American Legion Post No. 3 at 21 Main Street is housed in one of the few wood frame buildings remaining downtown. It probably dates from just after the Montpelier fire of 1875 that flattened this area of the city. In this 1915 photograph, P.J. Blanchard’s harness shop and shoe repair business is on the left side of the building, and an unidentified food market is on the right. The side wall of the Lawrence Block, destroyed by fire in 1924, can be seen on the left, and the Hyde Building, still standing today, is on the right. Today, the building is much changed, but the placement of the windows and doors hint at the original structure under its aluminum siding and vertical board facade.
