The Gatehouse Story

The Gatehouse Story. . , In October, 1995, Hillside Garden Club won the prestigious Common Wealth Award from the Garden Club of Virginia for a proposed Information Gatehouse and expanded entry for the Old City Cemetery. The old brick gates, which had been designed by J. Everette Fauber, Jr. and built in 1974 by the local Colonial Dames Committee, no longer seemed adequate in view of the newly widened Taylor Street approach to the cemetery. There was also the need for an information center to act as a starting point for visitors to the recently restored cemetery., Thus the Award provided the impetus for a Southern Memorial Association Design Committee to translate the idea into a practical reality. With plans in hand, bids were sought from local contractors. Rather than offer a price, the Central Virginia Professional Estimators Association returned with an offer of volunteer labor and materials to build the Gatehouse at no cost whatsoever. Consequently, the Common Wealth Award money could be spent on permanent historic interpretation displays to be housed inside the gatehouse., The Gatehouse labor of love was performed mostly on weekends and holidays over a nine month period, sometimes executed by skilled craftsmen, sometimes by willing helpers learning new skills, but always with pride and in good spirit., Completed in April 1997, this gift to the City of Lynchburg had a value of $25,000, but embodied an immeasurable quantity of respect and caring for this treasured local historic landmark., The Gift of Construction , Rosie Gantt, L.G. Flint, Inc. , Coordinator and Chief Recruiter. , Eric Rowe, Smith-Wimer, Inc. . Bill Robertson, Lynchburg Ready-Mix Concrete Co., Inc. . Zane Robertson . Richard McGann, McGann Masonry . Bobby Stinnette, Commercial Masonry . Old Virginia Brick . Ed Craighill, Wayne Kidd, Inc. Roofing . Paul Lang, Woodall and Lang . Bill Jamerson, J.E. Jamerson and Sons, Inc. . Randy Gantt, R.M. Gantt, Inc. . Campbell-Payne, Inc. . Taylor Brothers, Inc. . Commercial Glass and Plastics, Inc. . Bob Jones Paint Contractor . Gary Sale, Sale Concrete Construction, Inc. . John Lonsky . L.G. Flint, Inc. . Randy Parr, Lynchburg Restoration, Inc. . Lynchburg Ready-Mix Concrete Co., Inc. . Bailey Spencer Hardware Company, Inc. . Pearson Equipment Company . Aztec Rental Center . City of Lynchburg, Department of Public Works, Division of Public Services, The Gatehouse Design Committee of the Southern Memorial Association , Parks Snead, Jr., Architect . S. Allen Chambers, Architectural Historian, Consultant . C. Duval Holt, Jr. . Jane F. Bowden . , Jane B. White, Cemetery Restoration Chairman.