{"id":979,"date":"2022-08-10T18:48:37","date_gmt":"2022-08-10T18:48:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/2022\/08\/10\/inside-the-vault-a-former-bank-in-vermont-transformed-into-a-whimsical-gallery-and-home\/"},"modified":"2022-08-10T18:48:37","modified_gmt":"2022-08-10T18:48:37","slug":"inside-the-vault-a-former-bank-in-vermont-transformed-into-a-whimsical-gallery-and-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/2022\/08\/10\/inside-the-vault-a-former-bank-in-vermont-transformed-into-a-whimsical-gallery-and-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the Vault: A Former Bank in Vermont Transformed Into a Whimsical Gallery and Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

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MLS \/ Realtor.com<\/p>\n

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A magnificent home that\u2019s currently on the market was originally a bank<\/a>, and it features original neoclassical details and an interactive vault space.<\/p>\n

Listed for $765,000, the 6,650-square-foot former Vermont Federal Bank on Main Street in downtown Bennington, VT<\/a>, has served as Joel Lentzner<\/strong>\u2018s home for many years.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s got a tremendous amount of history, and it\u2019s at the center of our downtown,\u201d Lentzner says. \u201cI\u2019m proud of how we\u2019ve taken great effort to preserve the architectural details that are there\u2014instead of just gutting it and making it a new space.\u201d<\/p>\n

The original details include brass tear gas canisters (which were for protection and are now empty), beaded glass, marble counters, chandeliers, and clocks.<\/p>\n

\u201cPreserving it was a big part of what we wanted to do,\u201d Lentzner says. \u201cWe\u2019d love to see that continue with whoever buys it next.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vault<\/p>\n

Joey Kulkin<\/p>\n

Interior display spaces<\/p>\n

Joey Kulkin<\/p>\n

Street view<\/p>\n

Joey Kulkin<\/p>\n

Ceiling<\/p>\n

Joey Kulkin<\/p>\n

Kitchen<\/p>\n

Joey Kulkin<\/p>\n

Living space<\/p>\n

Joey Kulkin<\/p>\n

Lentzner bought the property in 1999 and spent the next three years converting the lower level into a 3,700-square-foot gallery and the upper level into a four-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom home.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe upstairs hadn\u2019t been used or kept up in maybe 30 years, so it\u2019s really where we did most of the work,\u201d he says. \u201cWe had to turn it into an apartment from the bank offices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Windows, air conditioning, wiring, and more were added to the 2,950 square feet of residential space, which features its own entrance.<\/p>\n

Vault interior<\/p>\n

Joey Kulkin<\/p>\n

Vault<\/p>\n

Joey Kulkin<\/p>\n

Downstairs, most of the bank features, including the vaults, were in fairly good shape.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve made them fun. The main vault we turned into a graffiti vault. We painted the walls with chalkboard paint, and people come in and create art or write things on the walls. We wipe it down every few weeks, and they start all over again,\u201d Lentzner explains.<\/p>\n

Their plan was to turn the lower level of the building into a creative interactive space open to the public.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the bank buildings that we saw pictures of or visited made the bank vaults off-limits behind some velvet rope or something,\u201d Lentzner says. \u201cWe really felt it was important for the public to have the opportunity to see the vault because it\u2019s really spectacular.\u201d<\/p>\n

A basement vault now serves as storage space and the night deposit box is in use as a mailbox. Another vault offers merchandise space. The massive doors still work, and there\u2019s no need to worry about getting trapped inside.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the combinations for all of them,\u201d he says, adding that the main vault is equipped with an air exchange system just in case<\/em> someone gets locked inside.<\/p>\n

Exterior<\/p>\n

Joey Kulkin<\/p>\n

The bank was built in 1931 at the height of the Great Depression, and high-end materials were used in its construction.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe outside is Vermont marble, but the walls inside and teller counters are Italian marble and the floor is Tennessee marble,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been a great place for a gallery because it\u2019s a natural backdrop for displaying art. The upstairs has been a wonderful home. We\u2019ve raised three kids there,\u201d Lentzner says. \u201cI\u2019d love to see someone do something similar and have a business they love downstairs and live upstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Game area<\/p>\n

Joey Kulkin<\/p>\n

The post Inside the Vault: A Former Bank in Vermont Transformed Into a Whimsical Gallery and Home<\/a> appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com\u00ae<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MLS \/ Realtor.com A magnificent home that\u2019s currently on the market was originally a bank, and it features original neoclassical details and an interactive vault space. Listed for $765,000, the 6,650-square-foot former Vermont Federal Bank on Main Street in downtown Bennington, VT, has served as Joel Lentzner\u2018s home for many years. \u201cIt\u2019s got a tremendous…Read More→<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":980,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=979"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/979\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/billingsrealtybrokers.paradiseinnovations.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}