for other uses see monticello disambiguation . monticello location albemarle county near charlottesville virginia usa coordinates 38 00 37.01 n 78 27 08.28 w 38.0102806 n 78.4523000 w 38.0102806 ; 78.4523000 coordinates 38 00 37.01 n 78 27 08.28 w 38.0102806 n 78.4523000 w 38.0102806 ; 78.4523000 built 1772 architect thomas jefferson architectural style s neoclassical palladian governing body the thomas jefferson foundation tjf unesco world heritage site official name monticello and the university of virginia in charlottesville type cultural criteria i iv vi designated 1987 11th session reference no. 442 region europe and north america u.s. national register of historic places designated october 15 1966 1 reference no. 66000826 u.s. national historic landmark designated december 19 1960 2 virginia landmarks register designated september 9 1969 3 reference no. 002 0050 location of monticello in virginia monticello and its reflection some of the gardens on the property monticello was the primary plantation of thomas jefferson the third president of the united states who began designing and building monticello at age 26 after inheriting land from his father . located just outside charlottesville virginia in the piedmont region the plantation was originally 5 000 acres 20 km2 with jefferson using slaves for extensive cultivation of tobacco and mixed crops later shifting from tobacco cultivation to wheat in response to changing markets . jefferson designed the main house using neoclassical design principles described by italian renaissance architect andrea palladio subsequently reworking the design through much of his presidency to include design elements popular in late 18th century europe and integrating numerous of his own design solutions . situated on the summit of an 850 foot 260 m high peak in the southwest mountains south of the rivanna gap the name monticello derives from the italian for little mount . along a prominent lane adjacent to the house mulberry row the plantation came to include numerous outbuildings for specialized functions e.g. a nailery ; quarters for domestic slaves ; gardens for flowers produce and jefferson s experiments in plant breeding along with tobacco fields and mixed crops . cabins for field slaves were located farther from the mansion . at jefferson s direction he was buried on the grounds in an area now designated as the monticello cemetery . the cemetery is owned by the monticello association a society of his descendants through martha wayles skelton jefferson . 4 after jefferson s death his daughter martha jefferson randolph sold the property . in 1834 it was bought by uriah p. levy a commodore in the u.s. navy who admired jefferson and spent his own money to preserve the property . his nephew jefferson monroe levy took over the property in 1879 ; he also invested considerable money to restore and preserve it . in 1923 monroe levy sold it to the thomas jefferson foundation tjf which operates it as a house museum and educational institution . it has been designated a national historic landmark . in 1987 monticello and the nearby university of virginia also designed by jefferson were together designated a unesco world heritage site . contents 1 design and building 2 history 3 decoration and furnishings 4 slave quarters on mulberry row 5 outbuildings and plantation 5.1 programming 5.2 land purchase 6 architecture 7 representation in other media 8 replicas 9 legacy 10 gallery 11 see also 12 references 13 external links design and building edit jefferson s home was built to serve as a plantation house which ultimately took on the architectural form of a villa . it has many architectural antecedents but jefferson went beyond them to create something very much his own . he consciously sought to create a new architecture for a new nation . 5 work began on what historians would subsequently refer to as the first monticello in 1768 on a plantation of 5 000 acres 2 000 hectares . jefferson moved into the south pavilion an outbuilding in 1770 where his new wife martha wayles skelton joined him in 1772 . jefferson continued work on his original design but how much was completed is of some dispute . 5 in constructing and later reconstructing his home jefferson used both free workers and enslaved laborers . 6 after his wife s death in 1782 jefferson left monticello in 1784 to serve as minister of the united states to france . during his several years in europe he had an opportunity to see some of the classical buildings with which he had become acquainted from his reading as well as to discover the modern trends in french architecture that were then fashionable in paris . his decision to remodel his own home may date from this period . in 1794 following his service as the first u.s. secretary of state 1790 93 jefferson began rebuilding his house based on the ideas he had acquired in europe . the remodeling continued throughout most of his presidency 1801 09 . 7 although generally completed by 1809 jefferson continued work on the present structure until his death in 1826 . under the dome jefferson added a center hallway and a parallel set of rooms to the structure more than doubling its area . he removed the second full height story from the original house and replaced it with a mezzanine bedroom floor . the interior is centered on two large rooms which served as an entrance hall museum where jefferson displayed his scientific interests and a music sitting room . 5 the most dramatic element of the new design was an octagonal dome which he placed above the west front of the building in place of a second story portico . the room inside the dome was described by a visitor as a noble and beautiful apartment but it was rarely used perhaps because it was hot in summer and cold in winter or because it could only be reached by climbing a steep and very narrow flight of stairs . the dome room has now been restored to its appearance during jefferson s lifetime with mars yellow walls and a painted green floor . 