s to know how he should shelter himself from the weather. Not only was Jefferson the architect but in many cases, he was the general contractor. He was surely a tradesman too as in he taught his slaves and free men bricklaying, stonecutting, carpentry, cabinetmaking, and ironmongering. Jefferson’s genius is easily seen and should be researched and studied. Jefferson was also the second vice president and the third president of the United States of America. There is a history in the United States of holding whatever the Presidents have and do as national treasures. This includes the building in which they were born, grew up in, lived in, and died in. It seems that the popularity and success of the President is also a variable in the public’s eye. Under this assumption, Monticello would also be studied since it is the place where one of the greatest Presidents of all time lived and died. Monticello is considered one of the greatest architectural feats for the time in which it was built. Thomas Jefferson built a home that was years beyond its time. He included sunlights to let in the sun for extra lighting. Jefferson also was one of the first people to go away from the block style building with a hall down the middle and rooms off to the left and right. He created a central room with a circular path going around the rooms. This is one of the beginnings of the contemporary style that is still going strong today. Monticello is a total brick structure with porticoes in the front and rear lined with six pillars. Marquis De Chastellux’s quote above is a great description of how the house is laid out. Jefferson’s octagonal shape created many angles from which the house could expand. When Jefferson enlarged the first Monticello, he added all over the grounds. The original building which was an octagon became an octagon with two “L” shaped wings running on the north and south wings of the structure. These “...
