THE
VERMONT MARBLE EXHIBIT & MUSEUM
The largest marble company in the WORLD (100
exhibits, 27,000 square feet).
The earliest marble was quarried in 1836, followed by other marble
companies. In 1870 Redfield Proctor took over and brought this
company into prominence once he became a Senator and drove business to his
company by building monuments in Washington D.C. (I'm sure you could NOT
legally do that today!!) Buildings made with
this marble include the U. S. Supreme Court, Jefferson Memorial, the
Supreme Court, the Arlington Memorial Amphitheater & cemetery
markers at Arlington Cemetery, and the rotunda columns in the National Gallery of
Art.
Proctor, VT
![vt315.JPG (147257 bytes)](../Latest%20Travels/Photos3-Latest%20Travels/vt315_small.JPG)
This left-hand photo is 18,500 pounds of Verdi
Green Marble. The right-hand photo is Glenn in the entryway of
188,521 pounds of the famous white marble. Wow. What a start.
![vt317.JPG (138360 bytes)](../Latest%20Travels/Photos3-Latest%20Travels/vt317_small.JPG)
The museum was created from a wing of the
original factory, so the flavor of this industry and its history is
preserved. We recommend visiting this place highly.
www.vermont-marble.com Overhead
view of one of the marble quarries in Vermont
![vt352.JPG (149301 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt352_small.JPG)
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Archives
photos of the marble quarries all around Vermont. A photographer
documented the story of marble in Vermont from 1890 to 1935. |
A
view showing the depth of the quarry
![vt359.JPG (133163 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt359_small.JPG)
![vt320.JPG (139315 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt320_small.JPG)
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The
original mill showing slabs being processed. This is where the
museum is
![vt322.JPG (146742 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt322_small.JPG)
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Many
slabs of marble lined up, ready to work with, or ship by rail
![vt328.JPG (131947 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt328_small.JPG)
![vt363.JPG (130719 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt363_small.JPG)
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Horses
pulling pallets of marble
![vt339.JPG (126691 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt339_small.JPG)
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Carving
the cemetery markers for Arlington Cemetery, from the Civil War,
eventually through Vietnam
![vt346.JPG (125253 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt346_small.JPG)
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Making
the huge marble columns typical of the Supreme Court building
![vt356.JPG (127844 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt356_small.JPG)
![vt371.JPG (130901 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt371_small.JPG)
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Look
at the size of a single slab. I wouldn't want to be on the wrong
side of this if it falls! I would be two dimensional.
![vt360.JPG (135793 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt360_small.JPG)
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Look
at the catwalks and ladders that show the size of the quarry!
![vt361.JPG (144414 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt361_small.JPG)
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This
part of the quarry actually undercuts the building. OSHA
anywhere? Nope.
![vt362.JPG (129968 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt362_small.JPG)
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Cutting the blocks of marble, huge!
(1903) The Danby Quarry produced the Supreme Court Building, the Jefferson
Memorial, and the Senate office building
![vt364.JPG (134423 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt364_small.JPG)
![vt365.JPG (144737 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt365_small.JPG)
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The
support pillars in the mine are 30+ feet tall
![vt366.JPG (146642 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt366_small.JPG)
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Marble
Yard. Blocks of marble awaiting fabrication, fresh from the quarry via
rail.
![vt367.JPG (148856 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt367_small.JPG)
![vt368.JPG (157525 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt368_small.JPG)
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West
Rutland Quarry, 1900. Note the tools on the floor, and the height of
the quarry that makes people look miniature
![vt376.JPG (115517 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt376_small.JPG)
![vt377.JPG (158946 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt377_small.JPG)
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Finishing
Shop, 1942, Proctor VT. A dedication sign being completed in memory
of Ida Helen Timme.
![vt385.JPG (132630 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt385_small.JPG)
![vt386.JPG (146841 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt386_small.JPG)
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District
of Columbia War Memorial
![vt388.JPG (133201 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt388_small.JPG)
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Alaska
quarry, 1932
![vt389.JPG (147678 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt389_small.JPG)
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The
special crane required to put thousands of tons of marble on the Clarendon
& Pittsford Railroad cars
![vt391.JPG (139346 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt391_small.JPG)
![vt392.JPG (156463 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt392_small.JPG)
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The
Clarendon & Pittsford Railroad (1886) moves the marble from the quarry
to the factory. All 7 of the locomotive engines are lined up here.
![vt393.JPG (156473 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt393_small.JPG)
![vt394.JPG (153082 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt394_small.JPG)
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INSIDE
THE MUSEUM |
Near
the entryway, samples of the colors of marble processed here (red, white
& green marbles are native to Vermont)
![vt318.JPG (129580 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt318_small.JPG)
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Large
panels of marble: Mariposa Danby, Champlain Black, Royal Danby
![vt324.JPG (143508 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt324_small.JPG)
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Large
panels of marble: Imperial Danby, Verde Antique, and Montclair Danby
![vt325.JPG (154550 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt325_small.JPG)
There are more than 100 large panels of
polished marbles displayed from around the world in another area of the
museum. |
Gray
marble with orthoceras fossil inclusions, we usually only see in Moroccan
marble
![vt358.JPG (121873 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt358_small.JPG)
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A
kitchen setup, showing how the white & Verde green marbles is used
today in the home:
![vt398.JPG (129150 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt398_small.JPG)
The kitchen counters & walls are Vermont
Verde Antique, a serpentine marble. They can be custom ordered |
Boy
& girl on a swing, circa 1900, marble
![vt419.JPG (143745 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt419_small.JPG)
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The
3 Dancers in marble
![vt335.JPG (137478 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt335_small.JPG)
![vt334.JPG (135235 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt334_small.JPG)
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Statue
of man & woman, white marble
![vt326.JPG (110816 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt326_small.JPG)
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Religious
statues, this is just one small section, there were MANY
![vt390.JPG (151248 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt390_small.JPG)
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An
ornate sculpture of a structure, the museum says this is not a building
but a model of possible styles.
![vt413.JPG (119248 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt413_small.JPG)
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MARBLE
CHAPEL
Built in 1934, the Chapel is made of
many varieties of Vermont marble that are no longer quarried.
![vt333.JPG (129006 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt333_small.JPG)
The Last Supper bas-relief was carved by
Italian sculptor F. tonelli, in Proctor, in the 1950's. Replicas of
this were commissioned by churches all over the U.S.
![vt330.JPG (160688 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt330_small.JPG)
Madonna in marble. Beautiful does not
describe it.
![vt331.JPG (132951 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt331_small.JPG)
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HALL
OF PRESIDENTS
A multi-decade project to honor our
country's leaders. Each past U.S. President has been hand carved in
bas-relief out of Vermont Danby White and Vermont Statuary White marble
from West Rutland. President Clinton in the center is a work in
progress.
![vt341.JPG (137079 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt341_small.JPG)
President John F. Kennedy
![vt343.JPG (142089 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt343_small.JPG)
More info on the marble sculptor, Renzo
Palmerini, that sculpted most of all the presidents:
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THE
GEOLOGY ROOM
This unexpected room includes a Triceratops
named Raymond excavated in 1996 from North Dakota
![vt348.JPG (125649 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt348_small.JPG)
.. and fluorescent minerals shown under long
& short wave. Even my camera picked up the beautiful rich
colors.
![vt350.JPG (129673 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt350_small.JPG)
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CEMETERY
MARKERS
Tens of thousands of cemetery markers were
made from Vermont marble here, including those for American soldiers at
Arlington Cemetery in Washington D.C. The markers made date from the
Civil War, Spanish American War, WW I & II, Korea, and Vietnam, shown
here.
![vt353.JPG (132058 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt353_small.JPG)
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Industrial
uses for marble? Paper coating & filler, food additives (safe
because it is calcium), toothpaste, inert filler for pills, plastics,
paints, cement, from Huggies to hockey pucks! The countertops &
bathroom vanities that feel like stone? Composite marble (ground up)
![vt351.JPG (153461 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt351_small.JPG)
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Even
the restrooms at the museum were splendidly made from marble. What a
treat.
![vt374.JPG (121170 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt374_small.JPG)
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Vermont
Marble Office. Original office furniture & this original punch
clock, circa 1870
![vt387.JPG (142728 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt387_small.JPG)
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Resident
Sculptor Allen Dwight with his abstract marble sculptures throughout the
museum. We met & spoke with him. His work is reminiscent
of Inuit soapstone carvings we saw in Alaska. Graceful and
meditative. They are all for sale.
![vt321.JPG (131139 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt321_small.JPG)
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Stacked
marble abstract sculptures
![vt327.JPG (146877 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt327_small.JPG)
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![vt337.JPG (137930 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt337_small.JPG) |
![vt338.JPG (135764 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt338_small.JPG) |
Assorted
small display sculptures
![vt369.JPG (144102 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt369_small.JPG)
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Shark
shaped abstract
![vt370.JPG (137347 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt370_small.JPG)
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A
brain on top!
![vt372.JPG (135776 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt372_small.JPG)
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Bowing
human
![vt373.JPG (166275 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt373_small.JPG)
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Abstract
human shape
![vt379.JPG (145458 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt379_small.JPG)
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A
carved marble shell display on a fireplace mantel
![vt380.JPG (158356 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt380_small.JPG)
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Green
Vermont marble "Freeform" with etchings, by Allen Dwight $8,000
![vt381.JPG (122363 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt381_small.JPG)
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I
particularly liked this face (freeform, $600)
![vt383.JPG (128854 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt383_small.JPG)
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A
"balancing rock" abstract style with other smaller marble
sculptures
![vt395.JPG (127630 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt395_small.JPG)
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Beautiful
textures & color in this green abstract sculpture
![vt396.JPG (127349 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt396_small.JPG)
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RARE
MARBLE SAMPLE ROOM |
The
Vermont Marble Company started collecting samples of fine marble in the
early 1900's. Many are now discontinued and quite rare, and include
U.S., Italian and many other countries' marbles. Glenn is in front
of a cabinet with smaller samples, just as beautiful.
Here are panels of marble samples filling this
entire room. Wow.
![vt402.JPG (134198 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt402_small.JPG)
![vt408.JPG (129956 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt408_small.JPG)
![vt412.JPG (143150 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt412_small.JPG) |
U. S.
SUPREME COURT MOCK-UP
Created for the architect of the U.S. Capitol between 1932-1934,
prior to building the Courthouse in Washington D.C. The marble used
was Vermont Danby Imperial White, Vermont Verdoso, and Dark Rutland |
![vt414.JPG (130649 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt414_small.JPG) |
RETAIL
STORE |
A
huge, gorgeous retail store within the museum, lavishly using marble
everywhere. Marble products from around the world are sold
here.
Three marbles are local: Vermont Verde
Antique, Vermont Danby White, and Vermont Swanton Red. We found
marbles of two (white & green), but not of the red marble (as in the
cheese cutting board below). This actually prompted another drive
(see below).
![vt417.JPG (142476 bytes)](Rocks%20Photos/vt417_small.JPG)
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