8 summertime temperatures are high in the region with indoor temperatures of around 100 f 38 c . jefferson himself is known to have been interested in roman and renaissance texts about ancient temperature control techniques such as as ground cooled air and heated floors . 9 monticello s large central hall and aligned windows were designed to allow a cooling air current to pass through the house and the octagonal cupola draws hot air up and out . 10 moderate air conditioning designed to avoid the harm to the house and its contents that would be caused by major modifications and large temperature differentials was installed in the house a tourist attraction in the late twentieth century . 11 before jefferson s death monticello had begun to show signs of disrepair . the attention jefferson s university project in charlottesville demanded and family problems diverted his focus . the most important reason for the mansion s deterioration was his accumulating debts . in the last few years of jefferson s life much went without repair in monticello . a witness samuel whitcomb jr. who visited jefferson in 1824 thought it run down . he said his house is rather old and going to decay ; appearances about his yard and hill are rather slovenly . it commands an extensive prospect but it being a misty cloudy day i could see but little of the surrounding scenery . 12 history edit after jefferson died on july 4 1826 his only surviving daughter martha jefferson randolph inherited monticello . the estate was encumbered with debt and martha randolph had financial problems in her own family because of her husband s mental illness . in 1831 she sold monticello to james turner barclay a local apothecary . barclay sold it in 1834 to uriah p. levy the first jewish commodore equivalent to today s admiral in the united states navy . a fifth generation american whose family first settled in savannah georgia levy greatly admired jefferson and used his private funds to repair restore and preserve the house . the confederate government seized the house as enemy property at the outset of the american civil war and sold it to confederate officer benjamin franklin ficklin . levy s estate recovered the property after the war . 13 levy s heirs argued over his estate but their lawsuits were settled in 1879 when uriah levy s nephew jefferson monroe levy a prominent new york lawyer real estate and stock speculator and later member of congress bought out the other heirs for 10 050 and took control of monticello . like his uncle jefferson levy commissioned repairs restoration and preservation of the grounds and house which had been deteriorating seriously while the lawsuits wound their way through the courts in new york and virginia . together the levys preserved monticello for nearly 100 years . citation needed monticello depicted on the reverse of the 1953 2 bill . note the two levy lions on either side of the entrance . the lions placed there by jefferson levy were removed in 1923 when the thomas jefferson foundation purchased the house . in 1923 a private non profit organization the thomas jefferson foundation purchased the house from jefferson levy with funds raised by theodore fred kuper and others . they managed additional restoration under architects including fiske kimball and milton l. grigg . 14 since that time other restoration has been performed at monticello . citation needed the foundation operates monticello and its grounds as a house museum and educational institution . visitors can wander the grounds as well as tour rooms in the cellar and ground floor . more expensive tour pass options include sunset hours as well as tours of the second floor and the third floor including the iconic dome . 15 monticello is a national historic landmark . it is the only private home in the united states to be designated a unesco world heritage site . included in that designation are the original grounds and buildings of jefferson s university of virginia . from 1989 to 1992 a team of architects from the historic american buildings survey habs of the united states created a collection of measured drawings of monticello . these drawings are held by the library of congress . citation needed among jefferson s other designs are poplar forest his private retreat near lynchburg which he intended for his daughter maria who died at age 25 ; the university of virginia and the virginia state capitol in richmond . citation needed decoration and furnishings edit much of monticello s interior decoration reflects the personal ideas and ideals of jefferson . 16 in a time before refrigeration jefferson had the pond stocked with fish to be available on demand . the original main entrance is through the portico on the east front . the ceiling of this portico incorporates a wind plate connected to a weather vane showing the direction of the wind . a large clock face on the external east facing wall has only an hour hand since jefferson thought this was accurate enough for slaves . 17 the clock reflects the time shown on the great clock designed by jefferson in the entrance hall . the entrance hall contains recreations of items collected by lewis and clark on the cross country expedition commissioned by jefferson to explore the louisiana purchase . jefferson had the floorcloth painted a true grass green upon the recommendation of artist gilbert stuart so that jefferson s essay in architecture could invite the spirit of the outdoors into the house . citation needed the south wing includes jefferson s private suite of rooms . the library holds many books from his third library collection . his first library was burned in an accidental plantation fire and he ceded or sold his second library in 1815 to the