Newcomb Hall is situated next to the University Bookstore and the Central Grounds Parking garage. In 2015, the building underwent an extensive $33 million renovation effort financed through maintenance funds, student fees, private donations, and bonds. The project expanded the facility in order to accommodate increased enrollment and make the space more attractive and efficient. The architect behind the improvements was Cole &amp; Denny Inc. of Alexandria, and the construction manager was R.E. Lee &amp; Son Inc. "The Pav" is can be found on the first floor of Newcomb in the middle of Central Grounds. This dining facility includes several restaurants. The Newcomb Hall Theatre is located on the Lower Level of Newcomb. It has a maximum seating capacity of 381 seats and six spaces for individuals in wheelchairs. The space is used for conferences, speaking engagements, and films. On the third floor of Newcomb is the 4,000-square-foot NHL Ballroom, which hosts a range of events, including banquet dinners, speaking engagements, and resource fairs.

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Newcomb Hall is the University of Virginia's student center. Completed in 1958, its design was inspired by the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg. The facility houses a ballroom, dining facilities, meeting spaces, lounges, offices, and a movie theatre on the lower floor. The dining facilities, located on the first floor, are known as Pavilion XI ("The Pav"). Newcomb Hall is named after U.Va's second president, John Lloyd Newcomb.

Newcomb Hall & Pavilion XI

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The University of Virginia in Charlottesville is a public research university and the flagship school of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Established in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, U.Va is steeped in history. Its original governing Board of Visitors included a number of founding fathers, such as Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe.Take a walking tour of some of the highlights of the campus, including the Academical Village, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

In March 1935, the Thomas Bayly Memorial Building opened. Dean of Architecture Edmund S. Campbell designed the structure, which was financed by Evelyn May Bayly Tiffany in honor of her father, an alumnus of the University of Virginia. Campbell also served as the museum's first director. The museum received several important works of art early on, including 17th century French and Flemish tapestries, two Rodin sculptures, and Frederic Church's Natural Bridge, Virginia. The museum closed during WWII and reopened in 1946. In the 1960s, the University faced a shortage of academic space. As a result, the museum was converted into classroom use for the art and architecture programs. In 1973, the new architecture school was complete and the building once again returned to its original function. By 1995, the collection had expanded to approximately 8,500 objects through gifts, purchases, and extended loans. Today, the facility houses nearly 14,000 works in its permanent collection, many of which are of ethnographic interest. Its Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection is one of the most significant collections of Australian Aboriginal Art outside of Australia. Six thousand square feet of space are devoted to exhibiting and teaching. In addition, the museum features events such as public lectures, symposia, and tours. Programs of service to the local community include Eyes on Art, tailored to Alzheimer's patients and caregivers; Early Visions, which partners university students with members of the Charlottesville Boys and Girls Clubs; and Writers Eye, which encourages individuals to submit prose and poetry inspired by museum holdings. The Fralin Museum of Art received national accreditation by the American Association of Museum in 2001, which was reconfirmed in 2008. In 2009, an extensive renovation added Print Study and Object Study galleries to further aid in the museum's mission to represent through a variety of media the world's cultures from ancient times to the present.

The Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia is dedicated to promoting visual literacy as part of a comprehensive educational endeavor to enhance vistors' understanding of world cultures. The museum, which originally opened in 1935 and reopened as a dedicated museum in 1974, is housed in the Thomas H. Bayley Memorial Building. Its collection includes nearly 14,000 objects, including American and European paintings, works on paper, and 15th-20th century sculptures; as well as ancient Mediterranean, Asian, and Native American art. Additionally, visitors can explore a print gallery and soon an object study gallery.

The Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia

James Burnley operated a farm at this location prior to his death in 1803 and is the earliest-recorded owner of the property. Burnley's daughter inherited the property and sold forty-three acres of the farm to University proctor Arthur S. Brockenbrough for $1,065.62. By the time of Brockenbrough's death, there was tremendous demand for student housing and this land became the site of the first off-campus&nbsp;student housing. Mrs. Lucy Brockenbrough provided housing to twelve students, five white children, and fifteen enslaved persons until 1849. Prior to the end of the Civil War, donors and leaders of the university leased their slaves to the institution. These records reflect the connection between slavery and the university&nbsp; Brockenbrough's Hill became Carr's Hill in 1854 when the property was sold to boarding house owner Dabney S. Carr. In 1867, the University of Virginia purchased Carr's Hill for 10,000 from Addison Maupin, the manager of the University's dining halls and brother to Socrates Martin, the Chairman of Faculty. Socrates Martin's administrative duties closely resembled those the later U.Va presidents. Now part of the University's holdings, Carr's Hill became the site of a rustic, two-story frame-built structure called Blue Cottage in 1837. The cottage was destroyed the same year in a fire, prompting the University to build a set of brick dormitories with 32 rooms. The area became a popular recreational spot where students played sports, such as basketball and baseball. The Fayerweather Gymnasium was built on Carr's Hill in 1893. Hot Feet, the social club, performed plays on the site. Future soldiers used the land to practice military drills. Prior to the American Civil War, a prewar raising of the Rebel flag took place on Carr's Hill. Classes were canceled when a group of students hoisted a Confederate flag atop the Rotunda, which was subsequently moved to a dormitory on the hill. During the war, enrollment dropped off substantially. Only 46 students, a few professors, and doctors remained on campus. When General Philip Henry Sheridan's forces arrived in Charlottesville, Professor of Law John B. Minor waved a white flag and met with General George Armstrong Custer, who posted a guard outside the University to protect the Grounds while his troops camped on Carr's Hill. After the war, the dormitories on Carr's Hill began to deteriorate. Most of these structures were closed in 1905. The only remaining building from this period is a small, two-story brick building behind the herb garden. President Edwin Alderman and his wife, Bessie, enlisted the prominent Gilded Age architectural firm McKim, Mead, &amp; White to construct a house on the site that could accommodate social events. This firm was also responsible for designing three other buildings on the Lawn: Old Cabell Hall, Rouss Hall, and Cocke Hall. Constructed between 1907 and 1909, the Colonial Revival style brick building was intended to compliment the Jeffersonian architecture on the campus. Since its construction, the dwelling on Carr's Hill has housed all eight University presidents. Surrounding the home are a number of gardens. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the property is also home to several contributing structures. These are the Guest Cottage (built ca. 1840), Buckingham Palace (1856), the Leake Cottage (c. 1870), carriage house (1908), the landscape (site), and two iron capitals (objects) salvaged from the ruins of the Robert Mills Rotunda Annex after it was destroyed by the fire of 1895. The capitals are located north of the terrace at the edge of the property.

