View source for Jeffersonian architecture

{{short description|American Palladian/Neoclassical architecture}}
[[File:University of Virginia Rotunda 1819 draft.jpg|thumb|Jefferson's sketch plan for [[The Rotunda (University of Virginia)|the Rotunda]] at the [[University of Virginia]]]]
[[File:University of Virginia Rotunda in 2006.jpg|thumb|The Rotunda in 2006]]
'''Jeffersonian architecture''' is an American form of [[Neoclassical architecture|Neo-Classicism]] and/or [[Neo-Palladianism]] embodied in the architectural designs of [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] and [[polymath]] [[Thomas Jefferson]], after whom it is named. These include his home ([[Monticello]]), his retreat ([[Poplar Forest]]), the university he founded ([[University of Virginia]]), and his designs for the homes of friends and political allies (notably [[Barboursville (James Barbour)|Barboursville]]). More than a dozen private homes bearing his personal stamp still stand today. Jefferson's style was popular in the early American period at about the same time that the more mainstream [[Greek Revival architecture]] was also coming into vogue (1790s–1830s) with his assistance.

==Sources and inspiration==
In colonial Virginia during the 18th century there were no schools of architecture, so Jefferson learned the profession on his own from books and by studying some of the classical architectural designs of the day.  As a self-taught architect and [[classicist]], he was most influenced by the Italian revivalist architect [[Andrea Palladio]] (1508–1580). His "bible" was [[Andrea Palladio]]'s ''The Four Books of Architecture'', which taught him the basic principles of classical design.<ref>[[#Brodie|Brodie, 1974]], pp.87-88</ref><ref>[[#Berstein|Berstein, 2003]], p. 9</ref> Jeffersonian architecture is therefore perhaps best described as "[[Palladian]]" in inspiration.<ref name="TJFdig"/>

Jefferson was also influenced by architect [[James Gibbs]] (1682–1754), and by French Neo-classical buildings, such as the [[Hôtel de Salm]] in [[Paris]], when he served as [[United States Ambassador to France|Ambassador to France]]. While the Jeffersonian style incorporates Palladian proportions and themes, it is at the same time unique to Jefferson's own personal sensibility and the materials available to him in early republican Virginia.<ref name=TJFdig>{{cite web |title=Dig Deeper - Building Monticello |publisher=Thomas Jefferson Foundation |url=http://www.monticello.org/site/jefferson/dig-deeper-building-monticello |access-date=Aug 22, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ChrisKern.Net/essay/jeffersonsDomeAtMonticello.html |last=Kern |first=Chris |title=Jefferson's Dome at Monticello |access-date=2009-07-16}}</ref>

Throughout his adult life Jefferson made many architectural drawings and wrote extensively about architectural design. Today there are over 600 pages of architectural documents by Jefferson now housed at the [[Massachusetts Historical Society]] and are commonly referred to as the [[Coolidge Collection]].<ref>[[#TJpapers|Jefferson Architectural Drawings, Massachusetts Historical Society]]</ref>

==Characteristics==
[[File:Poplar Forest7.jpg|thumb|[[Poplar Forest]], note the octagonal design]]
One characteristic which typifies Jefferson's architecture is the use of the octagon and octagonal forms in his designs. Palladio never used octagons, but Jefferson employed them as a design motif—halving them, elongating them, and employing them in whole as with the dome of Monticello, or the entire house at Poplar Forest.

===Jeffersonian architectural attributes===
*Palladian design (e.g., central core, symmetrical wings)<ref>''The Architectural Ideology of Thomas Jefferson'' by Ralph G. Giordano (McFarland; 2012)</ref>
*[[Portico]]-and-[[pediment]] primary entries
*[[Classical orders]] and [[Molding (decorative)|moldings]] (especially [[Tuscan order|Tuscan]])
*''[[Piano nobile]]'' (main floor elevated above ground level)
*[[Red brick]] construction
*White painted trim
*Sand-painted columns
*Octagons and octagonal forms
*Chinese railings
*"Suppressed" (hidden) stairs, instead of grand stairways

==Monticello==
{{Main|Monticello}}
[[File:Monticello 2010-10-29.jpg|thumb|left|[[Monticello]]]]
Located just outside [[Charlottesville, Virginia|Charlottesville]], Jefferson's [[Virginia]] home and estate is situated on the summit of an {{convert|850|ft|m|adj=on}}-high peak in the [[Southwest Mountains]]. Its name comes from the [[Italian language|Italian]] for "little mountain." Jefferson began work on his original “Monticello” in 1768. He left his home in 1784 to serve as Minister of the United States to France. During his tenure in Europe, he had an opportunity to see some of the classical buildings with which he had become acquainted from his reading, as well as to discover the "modern" trends in French architecture that were then fashionable in Paris. His decision to remodel his own home may date from this period. In 1794, following his service as the first U.S. Secretary of State (1790–1793), Jefferson began rebuilding his [[manor house]] based on the ideas he had acquired in Europe. The remodeling continued throughout most of his presidency (1801–1809).

