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College given historic building
June 08, 2012

Bryan College has been given a historic building in Lynchburg, Va., with the intention of benefitting the college.
 

	Dr. Kevin Clauson, left, and Dr. Stephen Livesay hold a picture of the former Jones Memorial Library building.

Professor Kevin Clauson, who donated the property, said the building housed the Jones Memorial Library from its construction in 1908 to 1987. His organization, the Patrick Henry Institute, acquired the property in 1995. The Institute is a Christian public policy and Christian socio-political ethics think tank and study center, founded by Dr. Clauson, that seeks to apply Bible-based ethical precepts to modern-day public and legal issues.
 
Bryan President Dr. Stephen Livesay said the college plans to do some minor repairs to the building, and intends to sell it. “The library is one of Lynchburg’s few examples of the formal Beaux-Arts style with a formal stairway leading from Rivermont Avenue to a grand portico with colossal columns paired with Ionic capitals. The building has an interior rotunda rising three stories from a large open main level lobby area, with ornate decorative plaster molding. The property encompasses an entire city block of 1.4 acres. We are desirous of finding someone who would purchase the library, restore and preserve this beautiful, historic facility.”
 
Dr. Livesay said gifts of property such as this typically are sold, with the proceeds benefitting the college, unless the college has a specific use planned.