In Aug. 2026, the college contracted the Thatcher Group — a historic preservation group — to renovate and restore Painter House. The renovations aim to preserve the unique and tailored interior and to transform administrative offices into distinctly new spaces which include curated living rooms, a library, a wine cellar, an exercise and yoga studio, and a bar, according to a press release from the college. The renovations aim to provide short-term housing for parents and alumni visitors, featuring new bedroom additions.
David Provost, executive vice president of finance and administration, views the renovation project as a part of a larger effort on behalf of the college to support the town.
“We’ve been looking at ways that Painter House could best serve the college over the long term while respecting its history and location in the center of town,” Provost said in an email to The Campus.
“This approach allows us to put it to productive use by creating a place for alumni and parents to stay when they visit Middlebury. We're pleased to see the project moving forward with a team that has extensive experience restoring historic properties. It is also part of a broader effort to revitalize downtown Middlebury and strengthen our commitment to being the town’s college, an important part of our strategic plan,” Provost said.
In 1801, Gamaliel Painter, the prominent Vermont entrepreneur and founder of Middlebury College, built his first home in Middlebury on top of a ridge overlooking the town. The original Georgian-plan design includes a rare third floor monitor and features classic Federal style detailing. In the 1880s and 1920s, the house was renovated to match the popular Victorian colonial revival style.
The house later fell into disrepair, and in 1942, the property was bought by Chester and Marjorie Way, who bequeathed it to the college in 1981. The Middlebury Board of Trustees initially wanted to sell the house, which is located on prime real estate at Two Court Street at the top of Merchant's Row, overlooking the Town Hall Theatre and the Middlebury town square.
However, Trustee Willard T. Jackson persuaded his colleagues of the historic value of the property, preventing them from selling it. In 1985, multiple proposals were put forward. One proposed turning the house into an inn run by the college, and into the home of the Vermont Folklife Center — a research nonprofit founded by a gubernatorial mandate, found within the Middlebury College Special Collections archive, in 1984 to study Vermont’s traditional heritage.
In the fall of 1985, the college decided the house would be restored as administrative offices while renting out its basement to the Vermont Folklife Center. The house included an archive, library, resource center and office and gallery space for workshops, conferences and film presentations. The restoration of the new Vermont Folklife Center headquarters was estimated in 1985 to cost the college $800,000. In 1988 it raised $750,000 from donations to renovate the historic interior.
The 1980s renovations included a fireproof archive, a reading room, bathroom facilities and a conference room in the basement. They built a reception room, gallery space, the resource center, and library on the first floor. The second floor featured workshop areas, offices and a lecture room.
The house has continued to serve different purposes since then. In 2000, the Vermont Folklife Center moved their headquarters to 88 Main Street in Middlebury, and then to Burlington in 2024. In 2021, the College Space Committee moved the administrative offices for the Office of Communications from Kitchel House to Painter House. They did not fully occupy the house until 2025 when they returned from a remote work schedule. Due to the recent August renovations, the Office of Communications moved to the McKinley house.
“The building itself had a great central meeting place, high ceilings, natural light, and nice historic architecture and woodwork,” Julia Farrente, vice president for communications and marketing, wrote about Painter House in an email to The Campus.
The renovation of the historic Painter House, comes with a broader context of reconstruction on campus — including the towering Battell Hall, Stewart Hall, and new museum aimed to open in fall 2028.
