University of Virginia Library

Book Features Jefferson's Design

A description of the
development of the University,
from Mr. Jefferson's original design
to its present state is the topic of a
178-page book being published this
week by the University Press.

"A Pictorial History of the
University of Virginia," containing
drawings by Mr. Jefferson and
illustrating the University's growth
over the last 150 years, was written
and compiled by William B. O'Neal,
professor of architecture
and chairman of the Division of
Architectural History at the
University.

It is being published in
connection with the University's
sesquicentennial year which begins
in January.

Four Sections

Mr. O'Neal has arranged the
book into four sections beginning
with the conception of the
University in which he describes
Jefferson's fight to have the
University established in his native
Albemarle county. This first section
of the book contains a number of
Jefferson drawings of buildings in
his "Academical Village."

Construction of the first
pavilion of the University was
begun in 1817, two years before
the University had actually received
its charter from the Virginia
General Assembly. The first 68
students arrived in 1825 fro classes
in the buildings along the Lawn and
by the end of the session, 123
students had enrolled.

Following Jefferson's Death

Mr. O'Neal devotes his second
section to the history following
Jefferson's death in 1826 and
leading up to the Civil War. During
these years Mr. O'Neal points out
that the Board of Visitors, faculty
and students took up the task of
organizing the University in such a
way that it would be a permanent
success.

In the third stage of the book,
covering the span between the Civil
War and World War I, Mr. O'Neal
notes that the rural appearance of
the University began to change and
it began to acquire a "most
Victorian aspect." This
development was notable in the
construction of a number of
Victorian buildings, such as the
Brooks museum and chapel near
the Rotunda and the houses along
Dawson's Row.

Toward the end of the 19th
Century, Classicism began to return
to the University and since then
"the emotionalism of Victorian
building has been severely banned
at the University," Mr. O'Neal
writes.

During this period of the
University, Mr. O'Neal points out
that athletic teams and a glee club
were formed and new fraternities
organized. An 1894 newspaper
which the author quotes states
that: "having been placed by
football authorities as the next in
rank on the gridiron after
Princeton, Yale, Harvard and
Pennsylvania, Virginia can well
claim an equal place with the
so-called 'four great colleges of
America's athletics."

Mr. O'Neal's fourth section
describes the era of expansion
which began after World War I and
which has continued to the present.
Here illustrations include new
academic areas that have developed
at the University including the
science complex on the western
portion of the Grounds. The author
also includes a description of the
government surplus house trailers
and barracks that served as married
student housing on Copeley Hill for
20 years after World War II. The
Longevity of these "temporary"
housing units "was startling" writes
Mr. O'Neal.

Mr. O'Neal is also the author of
the Virginia Museum's
"Architecture in Virginia"
published earlier this year. Copies
of his new book may be obtained at
the Newcomb Hall Bookstore for
$10 each.