Saturday Q&A: Rotunda Renovations

Saturday Q&A

Frequently Asked Questions from Our Tours...

Every week we'll post answers to prospective students' questions. Some will be FAQs from tours, like this week, and others will be responses to comments and emails received via this blog. If you have a question about a post we've covered previously, comment to ask us for more information. Have we not covered it yet? Email us at UVaSummer14@virginia.edu and we'll reply with an answer!

What is the construction going on at the Rotunda?

The Rotunda is the building at the heart of Thomas Jefferson's Academical Village. Designed as a half-scale model of the Pantheon, this "Temple of Knowledge" was purposefully placed at the center of TJ's original grounds to function as UVa's first library. It also served as a classroom and special event space.

Today, the Rotunda is used for very similar purposes. It still functions as one of the University's many libraries, a student study space, an administrative building for meetings of UVa's governing Board of Visitors, and a special event space where residence halls, student organizations, and special guests can have "Dome Room Dinners" in the top story of the building. Renovations to the building are currently underway to make sure it can serve students and the UVa community in these capacities for many more years to come.

The project should be complete in the Spring of 2016. The to do list for the next two years includes renovating staircases, elevators, and replacing the crumbling capitals at the tops of the exterior columns. All of this and more should be completed so that the project only effects the first year of UVa's Class of 2019. The Class of 2020 and beyond should have no problem at all. By then, the Rotunda with its more historically accurate and up-to-code interior and exterior will be open for all to enjoy.

Want more information about the Rotunda and the renovation? Visit rotunda.virginia.edu!

--Jared Morgan