Honoring the Legacy of Virginia Baptist Hospital's Architect
As we celebrate the centennial year of Virginia Baptist Hospital (VBH), we’re honoring different aspects of the hospital’s history with various themes. June’s theme is focused on the architecture of the hospital and its museum! You may or may not have known that VBH has a museum that features displays about its history including its college of nursing and pioneering work related to neonatal care.
Recently, additional exhibits and features have been added to the museum that will be revealed during the VBH Centennial Celebration which is being held on July 12. The new exhibits will feature new facts and individuals from VBH’s extensive history, one individual being Stanhope Johnson who was the principal architect for Virginia Baptist Hospital.
Johnson, who was a native of Lynchburg, has had over 700 building projects attributed to him with over half located in Lynchburg. However, his work was not limited to central Virginia–his projects covered a multi-state area that included much of the east coast and stretched as far as Texas.
With a career that spanned over 65 years, Johnson was known for utilizing Georgian Revival style, characterized by symmetry, porches, latticed windows and classical detail elements that were popular in the early 20th century. The architect resided near VBH in a home on Link Road that was named Brookside.
To learn more about Johnson and other individuals who have helped shape Virginia Baptist Hospital into the landmark of hope and healing that it is today, be sure to visit the museum when it re-opens on July 12!