Abandoned Addison Co. Building to Become VT Music Sanctuary
By Casey Kaufman
Illustration by Ginny Joyner
Can an effort to preserve Vermont's music also help save a historic landscape? That is the goal of Big Heavy World’s newest project; the restoration of a century-old abandoned building to become a climate controlled archive of music from the 'Green Mountain State'.
With headquarters in downtown Burlington, Big Heavy World is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and promoting Vermont's original music. Staffed mostly by volunteering teens, it was founded in 1996 and has been collecting and cataloging Vermont-made music as The Vermont Music Library since 1998.
The building is located on a rock ledge overlooking the valley along Lewis Creek at the north end of Starksboro's historic village district. Starksboro is in Addison County, a region that's emblematic of Vermont's agricultural traditions. "Our attraction to the structure arose from its location," says Big Heavy World Executive Director James Lockridge. "The archive building overlooks Lewis Creek Farm and the Hogback Mountains. It's scenic and peaceful, a great home for the music." This restoration will be a nice addition to the area’s recent trend of preserving buildings on the verge of demolition as opposed to neglecting or gutting them.
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