Comings
and Goings
New
Visitor Center at Mr. Jefferson’s Monticello
By HILARY HOWARD
Published:
March 1, 2009
Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, a National Historic Landmark and the only house in the
United States that has been
designated a Unesco
World Heritage
Site, has a new visitor center. The 42,000-square-foot Thomas Jefferson Visitor
Center and Smith Education Center consists of five pavilions around a central
courtyard and has amenities like a cafe, a gift shop and a ticket and
information counter.
But more important, after April
15 (the center’s official opening), the property will give visitors an
opportunity to learn more about Thomas Jefferson and Monticello with four new
exhibitions, including “Thomas Jefferson and the Boisterous Sea of Liberty,”
which illustrates Jefferson’s core ideas on liberty via 21 flat-panel screens,
and “Making Monticello: Jefferson’s Essay in Architecture,” which explores the four-decade creation of the
house, designed by Jefferson himself. There will also be an introductory film,
“Thomas Jefferson’s World,” and a hands-on educational center for children 6 to
11.
The Monticello admission ticket, which includes
complete use of the visitor center and a house tour, costs $20 (www.monticello.org).