Monticello, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

Monticello was designed, furnished and lived in by Thomas Jefferson over many decades.

I love architecture and one of my favorite pieces of all time is Monticello, a home designed and lived in by Thomas Jefferson over many decades.  I fell in love with this home years ago when I first heard about it (other than school studies where I only learned until the exam and then promptly forgot) in a book entitled Historic houses restored and preserved.  Monticello is not actually in this book however there is a home entitled Edgemont that was also designed by Thomas Jefferson and partly constructed after Monticello only on a smaller scale.  To make a long story short the home was lost for many years.  Yes you read right, it had been lived in by Colonel James Powell Cooke and his family until 1838 when it became lost and was not rediscovered until 1936 when Milton L Grigg and Frances Benjamin Johnston flew over it in their plane. Anyways, back to Monticello…

Monticello means “Little Hill” in Italian and is known as one of the most important private residences in all of the United State of America.  Thomas Jefferson was the President of the United States who created the Declaration of Independence and founded the University of Virginia.  In addition to being the president had many “hats”.  Thomas Jefferson was also an architect, designer, philosopher, inventor and horticulturist.

The wonderful part of Monticello is that all of Thomas Jefferson’s “hats” are manifested in the design of this marvelous home.  The home was begun in 1768 and mostly finished in 1784 (all except the dome that was added after his tour of Europe).  It was built on an 850 foot high hill on 5,000 acres that he inherited from his father.  The land has views of the Virginia landscape.

The method of the homes construction makes it appear as if it is only a one story home, however it is actually 3 stories.  The clever placement of the windows conceals the true size of this massive home.  One of the books I have looked though and wish I would have bought (perhaps I just order it) is Monticello in Measured Drawings.  This book is a very unique collection of architectural plans, elevations, and sections of the home.  It reveals the house’s complex facade and details and relationship of individual floors and rooms.  Lastly it discusses and shows the fascinating array of architectural elements found throughout the house.

The design and functionality of the home is innovative and spectacular.  I have always been a fan of symmetry and the symmetrical design of this home is appealing.  The part I love most is the even number and placement of the windows on the front of the home, the symmetrical chimneys and the grand entry exterior staircase with the six column pillars.

Once entering the home the grandness of the two story entry hall is evidenced as a focal point.  Each of the principle rooms on the main floor are off of this room.   A unique feature of Jefferson’s designs is that there is not a grand staircase as many homes of this time have.  Instead for ease of the inhabitants and servants there are four staircases in each of the four corners of the home.

This home also has many fireplaces (the era required them the heat the rooms) which all have beautiful mantels, anywhere from the simple bedroom fireplaces to the ornate public fireplaces in the dining foyer and parlor areas.

The main house was augmented by small outlying pavilions to the north and south. A row of functional buildings (dairy, wash houses, store houses, a small nail factory, a joinery, a stone weavers cottage  etc.) and dwellings for approximately 150 slaves  known as Mulberry Row lay nearby to the south.  All of this and more sat on the 5,000 acres.   Within the property there are also flower, fruit and vegetable gardens along with some spectacular groves and pathways.

A neat feature of the Monticello website is the What’s In Bloom at Monticello page.  For here you can query their database of plants and see what is currently in bloom or what will be in gloom at the time of your visit.  I had fun just playing with it and learning a bit about different plants.

Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello is a gorgeous book full of 218 pages and over 300 color photographs and superb essays by Monticello’s scholarly staff as it showcase this American treasure. The book explores all aspects of Jefferson’s home, including its architecture, its collections, the gardens and the surrounding plantation.

I have been such a fan of this home for so long that I tried to find any house to build that would be comparable.  I have found only one in all of the years that I have searched.  It is at eplans and is entitled “Jefferson Adaptation“.  The plan is a reasonable cost to purchase hover to make it even half of what it could be you will have to give up your first and last child, and all future grandchildren.

Did you know that Monticello is featured on the back of the 1963 US 2$ bill and the US Nikel?

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