Vermont State Prison / Olde Windsor Village Apartments

Site: V09-56
Municipality: Windsor, VT
Location: 65 State Street
Site Type: Miscellaneous

Vermont State Prison / Olde Windsor Village Apts., 65 State Street, 1808, Federal style, 1830, 1882, and 1928 additions. The cornerstone of the Vermont State Prison was laid in 1808 to the sound of a marching band and cheering crowd. Windsor's townspeople seemed to embrace the new prison with pride and welcomed the jobs and commercial boost that accompanied its presence.

Stuart J. Park, a Boston architect, designed the original 35-cell building with walls 3 feet thick and 14 feet high. Construction required 5,000 tons of stone, which was quarried from Mount Ascutney. The building was expanded in 1830, 1882, and 1928, eventually containing 352 cells.

On August 7, 1975, following several years of controversy, the prison was finally deemed insufficient for contemporary rehabilitation. It had been the oldest state prison in continuous operation in the United States. Fortunately, the impressive structure was spared the wrecking ball and Peabody Construction teamed with Boston architects Anderson Notter-Finegold to successfully rehabilitate the prison into 75 apartments, subsidized by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
(Source 49)