A Virtual Event with Curator Shawn Harrington and Bill Badger in Collaboration with Green Mountain Academy for Lifelong Learning. To register go to https://www.greenmtnacademy.org/events/worthy-of-a-destination/

Manchester’s promotion as a destination resort for visitors from crowded metropolitan areas began in earnest in 1853 when Franklin Orvis opened the Equinox House, adjacent to Vanderlip’s Hotel in the Village. After Orvis purchased Vanderlip's in 1880, the combined buildings became the largest hotel in the area. The summer colony of annual visitors was well established by the late Victorian era and this would continue into the 20th century with the opening of several other boarding houses and hotels that catered to tourists. The next large hotel to open was Orchard Park in 1907, which later became the Worthy Inn, the first hotel in the Village to remain open during the winter, accommodating a new class of visitors: skiers. MHS Curator Shawn Harrington and Board member Bill Badger will look back on the development of these two iconic properties, why they were popular, and the marketing efforts they made to attract visitors.