Monticello is the
estate of Thomas Jefferson located near Charlottesville,
Virginia. The house, of Jefferson's
own design,
is situated on the slope of a small hill (his "monticello")
in the Southwest Mountains south of the Rivanna
Gap. An image of the west front of Monticello is
featured on the reverse of the 5 cent coin of the
United States of America,
and on the version of the back side of the two dollar
bill that was printed from 1928 to 1966.
Work began on Monticello
in 1768, and Jefferson moved into the South Pavilion
(an outbuilding) in 1770. The original style was
based on the classical style of Palladian architecture
with which Jefferson became familiar during his
studies at The College of William and Mary . The
original design was largely completed (except for
porticoes and decorative interior woodwork) when
Jefferson left in 1784 for extended travels in Europe
representing the new Republic of the former British
American colonies, Jefferson expanded his vision
for Monticello to incorporate features of buildings
and ruins he admired in his travels. Further work
to the new design began in 1796, and the building
of Monticello is considered to have been substantially
completed in 1809 with the erection of the dome.
The
Jefferson family sold Monticello to James T. Barclay,
a local apothecary, in 1831, who quickly sold it
in 1834 to Uriah P. Levy, the first Jewish American
to serve an entire career as a commissioned officer
in the United States Navy and who greatly admired
Jefferson. The house was seized by the Confederate
government and sold, but recovered by the Levy family
and acquired by a private, nonprofit organization,
the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, in 1923. Monticello
is now operated as a museum and educational institution.
Visitors can view rooms in the cellar and ground
floor,
but the top two floors are not open to visitors.
Monticello
is the only home in the United States of America that
has been designated a World Heritage site. This designation
also includes the original grounds of the nearby University
of Virginia, also designed by Jefferson. Called the
Academical Village by Jefferson, Frank E. Grizzard,
Jr., a University of Virginia historian, has written
a fine dissertation on the construction of the original
buildings at the University of Virginia. Jefferson
also had a home near Lynchburg, Virginia called Poplar
Forest and designed Virginia's capitol building in
Richmond.
Much
of the interior decoration and fitting reflect the
ideas and ideals of Jefferson himself. The original
main entrance is through the portico on the east
front. The ceiling of the portico incorporates a
dial connected to a weather vane on the room, showing
the direction of the wind, and a large clock face
(with hour hand only: Jefferson thought this was
accurate enough for outdoor labourers) on the external
east-facing wall reflects the time shown on the
"Great Clock" (designed by Jefferson)
in the entrance hall. The entrance hall contains
articles collected by Lewis and Clarke on their
famous expedition, and the floorcloth in the entrance
hall is painted grass green, since Jefferson wanted
it to feel as if he were still in the outdoors when
he walked in the door.
