Cast-iron corinthian columns are recessed into the ground floor facade between the bays. 75 visits. The entrance lobbies and shopfronts on the Main Street and High Street sides are trimmed with posts and lintels of unadorned light marble, interspersed with dark thin cast-iron Corinthian columns. The dark-red bricks, kilned locally, are noted for their hardness, in contrast to the bricks of neighboring structures which have deteriorated under sandblasting. (Filed under "Hotels" in Local History Room standing file, Brooks Memorial Library, Brattleboro, Vermont) For its opening, a prospectus was printed and widely distributed in an attempt both to justify the construction of so large a hotel in such a relatively small town, and to attract clientele:

The entrance lobbies and shopfronts on the Main Street and High Street sides are trimmed with posts and lintels of unadorned light marble, interspersed with dark thin cast-iron Corinthian columns. In 1869, a catastrophic fire wiped out the entire south side of Main Street bounded by the two principal intersections, Elliot and High Streets. Virtually nothing remains of the original interiors. Although Brattleboro's population at the time (1870 Census) was only 6,000. the town was a major rail transportation center and was a thriving industrial community, home of the Estey Organ Works, and was also enjoying the largesse of its most-famous native son, Jim Fisk, the robber baron of the Erie Railroad. Originally, the second and third floors of the "L" on High Street were a ballroom, 50' by 50' feet, its floor space unobstructed by any columns or posts, a feat of engineering for the time. Interestingly, in the same year construction began, 1871, the plans for the nation's two largest and "full-blown" Second Empire buildings, the City Hall of Philadelphia (John McArthur, Jr.) and the Executive Office Building of Washington, D.C (Alfred B. Mullet), had just been placed on the drawing board. These and other grandiose public buildings in the most elaborate French manner are similar to the Brooks House only in the most basic concepts of Second Empire, and hence the Brooks House and similar buildings have to be called "provincial" Second Empire. Vermont Rural Ventures partnered with the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation, to provide $23.4 million in New Markets Tax Credit authority to redevelop and restore the historic circa 1871 Brooks House, a mixed-use commercial building located in the heart of Brattleboro’s downtown. At the intersection corner is a 2-bay tower also rising to a 5th story. "The Visitor's Guide and Map to Brattleboro and the Vibrant Villages of Southern Vermont" Brattleboro: Main Street Communications, 2010 As with extensive renovations elsewhere in the interior of the building, this ballroom has been partitioned into smaller office spaces in recent times. People. It is a small (approx. The redevelopment of the Brooks House is a critical project for downtown Brattleboro but also for southeast Vermont. The owner, Jonathan Chase, spent almost $2 million to restore and redevelop it, but was unable to raise the money necessary to complete the job, and on April 4, 2012 announced that he was selling the building, which Brattleboro Town Manager Barbara Sondag characterized as "vitally important to downtown", to a newly formed corporation consisting of local investors, which will seek the $14 million thought to be necessary to finish the 18- to 24-month project.Mesabi LLC is a team of five local investors who are now undertaking the redevelopment of the Brooks House.

Its verandah served as a viewing stand for majestic parades and afforded a view of activities along the entire length of Main Street. When completed the building will house a new downtown campus for Community College of Vermont and Vermont Technical College (Vermont Tech).

The Mansard roof is shingled in diamond-pattern gray slate; the top two courses of shingles are alternating red and green slate; the roof has a broad curb or skirt of copper. Our tenants enjoy a highly visible Main Street location and excellent access to short and long-term parking.

As mentioned earlier, also included within the nominated property at its western edge the former boiler house which served the hotel. The lobby of the building became a bank, and the original entrance replaced by a modern entrance. "The desire, so marked, of late years, to turn the tide of Summer Travel from the current of the European Tour, formerly so fashionable, to a trip among the Mountains, Valleys, and Sea-Coasts of America, is gradually producing the desirable result of causing to be provided for our home tourists the proper hotel accommodations. High-end finishes, a residents-only rooftop terrace, and views of Mt. All of the hotel's alteration was necessary to save the building from demolition and make it commercially profitable. It is 70 feet deep and forms a modified "L"-shape which might be called a "spread L," as High Street meets Main Street at a wide angle. 104 Homes For Sale in Brattleboro, VT. Browse photos, see new properties, get open house info, and research neighborhoods on Trulia. Kristensen, John, "The Brooks House Hotel and The All Souls Church," unpublished term paper for Design and Conservation course, Cornell University, Fall, 1972. The common bond has no header courses at all. Its verandah served as a viewing stand for majestic parades and afforded a view of activities along the entire length of Main Street. "It has been with the view of aiding in perfecting these facilities for home travel, during the coming seasons, that in the beautiful town of Brattleboro, Vermont, at the head of the Connecticut Valley, and amid the glories of scenery and healthful atmosphere of the Green Mountains, there has been erected a hotel building, which, in all its departments, is the equal of the best establishments in the Metropolis." The common bond has no header courses at all. The foundation is of ashlar monoliths of granite, while the framework is of iron, except for the roof, which is wood timbers. The style seems to have originated, in this country, in New York City, but quickly spread to smaller cities and larger towns throughout the country.

The four windows in the intersection tower have true-arched lintels or tympanum pediments, as do the 8 bays on the 4th storey of the central pavilion. This distinction, perhaps merely intuitive on the architect's part, points up the differences between "urban" Main Street and "rustic" High Street.