• Ken Picard ©️ Seven Days
• "Across Time and Space" by Guohua Xu

Art awaits around virtually every corner in downtown Rutland. It's splashed across park benches outside city hall in the form of brightly colored paintings of geese and owls. It creeps like vines across courtyard walls and brick alleys that host stunning murals, some three stories tall. It sprouts as red tulip sculptures that double as sidewalk folding chairs, offering respite to weary pedestrians. And it springs from sculptures carved from the white stone quarried nearby that earned Rutland its moniker: Marble City.

Rutland still experiences the drugs, crime and homelessness that made it the New York Times' poster child for Vermont's opioid crisis in a 2014 story. Many travelers see little more of the city than its strip of big-box stores and fast-food eateries along Route 7. They dismiss the state's third-largest city with a disparaging nickname that likens Rutland to a certain glitzy but soulless desert metropolis in southern Nevada.

Yet this impression of the city is as outdated as its Diamond Run Mall, which closed in 2019. Rutland's ongoing revitalization efforts, more than a decade in the works, are finally putting the city's gritty reputation in the rearview mirror. Visitors who venture into the heart of Rutland will sense a whole new mood among its residents, workers and business owners: excitement, optimism and pride in a city that's once again on the rise.

Here are some suggestions for things to do and places to eat, drink, gather and explore while you're there.

9 a.m. to noon

• Ken Picard ©️ Seven Days
• Star Barber Shop

Start your visit with a bite to eat — there's no shortage of daytime downtown options. Grab a bagel sandwich, croissant, muffin or yogurt smoothie, all made with locally sourced ingredients, at the Bakery on West Street. For more traditional diner fare, the Rutland Restaurant on Merchants Row has been serving up breakfasts, lunches and dinners since 1917. An eatery doesn't endure for more than a century without doing it right.

Downtown Rutland is home to several establishments that span generations. McNeil & Reedy, which opened in 1956, is a third-generation men's store with tailors on the premises. It boasts the state's largest selection of men's suits and tuxedos, which staff can alter while you wait. In addition to an impressive array of dress shirts and Italian silk ties — the latter of which are displayed in a vintage post office mail cabinet — McNeil & Reedy offers Darn Tough socks, Barr Hill honey, men's leather gloves, grooming gear and a super-soft "Vermonter" sweatshirt.

Across Merchants Row at Star Barber Shop, you can get a shave and a haircut from Bill Mazzariello, a third-generation barber whose grandfather opened the shop in 1934. The barber pole outside is the original one, as is the 1926 cash register. Mazzariello has customers who've been coming to him since he joined the family business in 1991. Call ahead for an appointment, as Star Barber Shop doesn't take walk-ins.

For a more new-age form of self-pampering, venture several doors down to the Pyramid Holistic Wellness Center. Among its meditation and relaxation offerings are a Himalayan salt cave, filled with 23,000 pounds of the pink Asian crystals ($20 for 55 minutes); a Sedona Crystal Vortex, complete with a crystal light bed for "chakra balancing energy"; and the Edfu Egyptian Temple, which promises a "multi sensory immersive wellness experience for vibrational alignment, deep relaxation, healing and peace." There's also a retail crystal shop and wellness marketplace.

• Ken Picard ©️ Seven Days
• "Bill W" by Alessandro Lombardo, Kellie Pereira and Steve Shaheen

Next, head across the road to the Steampunk Locomotive, parked outside the Rutland Amtrak station on Evelyn Street. Officially titled "Across Time and Space," the life-size steam engine sculpture, made in 2013 from scrap steel by Chinese artist Guohua Xu, is a nod to Rutland's rich history as Vermont's largest railroad hub.

From the sculpture, take a moment to look east toward Merchants Row and appreciate Rutland's impressive downtown architecture. The city's skyline includes the 1906 Mead Building, the 1930 Service Building and the 1933 U.S. Post Office and Court House.

Downtown visitors will also notice white marble carvings scattered throughout the city. Begun in 2016, the Downtown Rutland Sculpture Trail has installed a dozen stone works to date. It's an ongoing project of the Carving Studio & Sculpture Center, an art school, studio and gallery that has a sculpture trail of its own in West Rutland.

Outside Phoenix Books stands "The Jungle Book," an homage to British author Rudyard Kipling, who lived in Dummerston in the mid-1800s. Another trail landmark is "Andrea Mead Lawrence," a tribute to the two-time Alpine skiing gold medalist in the 1952 Winter Olympics. In Marketplace Park, down the Center Street Alley, you'll find "Bill W.," a bust of Alcoholics Anonymous cofounder William Griffith Wilson, plus two other marble sculptures and a towering mural titled "We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest Until It Comes," by artist LMNOPI. Find a complete map of the sculptures at carvingstudio.org.

