University of Virginia Library

Project To Restore Rotunda
To Original Specifications

most of the pavilions on the
Lawn.

Originally, the main floor
and the Ground floor
contained three oval rooms
arranged around a center hall.
These rooms were used for
administration and board
meetings, lectures, and other
academic assenblies.

Fireplaces stood against the
back wall of each of the large
oval rooms. Mr. Jefferson also
planned one to be placed on
the staircase landing. The
fireplaces were camaflouged
from the outside by false
windows. They will be rebuilt,
along with the circular stairs
and the original oval rooms.

The smaller oval room on the
main floor will be a museum of
natural history.

These rooms will be
"enormous," according to
Francis L. Berkeley, chairman
of the restoring committee.
However, there are no funds
for the kind of furnishings that
would be appropriate for these
rooms. Rugs and draperies will
be needed to cut the echoes,
some of which will be softened
by the special acoutical plaster
that will be used on the walls.

The ground floor will have a
pantry built into it under the
front step section to service the
parties frequently held in the
Rotunda. Rest rooms, a room
for mechanical equipment, and
a cloakroom will also be built
in that area. The basement will
have a storage room and rest
rooms.

Elevator By Stairway

Adjacent to the circular
staircases there is a pier that
will be converted into an
elevator. This installation will
not interrupt the original
design since the pier is in a
corner and the elevator will be
built inside of it.

The floor that was burned
out in the fire of 1895, called
the Dome Room, will be
rebuilt. This fire also removed
the walls forming the oval
rooms. The Dome Room was
to be the museum and the
cynosure of the University
where Mr. Jefferson wished his
bust to be displayed.

It later became a small
library. The Dome Room will
be restored to look as much
like it did in the past, with
twin pillars placed around the
circle.

Books To Be Replaced

There is a possibility that the
original books will be replaced
there. Above this will be the
balcony with benches and
museum portraits that have
been in storage for lack of an
appropriate place to display
them. The attic will hold the
clock room and the elevator
machinery.

There is a debate concerning
the material to use for the
floor of the Dome Room.
There are no pictures showing
the floor or cornices, and there
is a current search going on to
find some from relatives of
past alumni.

The idea for the floor now is
to have concrete covered with
wood in some sort of
design is another puzzle.
However, a piece of the
original marble of the floors of
the lower levels has been
found, which will help solve
that problem.

Roof Repair Planned

On the exterior, only the
roof will be repaired and
corrections will be made on the
skylight and the plints, the
stones on which the columns
rest.

It may be weeks, or months,
before the actual
reconstruction is initiated. The
plans are now under study by
the restoring committee.

A meeting is scheduled to
approve the plans, and several
committees will participate,
including the Division of
Engineering of Richmond, the
Environmental Impact
Committee of Richmond, and
the Va. Historic Landmarks
Commission.

The plans will then be
subject to review by the
President's Advisory
Committee on Historic
Preservation.

One thing is certain: the
restoration must be completed
by the Bicentennial year 1976;
it may seem, that day is not
coming–but it will arrive.