Map Showing Bevensmusic Room Brown Fine Arts Buliding Browns Chapel Lyon College
Posted on Th, January 14
Brown Chapel is the symbol of the Lyon College campus, an iconic construction resonating with scores of Arkansas Higher and Lyon College alumni alike. As the only campus building that every single student over the past 55 years or so has set foot in at to the lowest degree once, information technology plays a part in memories of first dates, required convocations, performances, and adventures—who knows how many students have accepted a claiming to climb upwardly into the steeple!
And then there are the legends. Despite the historical reality that no children were e'er buried on the property, the story persists that the chapel is haunted by the ghosts of children from the Masonic orphanage that formerly occupied the bluff who died and were buried where Dark-brown Chapel at present stands. Their ghosts are seen in the shadows on the illuminated steeple each night, and their play has disrupted theatrical and choral rehearsals. The most mischievous of these trivial ghosts is Billy, who at least once rolled a ball out of the wings and onto the phase. The rehearsing students and their director, so-theatre-professor Jay Summers, stopped work "to play with Billy," said Gina (Cake) Garrett, '93, one of those students and now Lyon's Executive Director of Institutional Advancement.
Or there'south the ghost who occupies Bevens Music Room, brought there along with the tapestry that hangs on the north wall. Dancing with her groom after their wedding, a beautiful young helpmate dropped downwards onto the tapestry and died. Now she walks at night, searching for her groom. Folklorists could explain these legends equally signs that students have felt they were in danger of "losing their lives" from all the academic demands coming at them from every direction and eased their fears through passing along these stories—later all, the children seem to be happy and yet living as they trip the light fantastic around the steeple every night.
The real story is that Brown Chapel and Fine Arts Building was synthetic in 1958 and named for W. C. Brownish, Sr., of Stamps, Arkansas, a Higher trustee from 1910 to 1915, and ii of his children, Allan (also a trustee from 1929 to 1937) and Josephine Brown. The senior Brownish was 1 of the owners of the Bodcaw Lumber Company, at that time operating one of the largest sawmills in the Southward. Donors of the pb gift, which secured naming rights, were his other two children, W. C. Brownish, Jr., and Jean Dark-brown, whose names are modestly listed in alphabetical social club on a large brass plaque in the antechamber amid all the many donors.
The four siblings, who were known for their charitable piece of work and their pocket-sized desire for anonymity, lived together for many years, unmarried, in an imposing mansion on Central Artery in Hot Springs. Both Allan and Westward. C. Brown, Jr., attended Arkansas College, from which Due west. C. graduated in 1915. He later attended the New England Solarium, where he studied music, and went on to study with a mentor of Caruso. Returning abode, he sang with the Hot Springs Choral Order and for ten years sang on Sun afternoons on radio station KTHS, accompanied past his sister Jean. This strong interest in music no doubtfulness played a role in the Browns' decision to back up construction of the Brownish Chapel and Fine Arts Edifice.
That construction began under the leadership of Dr. Paul C. McCain, president of Arkansas College from 1952 until 1969. It was a key chemical element in his vision for a college campus on the barefaced, at the site of the and then-closed Masonic Domicile for Orphans.
Brown Chapel non only was placed at the front of the campus, facing 22nd Street and aligned with Maple Street, but was also intended to be the symbol of the College, with graceful columns and an imposing steeple. Because it was the offset modern academic building synthetic at this third location of the College, it was designed to serve several functions. Its auditorium would be used, variously, for convocations, assemblies, chapel services, musical performances, theatre productions, and formal academic events. The Bevens Music Room would be a recital hall and likewise a place for receptions, weddings, and other special events. The building too featured a pocket-sized chapel, art studio, offices, choir room, practice rooms, storage areas, gear up and costume storage, make-up and dressing areas, sound organisation, stage lighting, and restrooms.
In addition, on many occasions since its construction, the auditorium of Brown Chapel has served as a civic venue for the Batesville community, accommodating community theatre, public lectures and performances, large funerals and weddings, and many other important events.
In Apr 1973, the Chapel, along with the orphanage buildings, was severely damaged by a tornado, which took down two columns in the portico, the entire steeple, and parts of the roof. Repairs took months. The Celtic cantankerous atop the steeple was rescued past the late Dr. Fitzhugh Spragins, a Lyon faith professor and alumnus, and now stands in the courtyard of the Mabee- Simpson Library, a testament to the resilience of Lyon Higher.
Over the more 58 years since its structure, the Brown Chapel and Fine Arts Building has been altered, refurbished, and adapted many times. It has been used every bit a general classroom area when other buildings on campus were being constructed or remodeled but has served equally the primary bookish space for music studies since its construction.
The cute Bevens Music Room was refurbished in 1989 by Mrs. Marion Lyon and again in 2013 by the First Ladies' Auxiliary, led by Mrs. Lynn Weatherman. Graced by the hitting tapestry which inspired the legend of the dancing bride, in recent years it has also come to feature a handsome collection of portraits of previous presidents and deans.
The auditorium, concluding refurbished in 1985, nevertheless contains the original seating and curtains. A wonderful mechanical (tracker) organ was custom-built past the Holtkamp Organ Visitor of Cleveland, Ohio, and installed in 1980 equally the gift of Mr. and Mrs. John W. Edwards of Batesville. A yard piano graces the north end of the phase. This infinite is currently used for convocations (including the opening of each academic year) and baccalaureate, weekly worship services, lectures, trip the light fantastic toe recitals, and performances by the College's choral and instrumental groups.
But Brownish Chapel is at present suffering from decades of deferred maintenance. What must be undertaken, with urgency, is a full interior restoration. Built almost 60 years ago, information technology is the superlative campus priority for renovation and restoration, with an expected price tag of $1.five million. What must be done?
Work will begin with the first-floor function suite. From a cramped series of tiny offices and practice/storage rooms, a new suite of offices,greenroom/lounge, and unisex restroom will emerge. This initial project will cost $176,000, of which $46,000 already has been pledged or received. The showtime segment, costing $60,000, will begin equally shortly as another $14,000 is in hand.
Next, the stage in the primary auditorium must be modified. Originally designed for both theatre performances and concerts, the phase at present primarily serves choral and instrumental music performances. Necessary changes include construction of a three-sided crush and dropped ceiling to better acoustics, a new sound system, electric lighting improvements, refinished phase floor, and new storage spaces, also as painting and refinishing of walls, doors, and fixtures. The toll of this project will be approximately $562,000.
The side by side major phase of piece of work will continue in the auditorium, where the seating must be replaced, shades installed when the crumbling drapes are removed, asbestos-laden floor tiles replaced, and walls, trim, and ceilings repainted. Acoustical diffusers on the dorsum wall and upgraded house lighting must also exist added. In addition, the HVAC system, burn down alarm organisation, and egress lighting need to be updated. These improvements volition toll about $716,000.
Electric current and quondam students, Batesville citizens, and higher friends who have long enjoyed and benefited from this beautiful, remarkable structure know its importance and capeesh the demand. The Brown Chapel and Fine Arts Building must go along to fulfill in every fashion its celebrated and of import functions.
Source: https://www.lyon.edu/news/posts/restoring-memories-renovating-a-campus-icon
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