• Ken Picard ©️ Seven Days
• Roots the Restaurant with "We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest Until It Comes" by LMNOPI

Below the mural, you can grab lunch, appetizers and drinks on the outdoor patio of Roots the Restaurant, which overlooks the courtyard. The fried calamari, scallop salad, grilled salmon and lobster risotto are also popular. Reservations are recommended.

Other downtown lunch options include the green chile pork tacos, chorizo quesadillas and margaritas at Taco Fresco. Or grab a New York-style Reuben or pastrami sandwich at Hand Carved by Ernie, which offers outdoor seating.

For off-the-beaten-path eats, locals recommend the sandwiches at Bellomo's Market and Maxies Deli. The Greek pie or gyro at Olympic Pizza on Woodstock Avenue is also a reliable choice.

Noon to 6 p.m.

• Ken Picard ©️ Seven Days
• Green Mountain Rock Climbing Center

After lunch, Rutland's Center Street retail district offers some hidden gems, including Kaleidoscope Art Supply. The second-floor store, which owner and artist Raven Crispino opened in May, specializes in art supplies, handbags, greeting cards, vintage clothes, frames and works by local artists. Check out Kaleidoscope's Mystery Machine, a vintage coin-operated vending machine that dispenses local creations for 50 cents a pop.

Speaking of vintage, aficionados of vinyl, cassettes and CDs can easily spend an hour or two perusing the new and used offerings at Mountain Music. In addition to its records, tapes and used analog stereo components, the store has an authentic but free-to-use pay phone that plays more than 100 music and sound clips. This ode to a pre-cellphone era was created by Rutland native Nick Grandchamp, who was also the brains behind Kaleidoscope's Mystery Machine.

For visitors with children 8 and younger, the Wonderfeet Kids' Museum is a playscape focused on the community. Located in Green Mountain Power's Energy Innovation Center on Merchants Row, the museum features kid-size replicas of places and things around town, including a recycling truck designed by Rutland-based Casella Waste Management, the Rutland train station, a GMP-inspired robot and a mountain playscape sponsored by nearby Killington resort.

"It's all things that Vermont kids are super familiar with," said Danielle Monroe, the museum's executive director, "but we did them with a colorful way in a size that they can explore on their own."

For a more adult museum, visit the Chaffee Art Center on Main Street, Rutland's hub for artists, students and art enthusiasts. The Chaffee, which organizes the Art in the Park festivals, offers a raft of exhibits in its own galleries, as well as art classes for kids, teens and adults. Another of its projects was the Rutland BenchART! Community Street Art Project, which decorated 42 park benches around town. Visit the Chaffee website to learn about its exhibits, seasonal events and gallery hours.

Visitors may go elsewhere to hike, bike, paddle, rock climb or ski, given Rutland's proximity to the Green Mountain National Forest, Bomoseen State Park, Killington, Pico Mountain and White Rocks National Recreation Area. But the city does have urban trails worthy of a visit. Pine Hill Park offers 16 miles of single-track trails spread over 300 acres for mountain biking, trail running, hiking, walking and snowshoeing. The Carriage and Redfield trails, which are mostly old logging roads with stunning forests and views, add another dimension to the city-based rec area.

In inclement weather or when trails are muddy, you can get in some climbing and bouldering at the Green Mountain Rock Climbing Center. The climbing school and gym offers lessons and refreshers in belaying, as well as guided adventures in paddling, caving, hiking and ice climbing.

For something entirely different, Stonehedge Indoor Golf boasts state-of-the-art indoor golfing and shooting on large-screen simulators. Using replicas rather than actual firearms, the laser-guided shooting range can be adjusted to users' skill level and number of players. Grab a beer and a bite in the on-site café while waiting for your tee or range time.

6 p.m. to midnight

The biggest challenge of eating dinner in Rutland is choosing from the city's many offerings, such as the Hop 'n Moose at Rutland BeerWorks and Little Haveli, which makes authentic, delicious Indian food. Another solid selection is the West St Grille. Try the pork potstickers, the jalapeño popper egg rolls or the Scirocco burger: a short-rib patty topped with caramelized onions, pork belly, American cheese, red hots and pickles. Yum!

