In order to appreciate this classic building, you'll want to read the marker and squint your eyes just a little. Step back a hundred years and imagine life in Burlington in the late 19th century. What was shopping like? What sort of vehicles traveled here? What were people wearing? Where were they heading?
The marker reads, "This impressive Italianate-style commercial building with a massive five-foot tall cast iron cornice was historically known as the Exchange Block. Designed by local builder William Townsend, the building was intended to stylistically complement the former Vermont Life Insurance Company building adjacent to the east on Main Street, which was completed in 1877 and also constructed by Townsend. The first occupant of the Exchange Block was E.P. Shaw, who owned a fashionable men's clothing store in the corner storefront. On May 27, 1962, a fire destroyed the third floor of the northerly section of the building; it was never rebuilt."
[Review 18511 overall - 110 in Vermont - 2033 of 2022.] read more