Then and Now, Mar. 4, 2026

The first Union Block on State Street was built in 1875 after two major fires devastated the downtown. The building’s name celebrated the Union’s victory in the Civil War, still fresh in people’s minds. This building, like the Blanchard Block on Main Street, was designed by Montpelier’s third mayor, George Guernsey. The symmetrical Union Block featured four storefronts on the first floor; four stores at the basement level (highly susceptible to Montpelier’s floods); and a recessed, open-air stairway to the office and residential spaces on the second and third floors. Unfortunately the building was destroyed by fire in 1914. It was replaced a year later by the current building, constructed of concrete and brick in a simplified style. The concrete panel over the entrance arch memorializes the earlier building with the inscription “1875 Union Block 1915.”