A hotel has occupied this site on the Square since 1817. Destroyed by fires, the hotel was rebuilt on four occasions. It was first christened the Hotel Windham in 1902.
Offering lodging and entertainment, the hotel was touted as “a first-class hotel in every respect and worthy of the patronage of the best traveling public.” As Vermont’s ski slopes opened in the 20th century it hosted snow-train tourists.
Designed by the Boston firm of Harper & West, the current Hotel Windham is a Georgian Revival-style building, erected in 1933 to replace the hotel that burned the previous year. A unique feature is the 1851 tunnel for the Vermont Valley Railroad underneath the hotel’s ballroom. Hotel Windham was restored in 2008-2010.
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In 1973 Hotel Windham was reopened as Andrews Inn by a local resident whose parents owned the property. Offering a bar, disco, and hotel, it soon became a destination for tourists and locals who were part of the emerging gay pride movement.
The inn was sold in 1979 to a same-sex couple who continued the tradition of openly welcoming gays and lesbians at a time when there were few such places in Vermont. Local response to Andrews Inn was mixed, but inn guests and residents joined on many occasions as attitudes toward the LGBT community evolved.
A unique gathering place dedicated to gay and lesbian people, their families and allies, Andrews Inn prevailed for more than a decade. It closed on April 1, 1984.
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.