Comments

• Phil Epperson on April 23, 2010

  It is important that we honor Jefferson’s vision and plans as it pertains to the Academic Village.  After all, he was more intelligent than all of us combined!!!

• Jim Fink on April 23, 2010

  I don’t want some phony Academic Village. I want the truly historical Academic Village envisioned by Mr. Jefferson. Anything else is Disneyland.

• Ricky Moore on April 23, 2010

  Buildings and structures evolve to suit the tenants and the time they belonged to.  Maintaining the buildings as “Jefferson intended” is a farce.  He was constantly changing and modifying his buildings (look at Monticello), and if Pavilion X is that unbalanced with the parapet on, he’d be grateful to see it gone.  If you want Jefferson’s academic village, what you really need to do is to knock down Old Cabell, Wilson, New Cabell, Rouss, Cocke, and all the other buildings that spoil the view of the mountains in the distance.  Until we do that, it’s just a game.  A game we shouldn’t play.

  The beauty of the Lawn is that even though it’s historic, it’s still in use.  It’s accessible, not a walled off relic of some dusty time from two centuries ago.  You have kids playing frolf with the statues and structures, and others studying in the shade of the trees.

• Ed Olsen on April 23, 2010

  At the very least, paint it white. For my taste, white is a more attractive color, and this would go a long way towards restoring the unity of the appearance of the Lawn at a modest cost. We could decide later whether to go further.

• Susan Casscells on April 25, 2010

  I was in Charlottesville this weekend and made a point of visiting the lawn to see what I thought of Pavillion X.  I thought the new roof looked extremely heavy and ungainly.  I wonder what Jefferson was thinking.  There must have been some purpose for it that has not yet been discovered. The shutters are a beautiful green - much lighter than the dark black on the rest of the lawn.  I also don’t mind the tan on the columns. 
  Standing back from Pavillion X, the color scheme was very pleasing.  Looking up to the Rotunda, however, I just can’t imagine it with tan columns or much less a tan dome. Given the whole of the lawn, I think the roof on Pavillion X can stay - even though I’m not wild about it.  But I must say, I think the current color scheme of the lawn of white columns and dark shutters should remain.
  But, if the university does go ahead with the new scheme, I will still love the University with all my heart and I will look forward to the day when the present scheme is restored.

• Ann on April 30, 2010

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  Thanks for information!

• Billy B on May 04, 2010

  I have seen it in person and the new look is just awful, regardless of the claims that you know what Jefferson wanted.  How do you know it wasn’t just an idea that he later decided against?  With the severe state budget cuts and endowment losses the University has faced, why on earth would we waste precious dollars on this unnecessary work?  How about spending it on our students instead?  Or maintaining our historic buildings instead of changing them?

• David Becker on May 25, 2010

  I was skeptical, but open minded when I first heard of the restoration project.  When I saw the results earlier in the spring, my skepticism was unfortunately confirmed.  I do not like the “clunkiness” of “new” Pavilion X and now I’m not sure if the effort can be stopped without ruining the balance and beauty of the Lawn.  Also, where do you stop the restoration?  There are so many buildings on Grounds and some off Grounds that build off of the striking architectural impact of the white columns.  I’m a novice, but to my way of thinking, the architectural consistency of UVa should not be compromised—- it is just one of the many things that allow UVa to stand out above other universities.

• Kaylie Donahue on May 25, 2010

  Expected to hated it but loved it, in person. Even if you don’t like it, authentic is good. Everybody has white columns. The rest of the Grounds buildings can be white/brick; they are not Jefferson’s design.

• John Pappas on November 11, 2010

  Change It BACK!

  1.  UVA’s Modern History

  The Lawn has glowed with white columns for decades.  For the students, old and new, whose lives have been shaped by their time at UVA, these white columns are pillars of the picture of the Lawn that they know.  Changing them to this muddled, dark tan would deracinate these students’ memory.

  Although there of course is value in being conscious of Jefferson’s original designs, we must not forget that UVA is more than a relic - it has a modern history as well.  The white columns are part of this modern history, and any living Virginia alum or student knows the Lawn this way.  Sacrificing this history for one that no one knows, is throwing away living memories for an antiquity unfamiliar to anyone.

  Don’t throw away my memories.

  2.  White Looks Better

  White looks better, enough said.  The tan is heavy, foreboding, and dull.  Pavilion X now looks like a building like any other building in Williamsburg.  This is not Williamsburg; we are UVA.

  3.  Lighting of the Lawn

  If all the columns were changed to tan, then the annual Lighting of the Lawn would look bleak.  Instead of an illuminated alabaster white, we would have a murky hue of brown.  This does not inspire much winter cheer.

  4.  UVA’s Reputation

  The Grounds are known for their majestic beauty.  UVA has one of the most beautiful college campuses, and the white columns and brick walls constitute this very reputation.  Removing this fundamental feature of UVA’s design would be ripping out one of its most distinguished features.  Don’t do it!

  5.  Ramifications to other buildings

  Were the columns of the Lawn changed from white to tan, then to have any continuity the columns of the Rotunda would need to be changed as well…This means that the columns of Old Cabell Hall and New Cabell Hall would need to change too.  But the nightmare doesn’t end there.  The white columns gracing Cocke Hall, Rouss Hall, Garrett Hall, Minor Hall, Maury Hall would all have to change.  But no, there’s more.  Alderman Library, Special Collections, Peabody, Newcomb, Monroe, everything!  UVA as we know it would no longer exist.

  This frightful avalanche or else a hodgepodge and patchworked campus, part with tan and part with white columns would have to come.  Either option fails.  Paint the columns back!

  6.  Cost

  Lastly, removing the paint would not be free.  It would not be cheap to remove the decades of paint on the columns of the Lawn, and were this mistake carried to the columns of the Rotunda and other buildings the cost could be immense.

  There are certainly better things that this money could do.

  In conclusion, the columns of the Lawn and the rest of our University must stay white.  Although it is important that we stay conscious of Jefferson’s original plan, a deeper inquiry into Jefferson’s character evinces more than just a static mind.  Jefferson constantly changed and modified his designs, take Monticello as an example.  He would be proud of the white columns that illuminate the Lawn, and shudder at the idea that they were changed purely for antiquity’s sake.

  The past is a key feature at the University of Virginia, but our University is a place with a living history.  The pure white columns that pillar the sturdy bricks around Grounds are UVA.  Current students, young graduates and old alumni all know UVA this way.  Don’t throw away our memories.

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