pavilion building

Great exhibits, genealogy research. Very interesting. I liked the stuffed animals and other artifacts.

Vermont Historical Society has a small museum on the first floor. Building houses Governor's, Treasurers and Attorney Generals office.

I have been to exhibits in the Pavilion before, but not recently. My visits in the past few years have been cause-related. If you are invited to a meeting or rally in the auditorium below ground, or to a conference room above, or want to hand-deliver a letter to the governor, be prepared with your photo ID. The first time I wanted to deliver a letter urging the governor to sign a bill I supported, or at least to not veto it, I had to leave it downstairs because at that time I still had the old driver's license with no photo.For tourists, the front of the building has exhibits by the Vermont Historical Society. I think one time last year when I stopped by to see what was there, I could see one room and the gift shop for free, but another exhibit charged a fee that seemed expensive to someone from Vermont who got in for free on school trips as a child. I know exhibits generally do charge a fee, so if you are going to pay you will probably want to spend enough time to see all the photos and read the captions to justify your fee, but still, it is quite small. 30 - 90 minutes tops for the most in-depth exhibits, I suspect. If you don't pay the fee and just step in to see the interior architecture (which is not original), your trip could be less than 5 minutes. If you are visiting the statehouse anyway, you might just stop in. If you know that there is a a specific exhibit you want to see, I can see visiting. But really, I wouldn't put time into planning this as a part of a family trip unless you are really history buffs and you research what the current exhibit is and know you want to see it for that cost. Kellogg-Hubbard Library on Main Street is more interesting, has a small gallery of local art, and is free.I did not seek a ramp at the Pavilion, but since it is a state office building and public accommodation, I am sure the building is fully accessible. The office part, with five floors plus lower level, of course, has an elevator. I am not aware of any food for purchase in this building. People eat on Main Street and State Street (City Center with Skinny pancake, pizza, and La Brioche; Subway; Capital Grounds; Samosa Man; and many others) or, if they have statehouse business (next door to the Pavilion) during the legislative session, in the Statehouse cafeteria, which has an inexpensive salad bar as well as cooked entrees, pizza, sandwiches, and other choices, but very crowded with legislators, lobbyists, citizens, and others on business there. I don't know about bathrooms in the museum, but there are accessible bathrooms in the office part (with photo ID).