It was built in 1871 and designed by the architectural firm of E. Boyden & Son of Worcester, Massachusetts, in the provincial Second Empire style for George Brooks, to replace a previous hotel on the site which had burned down.

The iron entrance and veranda along Main Street was 40 feet long and two stories high, and the cast-iron columns featured granite lintels, which supported the weight of the building, which was, and remains, the largest commercial structure in Brattleboro.

The veranda was used as a reviewing stand for parades, meetings were held in the hotel year-round, and the ballroom hosted lavish parties.

The owner, Jonathan Chase, spent almost $2 million to restore and redevelop it, but was unable to raise the money necessary to complete the job, and on April 4, 2012, announced that he was selling the building, which Brattleboro Town Manager Barbara Sondag characterized as "vitally important to downtown", to a newly formed corporation consisting of local investors, which will seek the $14 million thought to be necessary to finish the 18- to 24-month project.

The project is estimated to cost $24 million, and financing has come from a variety of sources, including Town of Brattleboro loans and federal tax credits.