B. C. Flournoy: Washington and Lee University Architect, 1904-1929

Abstract

B. C. Flournoy worked at the height of the so-called "American Renaissance." Classical architecture, with all its various connotations, again became the national style. With the great expansion of architectural publications, trade periodicals, and educational programs, the Classical style became easily accessible to a large number of architects. As in any stylistic period, there were only a few architects of truly great skill and imagination. . . . Of the less talented architects, there were a great many architects (more than in any period before then) who could design buildings that, while lacking the imagination of the truly great architects, were solidly built, both structurally and stylistically. Unlike previous revival periods, these lesser architects knew the correct application of Classical decoration pieces. It is within this group that B. C. Flournoy falls. His work at Washington and Lee is typical of work found on other campuses in America during this time. For each of the buildings Flournoy designed for Washington and Lee, any number of college buildings can be found with a similar appearance. Yet taken as a whole, his work is magnified and becomes, if not nationally important, then extremely important to the one hundred-seventy-five year architectural history of Washington and Lee. [From Conclusion]