Perhaps your evening visit to Rutland is tied to a performance at the historic Paramount Theatre. Opened in 1914 as the Playhouse Theatre and styled like a Victorian opera house, the downtown arts center once hosted top performers such as Tom Thumb, Will Rogers and Harry Houdini, who were traveling the Rutland Railroad between Boston and Montréal. In 1931, with the arrival of the "talkies," the theater was rechristened the Paramount. It's in the midst of a $6 million renovation and expansion of its lobby, concession area and restrooms into the neighboring Richardson Building, but the construction doesn't affect the 830-seat main auditorium.

Notable upcoming shows include comedian Craig Ferguson, the rock band Soul Asylum, musician Micky Dolenz of the Monkees and the Vermont Symphony Orchestra performing with banjo legend Béla Fleck.

Before or after your Paramount show, sip a craft cocktail at the Mad Rose. Named for owner Brooke Lipman's teenage daughter, Madeline, it offers beer, wine, spirits and eats.

Alternatively, you can pop into one of Rutland's four adult-use cannabis retail shops. Mountain Girl Cannabis won the 2023 Daysie for best dispensary outside Chittenden County. At the bodega-like Gas Station Dispensary, co-owner JD Sharp offers an impressive selection of pre-rolls, edibles, tinctures and flower sold "deli-style," meaning customers can pick which buds to buy.

"Our favorite question we get in here is 'Is any of this local?'" Sharp said. "Not only can I guarantee it's local, but it's legally required!"

In July 2019, Rutland artist Bill Ramage told Seven Days that Vermont would soon experience "an invasion of millennials" akin to the hippie movement of the 1970s, as young people fled urban areas for smaller, more affordable communities. A year later, during the pandemic, Rutland was among the communities that saw an influx of out-of-staters.

But to keep them there, Ramage warned, Rutland would need to offer those young people bigger-city amenities they'd left behind — notably, a thriving creative economy of music, food, entertainment and the arts.

Five years later, like a marble sculpture in the works, Rutland is taking shape.

If you go

• The Bakery, 122 West St., 775-3220, thebakeryrutland.com
• Rutland Restaurant, 57 Merchants Row, 775-7447
• McNeil & Reedy, 81 Merchants Row, 278-6429, mcneilandreedy.com
• Star Barber Shop, 114 Merchants Row, 775-1424
• Pyramid Holistic Wellness Center, 120 Merchants Row, 775-8080, pyramidvt.com
• Downtown Rutland Sculpture Trail, downtownrutland.com
• Phoenix Books, 2 Center St., 855-8078, phoenixbooks.biz/rutland
• Center Street Marketplace Park, 52 Washington St., 773-1822, rutlandrec.com
• Roots the Restaurant, 55 Washington St., 747-7414, rootsrutland.com
• Taco Fresco, 56 Center St., 855-8004, tacofrescovt.com
• Hand Carved by Ernie, 37 Center St., 747-8499, Facebook
• Bellomo's Market, 31 Forest St., 775-1632, Facebook
• Maxies Deli, 93 State St., 775-2007, Facebook
• Olympic Pizza, 134 Woodstock Ave., 786-2200, olympicpizzavt.com
• Kaleidoscope Art Supply, 37 Center St., second floor, 417-2295, kaleidoscopeartsupply.square.site
• Mountain Music, 5 Center St., 747-0428, mountainmusicvt.com
• Wonderfeet Kids' Museum, 66 Merchants Row, 282-2678, wonderfeetkidsmuseum.org
• Chaffee Art Center, 16 S. Main St., 775-0356, chaffeeartcenter.org
• Pine Hill Park, 2 Oak St. Ext., 773-1822, pinehillpartnership.org
• Green Mountain Rock Climbing Center, 223 Woodstock Ave., 773-3343, vermontclimbing.com
• Stonehedge Indoor Golf 172 S. Main St., 779-9595, stonehedgeindoorgolf.com
• Hop 'n Moose at Rutland BeerWorks, 41 Center St., 775-7063, hopnmoose.com
• Little Haveli, 46 N. Main St., 855-8767, littlehaveli.com
• West St Grille, 121 West St., 747-4848, weststgrille.com
• Paramount Theatre, 30 Center St., 775-0903, paramountvt.org
• The Mad Rose, 42 Center St., 772-7541, Facebook
• Mountain Girl Cannabis, 174 West St., 353-0034, mountaingirlcannabis.com
• Gas Station Dispensary, 180 S. Main St., 855-8357, gasstationvt.com