Andrew C. Lyons, Architect, Drawings for Buildings in Fairmont, West Virginia
Collection
Collection Number: A&M 3248
Architectural drawings by A.C. Lyons; includes pencil drawings and blueprints for mostly residential buildings in Fairmont, West Virginia. There is also a pamphlet regarding the life and work of Andrew C. Lyons entitled "Art and Architecture of Fairmont: Exploring the Works of Andrew C. Lyons and Raymond Stoker" by M. Raymond Alvarez.
Drawings were undated (estimated to cover the period of 1895 to 1910) and include the following:
Working drawings (WD) and studies consisting of elevations, floor plans, foundation plans, cross sections, details -- drawn with pencil on heavy paper.
Blueprints (BP) of construction drawings consisting of elevations, floor plans and details. Some were color coded (colored pencils) as noted.
This collection has been digitized. To view the digital version, please consult with a curator.
English
Special access restriction applies.
Researchers may access digitized materials by requesting to view the materials in person by appointment or remotely by contacting the West Virginia & Regional History Center reference department at https://westvirginia.libanswers.com/wvrhc.
Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.
Andrew C. Lyons, architect and entrepreneur, was born in Somerset County, Pennsylvania in 1873. His family lived in Pittsburgh briefly but eventually settled in Huntington, West Virginia. This collection represents his work in Fairmont, West Virginia. In Pittsburgh Lyons finished school and he began his career as an architect in 1888 with the office of Solomon Munsch. In 1891 he went to Fairmont to manage a branch office for the firm Munsch & Huemme which became Munsch, Huemme & Lyons in 1894, with offices in Pittsburgh and Fairmont. After Huemme left the practice and Munsch died, Lyons established his own office in Fairmont and eventually a branch in Elkins. Around 1902 his firm became Lyons & Tibbets when John D. Tibbets joined him.
Lyons was the primary architect during Fairmont’s immense growth in the early 20th century when the town turned from a sleepy community to a bustling coal industry commercial center. In the 1930s Lyons career as an architect in Fairmont fizzled and he went back to Pittsburgh where he established a river barge transport company and became a riverboat captain. His life ended tragically in 1942. The boat he was captaining was caught in a swift current on the Ohio River and smashed into the piers of a railroad bridge between Benwood, West Virginia and Belaire, Ohio. It sank quickly and Lyons and his copilot were unable to escape the pilot house.
Lyons’ architectural legacy can still be seen in Fairmont in churches, schools, residences, and businesses. Two of the buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places and several more are in historic districts. Other extant buildings he designed are in the West Virginia cities of Grafton, Mannington, Elkins, Rivesville, and Van Lear, Kentucky.
Adapted from the Wikipedia article “A.C. Lyons” and the Goldenseal article “Fairmont architect Andrew C. Lyons, Picturesque and artistic.” Both accessed November 2, 2020.
8 Linear Feet (8 ft. (31 newspaper boxes, 3 in. each); (2 flat storage boxes, 1.5 in. each); (1 folder, 1/4 in.))
Architectural drawings by A.C. Lyons; includes pencil drawings and blueprints for mostly residential buildings in Fairmont, West Virginia. There is also a pamphlet regarding the life and work of Andrew C. Lyons entitled "Art and Architecture of Fairmont: Exploring the Works of Andrew C. Lyons and Raymond Stoker" by M. Raymond Alvarez. See scope and content note for contents list.
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / Fax: 304-293-3981 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Part of the West Virginia and Regional History Center Repository