Franklin Fairbanks was born into a Vermont family who made a fortune manufacturing scales. He joined the family business and obviously had a lot of free time plus a large share of the profits because he built this beautiful building and donated to his hometown, St. Johnsbury. The main purpose of the museum was to display Fairbanks' collection of animal and bird specimens, and related artifacts that he collected as he traveled the world. Some of stuffed animals and birds are close to 150 years old and many are a little ragged.
Besides the museum there are a planetarium and a butterfly house. Butterflies only live for a few weeks and, when we visited, most of them were near the end of their lives but the monarch caterpillars were thriving.
The museum is undergoing an expansion and the museum sidewalk has been removed, leaving a loose gravel path. There's a temporary ramp to the entrance door. The expansion will include an elevator to access the 2nd floor which currently is not accessible. The planetarium is accessed by an elevator. The butterfly house is a separate building behind the museum and requires a difficult trip over rough gravel and grass. The sidewalks are in poor condition.
We parked on the street directly across from the museum. The ramps at the crosswalk are very steep. Hopefully a parking lot is included in the expansion.
Museum 44.42002, -72.02042
We've never been to St Johnsbury, but I know we'd enjoy this museum if we ever get that far east again. Very cool place to visit.
ReplyDeleteI would to visit again once the expansion is finished.
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