Jefferson added a center hallway and a parallel set of rooms to the structure, more than doubling its area. He removed the second full-height story from the original house and replaced it with a [[Mezzanine (architecture)|mezzanine]] bedroom floor. The most dramatic element of the new design was an octagonal [[dome]], which he placed above the West front of the building in place of a second-story portico. The room inside the dome was described by a visitor as "a noble and beautiful apartment," but it was rarely used—perhaps because it was hot in summer and cold in winter, or because it could only be reached by climbing a steep and narrow flight of stairs. The dome room has now been restored to its appearance during Jefferson's lifetime, with "Mars [[yellow]]" walls and a painted green floor, although safety regulations about use of the narrow stairs to the upper floors largely preclude visitors to Monticello from seeing the room.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ChrisKern.Net/essay/jeffersonsDomeAtMonticello.html |title=Jefferson's Dome at Monticello |last=Kern |first=Chris |access-date=2009-07-10}}</ref>

Monticello, along with the nearby University of Virginia, was designated a [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]] in 1987.

==Influence==
{{Further|Neoclassical architecture}}
{{multiple image
 | header_align = center 
 | header    = Influence of the Lawn
 | image1    = University of Virginia Serz 1856 edited.jpg
 | width1    = 240
 | alt1      = 
 | caption1  = Jefferson's "Academical Village", [[University of Virginia]] (1856 engraving)
 
 | image2    = TsinghuaUniversitypic1.jpg
 | width2    = 200
 | alt2      = 
 | caption2  = The Grand Auditorium at the [[Tsinghua University]]
}}

In 1803, President Jefferson appointed [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]] as surveyor of public buildings in the United States, thus introducing [[Greek Revival architecture]] to the country for the first time. Latrobe went on to design a number of important public buildings in [[Washington, D.C.]], and [[Philadelphia]], including work on the [[United States Capitol]] and the [[Bank of Pennsylvania]].<ref name="wpa-p126">{{citation |title=Washington, City and Capital: Federal Writers' Project |publisher=Works Progress Administration / United States [[Government Printing Office]] |author=Federal Writers' Project |year=1937 |pages=126}}</ref>

Even after Jefferson's style went out of vogue for other public buildings, it continued to have an influence on many [[Protestant]] church designs on the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] through the mid-20th century. The style is still employed on some [[American South|Southern]] college campuses, particularly in Virginia and the [[Peabody College]] campus of [[Vanderbilt University]], and it has enjoyed a certain re-emergence among some newer 21st century [[evangelical]] church complexes.

The [[University of Mary Washington]], previously the University of Virginia's college for women, is another primary example of Jefferson's architecture.

An example of Jeffersonian architecture outside the United States can be found in one of China's top universities, [[Tsinghua University]] in [[Beijing]]. The university's "Grand Auditorium" was designed with elements from the Jeffersonian architectural style in the early 20th century.

==List of Jeffersonian buildings==
{{Incomplete list|date=May 2010}}
[[File:Pavilions III and V UVa 2008.jpg|thumb|Pavilions III and V, The Lawn, University of Virginia]]
[[File:Virginia Capitol 1865.jpg|thumb|The Virginia State Capitol in 1865]]
[[File:University of Alabama 1859.jpg|thumb|The [[University of Alabama Quad]] (rear view) in 1859; everything visible was burned in [[Wilson's Raid]] (1865) and never rebuilt.]]

