Jerry Falwell’s office opens for tours at Liberty University

By Aimee Norton

Published: May 15, 2008

Jerry Falwell passed away in his office one year ago.  Today, it’s exactly the way he left it.  Now the family is opening the doors to the public.

“They get to see how he spent his private time over the last 16, 17 years of his life and it’s got all the same books and newspapers, just the way he left it,“ said Jerry Falwell, Jr.

Falwell’s office was on the main floor of the Carter Glass Mansion for 16 years.  Now the lights in the office stay on, all day and all night, to honor his life.  The newspapers on his desk are turning yellow.  There’s sports memorabilia, and pictures of his wife and grandchildren.  Thursday, Dena Frankenfield and her family went on a tour while visiting from Oklahoma.

“It’s incredible. It gives you goose bumps. It makes you gain more respect for the man and all he’s done, all he’s put together and the lives that he’s changed,“ said Frankenfield.

Jerry Falwell Junior’s wife, Becki, took us on a tour of the mansion.  It was recently turned into a bed and breakfast.  The first guests stayed there over the weekend for Liberty’s Commencement. 

For the family, it’s preserving the past, while looking to the future.

“We miss him and we’re happy as I’m sure he would be with how things have gone since he passed,“ said Falwell.

His dad’s office is now a moment frozen in time.

The mansion opened for tours in April.  They are free and open to the public Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.