Charlottesville is best known for being the home of Thomas Jefferson and the site of the University of Virginia. As a treat, when my husband's parents came out from Arizona to visit us for a week, we drove down to Charlottesville for a day trip since they had never visited the area before. We began our afternoon with a relaxing lunch at the Biltmore Grill on the Corner. This used to be a favorite place of mine when I was in grad school at UVA because they have a wonderful porch that has a greenery ceiling and very good burgers. It was too hot to eat outside (over 100 degrees Fahrenheit) but we enjoyed our lunch in the air-conditioned interior.

The University of Virginia

We then walked back onto the Grounds of the University of Virginia, across the street. The University of Virginia is known for its traditions as well as for the high quality of education. One of the traditions is in regard to the founder, Thomas Jefferson. He is normally referred to as "Mr. Jefferson" and all professors are called "Mr.", "Ms.", or "Professor" instead of "Dr.". That is because Mr. Jefferson never received a Ph.D. and he is considered to be the highest authority at the University. People speak of him as if he is still living. Another tradition concerns secret societies. When you walk the Grounds (not the campus!), you'll notice huge Z's, IMP's and 7's painted on many buildings and walkways. Those refer to three of the secret (and not so secret) societies. The IMP's aren't very secret and even have their pictures printed in the yearbook. The Seven Society is the most secret. They give money to the University in multiples of 7, are rumored to have only 7 members and no one knows who they are. The societies are allowed to maintain their present painted markings but they are not allowed to add any new ones on Grounds.

We decided to take a tour of the Rotunda but we quickly left the tour and walked around on our own. When you visit the Dome Room of the Rotunda, take a special look at the "hidden" bookcases behind the columns. This is a specially designed feature for what used to be the University's library. This building also served as a laboratory for chemistry and you can see an oven on the first floor. The Rotunda burned down in the 1896 and was rebuilt using a design by Sanford White. The only items to survive the fire were the walls, some books and equipment and a marble statue of Mr. Jefferson that some students risked their lives to save. You can see a small chip near the base but that is the only damage. In 1976, restoration of the Rotunda was completed to bring the building closer to Jefferson's original design. This room is sometimes used for special events but is normally open to the public. I used to like to come up here to read and study. It was much quieter than my assigned cubicle at Alderman Library and there were fewer distractions than in my room!

From the Dome Room, you can look out the windows at The Lawn. Before Old Cabell Hall was built, the end of the Lawn was left open and you could see straight to the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Lawn is a very special part of the Academical Village. Professors live in the various pavilions and selected 4th year students live in the Lawn rooms. I was lucky enough to be one of the graduate students who live in the Range rooms. The Ranges are located behind the gardens behind the pavilions and face outward instead of inward toward the Lawn. The rooms are almost identical, however. You may notice that the Lawn looks straight and flat in many photographs. In reality, it's an optical illusion because the Lawn is terraced with steps after each horizontal walkway getting progressively steeper as you move away from the Rotunda. Summer is a beautiful time in Charlottesville because everything is so lush and green, even in the middle of a drought!

The various Pavilions are what make the Lawn unique. Each is individually designed. According to Pendleton Hogan's "The Lawn: A Guide to Jefferson's University", Pavilion I is modeled on "the Doric order of Diocletian's Baths in Rome from Chambray's book." I don't even know who Diocletian is! What is interesting about this Pavilion is that the two-story portico is the same width as the house and the columns are spaced farther apart than the other Pavilions. It is the Pavilion nearest to the Rotunda on the West side of the Lawn.

Pavilion II is built in the Roman Revival style. The windows and doors are placed directly over one another on the first and second floors giving it a tall appearance. Pavilion III was the most expensive and the smallest of the Pavilions. It cost so much because the marble capitals were imported from Italy. The portico is narrower than the house and the columns are also very narrow. The Pavilion originally had two front doors, one in the center and one to the right with two windows to the left of the center door and one between the doors.

Pavilion IV was built in the "Doric of Albano." The front door was originally in the center of the building instead of off to the left. This required the moving of interior walls. Thankfully, there was a triple sash window in place that was the same size as the door so no major exterior architectural changes were necessary. You also get a decent view of some Lawn rooms to either side of the Pavilion. Each room is one story and is 12 and a half feet wide and long. There is a front door with a louvered screen in front and an opposite window behind for cross ventilation. Inside, there is a fireplace, mantel, a roll-top desk, a rocking chair, desk chair, bed, clothes cupboard, and a cupboard containing a sink. During the winter, there is central heat provided. During hte warmer months, there is no air-conditioning other than fans in the window. The rooms are actually quite comfortable, year round.

