Saving Monticello: The Newsletter
The latest about the book, author
events, and more
Newsletter Editor - Marc Leepson
Volume XIII, Number 10 October
1, 2016
THE ROTUNDA:
The Rotunda, the iconic, Thomas Jefferson-designed centerpiece of the University
of Virginia, has been undergoing extensive renovations for the last two years.
The building, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (as is Monticello) has just reopened
after $58 million worth of repairs and restoration.
Jefferson, inspired by the Pantheon in ancient Rome, worked
on the design for the building late in life, in his seventies. It was completed
in 1826, not long after Jefferson died. Classes were held in the building until
the 1930s.
In recent years it became apparent that extensive repairs
were necessary. That work, finished late this summer, includes a new domed
copper roof (painted white); repaired marble columns, updated electrical
systems; the addition of a 6,000-square-foot underground mechanical room; and the
restoration of the eye-catching round, black Rotunda clock.
Inside, for the first time in decades, students are taking classes
in newly restored rooms and studying in lounges in the Dome Room. The
historical display room on the ground floor remains for visitors. A new exhibit
showcases a chemical hearth that workers discovered in the wall of the Lower
East Oval Room, as well as other artifacts uncovered during the renovation.
The Rotunda gets a brief mention Saving Monticello in the context of the disastrous fire that gutted
the place in 1895. As I wrote, the
University hired McKim, Mead and White, one of the nation's top architectural
firms, to rebuild the Rotunda. Stanford White, the premier American architect
of the late 19th century, took charge of the project.
While White was in
Charlottesville working on the Rotunda restoration, Jefferson Levy, the owner
of Monticello, made an appointment to see him. Levy told White that he was
considering adding some rooms to Monticello and wanted him to draw up plans to
do so. White declined. That was Jefferson Levy’s only attempt to alter Thomas
Jefferson’s design of Monticello.
EVENTS: We now have a title, subtitle, cover, and
pub date for my next book, the first-ever biography of Barry Sadler. Green
Beret Balladeer: The Life and Wars of Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler from the Vietnam
War and Pop Stardom to Murder and an Unsolved, Violent Death will be
published officially on May 7. It’s on Amazon at http://bit.ly/SadlerBio
Here are my October events:
- A talk on the subject of Saving Monticello: the post-Jefferson history of the house, for the guides and Foundation staff at Monticello on Friday, October 7
- A book signing open to the public at the Monticello Gift Shop on Saturday, October 7, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
- I’ll be the Keynote
Speaker at the 20th National War of 1812 Symposium on Saturday,
October 22 at the University of Baltimore. The talk will be on Francis
Scott Key and the writing of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the subject of my
book, What So Proudly We Hailed:
Francis Scott Key, A Life.
Please email me if you’d like to arrange an event for Saving Monticello—or for any of my other
books, including What So Proudly We
Hailed and Lafayette: Idealist
General, my concise bio of the Marquis de Lafayette—at marc527psc@aol.com For more details on other upcoming events, go to the “Author Events” page on www.marcleepson.com
Facebook,
Twitter: If you’re on Facebook, please send me a friend request. If
you’re on Twitter, I’d love to have you as a follower.
Gift
Ideas: If you would like a
personally autographed, brand-new paperback copy of Saving Monticello, e-mail me at Marc527psc@aol.com Or go to this page of my website: http://marcleepson.com/signedbooks.html
to order copies through my local bookstore, Second Chapter Books in Middleburg , Virginia Lafayette
