Vermont
Marble Exhibit
General
Release
Contact: Glenn Faria
Michael Patrick Destinations & Communications
396 Main Street, Suite #3, Hyannis, MA 02601-3900
508-790-0566 F 508-790-0565
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Marble, Granite, Learning and Fun—Bring the Class, Bring the Family
[Proctor, Vermont—February 2001] Most Americans have probably already seen its products many times without even knowing it because it’s a little-known fact that the Vermont Marble Company, in the small central Vermont town of Proctor, Vermont, provided nearly all of the stone for marble buildings and structures throughout this nation. The US Supreme Court Building, Jefferson Memorial and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Washington, DC, thousands of headstones in dozens of national cemeteries across the country, bank and office buildings, libraries, mausoleums, churches and homes in nearly all 50 states have been built or facaded with Vermont marble. And all of it was quarried in the Green Mountain State. In fact, Vermont could as easily be known as ‘The Marble State.’
One of Vermont’s Treasures
The Vermont Marble Exhibit is the
showplace of the Vermont Marble Company. A combination
museum, learning facility, showroom and marble market exists
within the huge company headquarters. From the Stonehenge-esque
marble entry portal, marble sidewalks and the expansive exhibit
within, visitors will be enthralled, dazzled, captivated and
amused.
This is no ordinary museum—it is as much a place of learning
and history as it is the sales and administrative office for
the Vermont Marble Company.
A Welcome Carved in Stone
Visitors are welcomed to the Exhibit
with an 11-minute film which provides an excellent retrospective
on the Vermont Marble Company, its largely immigrant workforce—hired
literally from Ellis Island’s arrival docks at the turn
of the century—and the present direction of the marble industry.
From here, visitors can self-guide themselves through more than
100 interesting and exciting displays, including the Hall
of Presidents, wherein beautiful white
marble life-size bas-relief busts of each former American president
are displayed. The adjacent Marble Chapel—a true
study in marble—features a relief of The Last Supper
carved in Proctor by Italian sculptor T. Tonelli as well as numerous
items made of marble which is no longer quarried.
Honoring American Heroes
Another interesting—though some may find morbid—exhibit is the collection of sample headstones for American soldiers commissioned by the United States government for use in the nation’s national cemeteries. Vermont Marble is the primary supplier of headstones for this purpose.
Span the Millennia in the Geology Room’s Earth Alive Exhibit
Visitors of all ages will delight to the
Geology Room’s one-of-a-kind, 160-foot color mural
depicting Earth’s geological history and ongoing evolution.
Earth’s composition, planetary relationships, volcanic eruptions,
cave environments and other aspects of our geology are illustrated.
Aside from this compelling and mesmerizing ‘wall of knowledge,’
the room features a bevy of interesting rock and mineral specimens
and fossils. This exhibit room also features the origin of the
Earth, geologic and paleontological exhibits, an evolutionary
timeline and a faux cave which can be lit with several
types of lighting to highlight the chemical compositions and
molecular structures of the exhibited rocks. One of the room’s
highlights is the Raymond the Triceratops exhibit. This
reconstructed excavation site features a resin casting of an
actual triceratops skeleton which is shown buried in the
original position in which it died about 65 million years ago
(the original triceratops is on exhibition in the Tokyo
National Museum). Raymond was discovered in 1994 by a small
fossil collector in North Dakota.
Backward Glances
The Geographical and Historical Gallery features compelling and revealing photographs of both early and contemporary methods of mining marble photographed by the Company’s photographer who captured the period from 1890-1935 on film. This exhibit highlights the history of Vermont Marble Company and its various quarrying techniques. Interior photographs of actual mines, the huge blocks of marble quarried and the immigrant workforce provide provocative windows on Vermont’s—and our nation’s—past.
Sculptor in Residence and The Sculpture Gallery
The painstaking process of carving marble is demonstrated by the Exhibit’s ‘sculptor in residence work in the tradition of the great classical sculptors. Visitors can watch—and sometimes help—marble being shaped before their very eyes from the beautiful raw stone into timeless works of art. Also on display are many intriguing , unusual and classic works of art—sculpted from the living stone—and brought ‘to life’ for an eternity. Many sculpted works of art are available for sale.
Marbles of the World and Vermont Marble Office
We are not talking about aggies here.
This enticing exhibit provides more than one hundred samples
of marble from around the world exhibited as large marble panels.
From ‘powder puff’ Champion Pink marble from Tennessee
to terra cotta-colored Ramello Rosso from Italy, the sheer variety
and subtle beauty of these stones will astound visitors. Many
specimens feature stunning and desirable “veining,”
while others comprise both marble and actual small fossils originally
embedded in the soft materials which eventually formed the stone.
Originally erected at the marble industry’s zenith as a
showroom for prospective customers, this room displays marble,
limestone and granite panels in full size. For researchers and
architects, the Vermont Marble Company’s original
‘stone library’ is available for perusal. A visit to
the Vermont Marble Office is like a step back in time.
Myriad cabinets and drawers store scores of marble samples—a
virtual marble ‘library—and its archives contain references
to thousands upon thousands of buildings constructed, in full
or part, of Vermont marble.The sheer number of buildings, mausoleums
and other buildings so constructed is staggering. The Office,
circa 1870, is furnished with its original furniture and equipment,
including the original “punch clock.”
Marble-ous Kitchens & Bathrooms
History aside, visitors (and homeowners)
will find contemporary applications for the use of stone here.
In the bath display, Vermont Montclair Danby Marble is used for
the floor tiles and counter tops. Walls are Vermont Verde Marble,
a serpentine marble with hardness resembling granite. Visitors
can learn about building lifelong beauty and durability into
their homes and will save considerably through buying marble
and other stone direct ‘from the
factory’ here in Proctor. No other material surpasses the
timeless elegance and durability of marble or granite counter
tops and floors. As visitors leave the Exhibit, they can
browse through marble and stone from around the world in the
Outdoor Marble Market.
Truly a “Supreme” Court
This niche contains an remarkable ‘mock-up’ of the (then) proposed US Supreme Court Building created between 1932-1934 by Vermont Marble Company for the US Capitol’s architects a way of inducing him to select the Company to supply stone for this landmark Washington edifice. The marble used was Danby Imperial White, Vermont Verdoso and Dark Rutland.
Immigrant History
To be completed in early 2001, this new and expanded exhibit will feature a pictorial history of the immigrants who emigrated to Proctor from Ellis Island to work at the Vermont Marble Company. Immigrants from all over the world were met on New York’s Ellis Island’s docks and were immediately recruited. These workers their contribution to our country are highlighted.
An Original ‘Hard Rock’ Cafe and Gift Shop
The Exhibit’s congenial self-serve
cafe, within the Exhibit itself, is adjacent to the Gift
Shop, where visitors can purchase unusual marble, fossils,
polished stone and other stone products from around the globe.
Visitors can refresh themselves with coffee, tea, other soft
drinks and snacks. The Exhibit’s satellite gift store
is open year round, seven days a week and is located at the Diamond
Run Mall on Route 7 South in Rutland. It features a variety
of
geological gifts. Telephone 802-775-3435 for information and
directions.