The most impressive of the Pavilions is Pavilion V. It has six columns and a two-story portico built in the "Ionic of Palladio." On the upper story, there is a center door flanked by two bays on either side. Downstairs, there are two triple sash windows on either side of the center door. There are three different patterns in the trellis railings. There is an elevated walkway between each of the Pavilions above the Colonnades, but I've never actually seen anyone up there walking between Pavilions. Each Pavilion also has a garden behind it. The West Gardens are very formal. The East Gardens are much more interesting with terraces and lush greenery. Behind the Pavilions, you'll find serpentine brick walls separating the gardens and lanes from one another.

Pavilion VI boasts one-story Tuscan columns instead of the two-story porticos of the previous Pavilions. This building is styled upon "the Ionic of the Theatre of Marcellus from Chambray." There are two double hung windows on either side of both the upper and lower doors.

The Colonnade Club is housed in Pavilion VII. This is the oldest building on the Lawn. This building is distinctive for its first floor arcade topped by a one-story portico. Supposedly, this is based upon the "Doric of Palladio". I really need to take a class in basic art history and architecture! The arcade has five arches while there are six columns on the portico. When visiting, notice the bright red Virginia clay on the bottom of the Colonnades and arcade.

I was lucky enough to have classes in Pavilion VIII when I was a student at the University. As I recall, the two classes I had there were Civil Liberties and Judicial Process. Anyway, the Pavilion was styled upon "the Corinthian of the Emperor Diocletian's Baths" but is also attributed to Latrobe. This Pavilion boasts four Cornithian columns behind the Colonnades. There is a recessed entrance provided by projecting bay windows. Upstairs, there are two small double-sash windows on either side of a double door.

Pavilion IX is my favorite of the Pavilions. The building is supposedly Ionic, "from the Roman Temple of Fortuna Virilis" but it also is known for being an example of French Neoclassicism. There is a recessed half dome over the doorway to keep out the rain. If you get close enough, you'll notice that even the doors are curved! Aside from the entrance, there are just four windows on the front of the building. You would need to climb out of the upper windows to gain access to the terrace because there is no second story door.

Finally, Pavilion X! Here we have a Doric-ornamented building with four columns and pediments. I like the look of this Pavilion with a student Lawn room on either side. It gives the Pavilion a nice, balanced winged look. There is a central door on each level flanked by windows. The only murder to take place on Lawn occurred in front of this Pavilion. Because of this tragedy, the Honor System was devised. To this day, every student at UVA lives with the system and you can be expelled for violating the rules.

Before leaving the Grounds, we walked down the West Range to see my former room (33 West Range - right next to the Woodrow Wilson Room). We also ambled down to number 13, Edgar Allan Poe's Room. He lived in this room when he was a student in 1826. There used to be a recording outside the room telling of Poe's drinking and rowdiness. It also made it sound as if Poe had homosexual relations with the librarian! My friends who lived on either side HATED this recording because it was very loud and tourists would press the button at all hours of the night as well as early in the morning. If the recording is still there, it was not operational the day we visited. There is a stuffed raven in the window.

Monticello

After our UVA tour, we headed up the mountain to Monticello. Ordinarily, it's cooler up on the mountain and very comfortable. Unfortunately, it was sweltering that day! However, a trip to Monticello is an experience you absolutely must do if you are in Charlottesville. This was Thomas Jefferson's home and it is very obvious from the second you set foot on the grounds just how brilliant a mind he had. The entire house is an octogonal design and there is a sense of balance to it. Everything has a mate someplace else. Jefferson paid a lot of attention to details including his self closing doors, the entry clock and triple pane windows. You really get a sense of the man here. The ceilings are high because he was a tall man. He was very analytical in his approach to planning his gardens and running his household. To see what the rear looks like head on, take a look at the back of a nickel.

While we were waiting for our air-conditioned house tour, we spent a lot of time in the gift shop as well as touring the gardens and Mulberry Row, the former slave quarters. Unfortunately, it was a very hot and dry summer with a long drought so the vegetable gardens weren't as lush as they normally are. The plants in these gardens are grown according to the layouts in Jefferson's Garden Book where he kept meticulous records. The employees at Monticello get first dibs on the vegetables. Whatever is left over is given to local food banks. They have a greenhouse where cuttings and seeds are sold to visitors. I intend to get some heirloom tomato seeds there when we finally get our garden up and running! Jefferson also attempted to grow grapes for wine here but he didn't do very well. Nowadays, Virginia wineries are very popular and the Barboursville Vineyards sell wines under the Monticello label.

Other Things To See and Do

Other attractions you might want to see during a visit to Charlottesville include Ash Lawn-Highland (home of James Monroe), the Old Michie Tavern and a visit to the apple and peach orchards for some beautiful vistas and some pick your own fruit (in season). I highly recommend a stop at Ash Lawn-Highland, especially in the summer months when light operas are presented and you can see the peacocks strolling the grounds. You also aren't too far away from Scottsville where you can spend a day tubing on the James River courtesy of James River Runners or you can choose to go hiking up to Humpback Rock past Crozet.



Recommended: Yes

Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime