University of Virgina

The Academical Village and Lawn

Driving down US-81 on our way to Asheville, North Carolina to mountain bike with friends, we made a last minute detour to visit Ann's mom's home town of Waynesboro, Virgina. One thing leads to another of course, and with Charlottesville only 30 miles further, we just had to press on - the University of Virginia's iconic campus tugged at our architectural and  historical selves. Designed by Thomas Jefferson late in life, it is one of his crowning achievements, along with Monticello, the Declaration of Independence, and the Louisiana Purchase. We'd visited Monticello years ago and absolutely loved it, this would complete our exposure to his most famous architecture.

Prime Real Estate

It's a pretty drive down the mountain from Waynesboro to the piedmont and Charlottesville. Entering town, we got the impression one gets at many thriving university towns. Students everywhere, small shops in historic buildings, difficult parking - all the usual aspects. But once parked, we crossed the street and stepped back 200 years.

The core historic campus is immaculately preserved, yet alive. Arranged as ranks of attached student rooms and faculty homes facing across the quad, each in its own style, the high ground is anchored by the Rotunda.

Back Garden Serpentine Wall

Students and faculty still live in the historic rooms, still have wood for their fireplaces stacked outside their doors, and compete for the privilege to stay there. Behind the residences are fantastic gardens with all manner of bulbs, blooming shrubs, and trees. All are surrounded by serpentine brick walls. One of Thomas Jefferson's innovations, they allow a wall to be built on brick thick, making them both stable, economical, and graceful. At the corner of each garden are attractive brick 4 holers - the classiest vault toilets I've had the pleasure to meet.

T.J. in the Rotunda Entry

The Rotunda sits at the north end of the lawn, inspired by and half the scale of the Pantheon. Burned, re-built, then restored in the 1970's to it's original design, it's a gorgeous structure. Interior walls on the entry level inscribe ellipses inside rectangular base forming conference and sitting rooms. Upstairs the former library, with radial shelves around the perimeter under the gallery, rises several stories to the skylit dome overhead. Convocations, doctoral defenses, and tours fill the days of this classic space. 

The Rotunda Upstairs

The historic campus, what Jefferson called his Academical Village, is an institutional treasure of one of our great American universities. And we found upon returning home, of the world. In conjunction with Monticello, it is one of 8 UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites in the U.S. How many schools can claim that?