor, from which iron bars hang down
to the gymnasium roof. Besides the main
| building there are two ellis, the northern,
which will be used by the women, and
the southern, which will be the quarters
of the men. These two ellis are planned
| practically alike. The fireplaces in the
| gymnasium are constructed of mountain
stone, as are the seven other freplaces
in the building. This is the kind of stone
that has been used in the Home for tnc
Aged, the Canal street school and the
Unitarian church, and its use in the con-
structon of the different fireplaces makes
them very attractive.
In the basement the workmen have De-
gun to dig in preparation for the con-
struction of the swimming pool This
will take all the basement directly under
the gymnasium, and 1t is expected that
system will be used whereby the water
will be filtered before ii enters the tank.
Shower baths will be built under the
stage. Under the northern ell will be
the dressing rooms for the women, a
cooking room, toilet rooms and an arts
and crafts room. wainscoting of yellow
brick extends around the arts and crafts
room. which Is built over a cement base
board and an open fireplace is built In
the eastern end. The window stills are OF
cement. The same plans have been fol
lowed under the mems ell.
:. Besides the gymnasium on the frs
floor are smoking and lounging rooms ant
a billiard room The stairs from tn,
basement to the first floor will be mad,
) of cement. The second or mezzanin,
floor contains, besides rooms for the at
tendants, suite of rooms for the physi
clan in charge Of the building. A doc
of his office will open on the piazza O.
4 the second floor. The corridors have beer
constructed so that by throwing back
series of folding doors persons in the cor
ridors may look directly down upon tn,
stage in the gymnasium.
e The third and fourth floors contain
u spacious sleeping rooms which will all b.
| furnished tastefuly, and will have plent.
of light and air.
: The most approved modern ideas hav
" been adopted in the construction of tn
e building, such as lath board instead o
t laths In most of the rooms and the chin
r neys have been so constructed that the,
e are a part of the ventilating apparatus
Most of the lumber has been cut on lant
) owned by the Retreat. Pine has beei
5 used to n great extent, while In the in
l. terror finish birch will be used more, per
: haps, than any other wood Between tn
floors and the different rooms noise
absorbing felt has been placed. This con
sists of hair between layers of heav
paper.
: There are more than 300 rooms in tn
= building. Several changes have bee
II made in the original plans as the wor
progressed. all of which add to the cozi
}, ness of the structure. The plumbing ha
: lust been started under the direction o
S j. j. Vanderveer, who expects that it wi
q | be six months before his n w
:, Is completed. Fred c. Brown, who ha
It charge OF the carpenters. says 1t will b
n at least four months before those me
G are ready to leave. Horton D. Walker
putting in the electrical equipment.
The rear of the building is as attractiv
70 as the 'front.' the special feature whic
% attracts the attention being two 65- foe
- chimneys of mountain stone which hav
-. been built with windows at each floor TIL
y cupola on the centre of the building Is
"A part of the ventilatng system 1t will b
h surmounted by large gilded ball,