Location: 84 Main St, Derby Line, VT 05830
The Vermont border station located at Derby Line is one of twelve surviving complexes erected between 1931 and 1937 along the Vermont-Quebec border. This handsome Georgian Revival building, designed by the Office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury and constructed in 1932, shares common technical, stylistic and programmatic features with other stations constructed at that time.
As a group, the border stations are closely associated with three major themes in twentieth century American history: Prohibition (1919-1933), the popularization of the automobile, and the Depression of the 1930’s. The stations are also associated with a massive public building program that nearly doubled the number of Federal buildings, coupled with the extensive rebuilding of Vermont’s road system following the Great Flood of November 3, 1927. Of this group, the station at Derby Line was among the first to open, and was the largest and most carefully detailed.
Today, the large concentration of contemporary, architecturally related border stations surviving in Vermont is exceptional.
The garage at the Derby Line border station is a well preserved example of a Prohibition-era inspection shed. Located along the southern edge of the site, the building retains its original plan, form, window and interior finishes.
Beyond projecting and iconographic image of American architecture at the international border, the Derby Line border station is a major masonry public building located in the center of town. It retains much of its original character-defining features, notably morphology, masonry detailing, many plan elements, and much fenestration.
Building Facts
- Architect: Simon, Louis A.
- Construction Dates: 1931-1932
- GSA Building Number: VT0651PD
- Landmark Status: Listed in the National Register of Historic Places
U.S. General Services Administration
