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From Primedia Publications
Monticello: The House That Jefferson Built
More than any other presidential home, Thomas Jefferson's
is a reflection of its builder.

Jefferson's Monticello is one of the finest examples of early Classical Revival architecture in America.
To say that Monticello is a house is to say its builder, Thomas Jefferson, worked for the government. As a Virginia delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Jefferson was largely responsible for drafting the Declaration of Independence, went on to become the nation's third president, more than doubled the country's size by buying the Louisiana territory from the French, and sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark off to explore it.

While minister to France under President George Washington, Jefferson first saw in person the Palladian style with its arched windows and columns and was "smitten" by a small Paris house with a dome. He brought these inspirations back to Charlottesville, Virginia, and began reworking the house he'd begun in 1769 on a small mountain (monticello is Italian for "little mountain") south of town. In fact, he continued to tear down and rebuild until 1809. "Architecture is my delight," he wrote, "and putting up, and pulling down, one of my favorite amusements."
'Architecture is my delight, and putting up, and pulling down, one of my favorite amusements.'


The dome, of course, was unheard of as a dwelling, and the angled corners of the floorplan were another eccentricity. The building appears smaller than it is. Jefferson achieved this by having the first two floors share tall windows. Above them, a balustrade hides from view 13 skylights—possibly the first ones installed in a house in the United States. Inside, Jefferson included many more features, such as a weighted, seven-day clock of his own invention.

Jefferson was a fascinating, complex, and sometimes contradictory man. He owned slaves yet wrote in the Declaration of Independence that all men were created equal with unalienable rights to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." A believer in a limited federal government, he acted on his own initiative to make the Louisiana Purchase. His beloved home reflects some of his complexities.

Monticello is open every day except Christmas. Hours are 8:00-5:00 March-October, 9:00-4:30 November-February. There is an admission charge. From Charlottesville or I-64, take Rt. 20 south and follow the signs. For information, call (804) 984-9822.