Drysdale’s Store

In 1905 Alexander Drysdale remodeled the interior of the Park Block on South Street and created what he claimed was Vermont’s largest and finest department store. Downtown department stores were an innovation of the mid-1800s made possible by manufactured goods, mass transportation, and commercial advertising. Drysdale’s offered a wide variety of household and personal goods, from carpets to corsets, all under one roof, with enticing displays in the large front windows.  

During World War I the Red Cross used the shop windows to promote the War Fund Drive. The Red Cross also set up work rooms for volunteers in the garment section on the building’s second floor.

Financed by Trenor Park in the mid-1860s, this Italianate building housed a boot and shoe emporium and a dry goods store before Drysdale’s moved in. Drysdale’s later faced stiff competition from large retail chains, shopping centers, and malls, forcing it to close in 1977. The building was not empty for long, and in 1979 a ceremony was held for the grand opening of Jay’s Art Shop and Frame Gallery.