'''Designed by Jefferson:'''
*Monticello I (1768–1784; demolished)
*[[Monticello]] (1794–1805)
*[[Poplar Forest]] (1806–1826)
*[[The Lawn|The Lawn, or "Academical Village"]] (1817), [[University of Virginia]]
*[[Farmington Country Club]] Main Portico, "Jefferson Room"
*[[Barboursville (James Barbour)|Barboursville]] (completed {{circa}}1822; ruins)
*[[The Rotunda (University of Virginia)|The Rotunda]], [[University of Virginia]] (1822–1826; burnt 1895; rebuilt 1898–1899)
*Jail, [[Nelson County Courthouse]] grounds, site is present day Sheriff's Offices.
*[[Botetourt County]] Courthouse, [[Fincastle, Virginia]]. Originally completed in 1848 using plans drawn by Jefferson. Damaged by a fire and rebuilt in 1970.
*[[Buckingham Courthouse Historic District|Buckingham County Courthouse]], [[Buckingham, Virginia]]. Original building designed by Jefferson in 1824. Destroyed by fire in 1869.

'''Directly influenced by Jefferson:'''
*Manor house, [[Lower Brandon Plantation]] (1760s; possibly designed by Jefferson)
*[[Virginia State Capitol#Jefferson's temple of democracy: the current Virginia Capitol|Virginia State House]] (completed 1788; design partially credited to Jefferson)
*Manor house, [[Belle Grove Plantation (Middletown, Virginia)|Belle Grove Plantation]] (1794–1797; consultation by Jefferson)
*Manor house, [[Bremo Historic District|Bremo Plantation]] (1819; consultation by Jefferson)

'''Indirectly influenced by Jefferson:'''
*The old [[University of Alabama Quad]], [[Tuscaloosa, Alabama]] (1828; destroyed 1865)
*[[Belle Mont (Tuscumbia, Alabama)|Belle Mont]], [[Tuscumbia, Alabama]] (1828) 
*[[Ruffner Hall]], [[Longwood University]] (1907, destroyed 2001, rebuilt 2005)
*Various buildings, [[University of Mary Washington]] (post-1908)
*Grand Auditorium, [[Tsinghua University]], [[Beijing]], [[China]] (1917)
*[[Peabody College]], [[Vanderbilt University]], [[Nashville, Tennessee]] (1875)
*[[Jefferson Memorial]], [[Washington, D.C.]] (1939–1943)
*[[Grawemeyer Hall]], [[University of Louisville]], [[Louisville, Kentucky]] (1926)
*[[Dallas Hall]], [[Southern Methodist University]], [[Dallas, Texas]] (1912)
*Various buildings, [[Christopher Newport University]], [[Newport News, Virginia]] (post-2006)

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="140px">
File:Montecello-Dome3.jpg|Under the dome at Monticello
</gallery>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |last=Bernstein |first=Richard B. |author-link=Richard B. Bernstein|isbn=978-0-19-518130-2 |title=Thomas Jefferson|publisher=<br>Oxford University Press|orig-year=2003|year=2005}}
* {{cite book |last=Brodie |first=Fawn |title=Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History |ref=Brodie |publisher=<br>W. W. Norton & Company |year=1974 |page=594 }} [https://books.google.com/books?id=c4VT7_0NbxUC Url]
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AXfYAAAACAAJ&q=editions:ISBN0792255607 |title=Mr. Jefferson's University |last=Wills |first=Garry |author-link=Garry Wills |year=2002 |publisher=<br>National Geographic Directions |location=Washington, DC |isbn=0792265319}} (Describes the campus building by building.)
* ''The Architectural Ideology of Thomas Jefferson'' by Ralph G. Giordano (McFarland 2012)

===Other sources===
*{{cite web |title=Thomas Jefferson Papers: Architectural Drawings, [manuscript], circa 1772-1819 |ref=TJpapers |publisher=<br>Massachusetts Historical Society |access-date=Aug 30, 2013 |url=http://www.masshist.org/thomasjeffersonpapers/arch/index.html}}

===Further reading===
*{{cite book |title=Thomas Jefferson: Architect: The Interactive Portfolio |last=Wills |first=Chuck |ref=Wills |publisher=<br> Running Press; First Edition |year=2008 |pages=92 |isbn=978-0762434381}} [https://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Jefferson-Architect-Interactive-Portfolio/dp/0762434384 Book]

==External links==
*[http://www.ChrisKern.Net/essay/jeffersonsDomeAtMonticello.html Jefferson's Dome at Monticello]

{{Thomas Jefferson}}
{{Architecture in the United States}}
{{Revivals}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeffersonian Architecture}}
[[Category:Thomas Jefferson buildings|*]]
[[Category:Jeffersonian Revival architecture|*]]
[[Category:American architectural styles]]
[[Category:Revival architectural styles]]
[[Category:Architectural styles]]