Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 10/06/1970
NRHP Listing Date 11/20/1970
NHL Listing Date 11/11/1971
NRHP Reference Number 70000865
Thomas Jefferson’s design for the center of today’s sprawling University of Virginia in the city of Charlottesville is internationally regarded as one of the outstanding accomplishments of American architecture. Between 1814 and 1826, Jefferson designed and supervised the construction, created the curriculum, and selected the library and faculty. Jefferson’s concept was an “Academical Village,” where students lived in close proximity to the professors and their classes. Flanking an elongated terraced lawn, open to the south, Jefferson housed the professors in ten pavilions, each in a different architectural order intended for instruction. The students occupied the colonnaded dormitories and outer ranges. At the head stood the domed library or Rotunda. A fire in 1895 destroyed the Rotunda; its rebuilding and the closing of the south end with Cabell, Rouse, and Cocke halls, were the work of Stanford White. Other significant buildings in the University of Virginia Historic District include Brooks Hall, 1877; the Chapel, 1889; and the Amphitheater, 1921.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: April 25, 2022
