Thomas Jefferson began building his University in 1816, even before it had become the University of Virginia. Jefferson realized that once he completed his Rotunda, the centerpiece of the University, state construction funds quickly would disappear. When he began building, he knew that $15,000 a year was not going to be enough to complete the "hobby of his old age" -- the University. Therefore, he made the decision to delay construction of the Rotunda until almost all of the Academical Village had been completed.
Thus construction commenced on the "temple of knowledge" in 1822. Classes started on March 7, 1825, more than a year before the building was completed. Jefferson originally planned for the library of the University to be housed in the Dome Room of the Rotunda, but that first year he put all the books in Pavilion VII. The Rotunda finally was completed at a cost of $60,000 on October 17, 1826, too late for Mr. Jefferson, who passed away on July 4 of that year, to ever see.
The original Rotunda stood until October 27, 1895 when it was consumed in a fire that began in the annex. Stanford White, a famous architect of the era, rebuild the Rotunda in a grander style, stating that he was doing what Jefferson would have done "had he the means." The White Rotunda was much more elaborate than Jefferson's, but more practically it included a larger library.
Restoration of the Rotunda to Jefferson's original design began in 1973 at a cost of $2.3 million. It was finally reopened in time for Founder's Day, Thomas Jefferson's Birthday, April 13, 1976.
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