The Architect
Poplar
Forest
Thomas Jefferson loved architecture.
He said, "Architecture is my delight, and putting up and pulling down one of my
favorite amusements." He built his home Monticello in Charlottesville. Monticello
is Italian for "Little Mountain". He also designed the University of Virginia and the Governor's Mansion and Capitol in Richmond. His most prized
building, however, was Poplar Forest,
his vacation home in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is a large brick home on 4,800
acres of land. It was his final triumph as an architect.
Jefferson never was trained to be an
architect; he taught himself. He designed in the classic style of the ancient
Greeks, with many European elements of architecture including columns, geometric
shapes and symmetry, as you can see in these images. This was referred to in
America as the "Federal Style".
It is interesting to look at
Jefferson's buildings because they show so much of his personality: strong and
full of ideals with a sense of balance and purpose. His work is important
because so many other American architects have admired him and used his designs
in their own work. Thomas Jefferson's buildings are the best examples we have of
colonial American architecture.
ARCHITECTURE LINKS
Thomas Jefferson, Architect
Great Buildings Online
Jefferson and the Politics of Architecture
UVA Catalog of Jefferson's Drawings
Click here for a wordfind puzzle on T.J.'s architecture
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Great Buildings Online
Jefferson and the Politics of Architecture
UVA Catalog of Jefferson's Drawings
Click here for a wordfind puzzle on T.J.'s architecture
RETURN
UVA Catalog of Jefferson's Drawings
Click here for a wordfind puzzle on T.J.'s architecture
RETURN
Click here for a wordfind puzzle on T.J.'s architecture
RETURN