Carr's Hill is the residence of the University of Virginia President. Constructed in 1909, the historic structure is named for Mrs. Sidney Carr, the operator of a nearby boarding house. The two-story, Colonial Revival style home was designed by the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White and overlooks the university chapel and Jefferson's "Academical Village." It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. Prior to the construction of this stately home, this area was home to student housing.

Carr's Hill (University of Virginia President's House)

Memorial Gym on the campus of the University of Virginia is a 2,500 seat multi-purpose arena. Designed between 1921 and 1924 by the University's Architectural Commission, under the supervision of Fiske Kimball, the structure commemorates the 2,700 U.Va students and alumni lost during the First World War. The project was funded through a state grant ($50,000), in addition to fundraising efforts by President Alderman ($100,000) and the classes of 1920 and 1921 ($142,000). At the time of its completion, Memorial Gym was the third-largest gymnasium in the eastern United States. The gym opened in 1924 and was used for a variety of sporting and social activities, such as boxing, concerts, dances, and registration. The basketball program was housed at Mem Gym for 42 seasons until the opening of University Hall in 1965. On June 10, 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his famous "Stab in the Back" speech at Memorial Gym in which he denounced Italy's declaration of war on France. President Roosevelt was in the process of giving a commencement address to graduating students when he was informed of the alliance between Italy and Nazi Germany. Today, Mem Gym hosts the Cavaliers' wrestling and volleyball teams. It functions as an intramural sports facility and features amenities such as a weight room, boxing practice space, and an indoor wooden jogging track on the second floor. It also once housed a swimming pool, which closed in 2007 upon the construction of the Aquatic and Fitness Center. The pool was converted into an indoor soccer ground. Adjacent to Memorial Gym is a grassy area known as Nameless Field. This field has its own interesting history. During the summer of 2010, U.Va began construction on two sand volleyball courts east of the Lady Astor Tennis facility (located on Nameless Field). An archaeological excavation of an exposed concrete and stone structure uncovered during the work revealed that the structure was a 19th-Century dam. The dam was built across Meadow Creek in order to form an ice pond. Its use declined following the availability of refrigeration in the early 20th Century, though it continued to be used as an ice skating pond until the early 1920s. Alternatively known as the "skating pond," "ice pond," "university pond," or "the pond," Nameless Field was once U.Va's largest pond and an "an integral part of the 19th-century landscape of the university."1 The pond, fed by Meadow Creek, is the subject of numerous tales from campus lore. For example, in 1864, Union troops led by General George A. Custer met with University administrators after crossing the creek at the bottom of the pond. Following the construction of Memorial Gym, however, much of the excess dirt was packed into the pond. This process turned the pond into a small reflecting pool. By 1952, effluence from the gym showers and swimming pool had transformed the pond into a polluted, "shrunken mire."2 It was ultimately filled in to serve as a parking lot and athletic field.

The athletic facilities at the University of Virginia encompass a number of buildings and fields, including Memorial Gym (also known as "Mem Gym"). Mem Gym houses intramural sports in addition to other recreational activities. This structure was designed as a memorial to the 2,700 University students and alumni lost in World War I. Between the gym and Alderman Library is an expanse of grassy turf, once an ice-skating pond, called Nameless Field.

Memorial Gym & Nameless Field

The Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library is a research library located within the campus grounds of the University of Virginia. Specializing in American history and literature; the history of Virginia and 
the southeastern United States; the history of the U.Va.; Thomas Jefferson; and the history and arts of the book, this 58,000 square foot building is home to numerous documents and artifacts of historical and literary interest. The library's history can be traced back to the early 19th Century, when Thomas Jefferson established the University of Virginia. Unique amongst American colleges, Thomas Jefferson chose to place a library at the center of the campus grounds, rather than a chapel. Jefferson was also responsible for composing the first list of books to be included in the collection. The books were housed in The Rotunda, a Neoclassical/Early Republic structure designed by Jefferson himself. James Madison, who served as the college's second rector, established the first endowment fund for acquisitions. Today, Jefferson's legacy is still visible within the library's collection, which houses many original documents relating to Jefferson and his family. In 1895, a fire started in the Annex of The Rotunda. The blaze gutted the building. Though students managed to rescue a number of books from the Dome Room, 80% of the collection was destroyed in the blaze. The surviving works are the longest-held volumes in the Small Special Collections Library. The University Archives and the papers of Richard Henry Lee (the earliest manuscript gift to the university) also managed to escape destruction. With the construction of Alderman Library in 1938, the 
Division of Rare Books and Manuscripts was organized to house and 
administer the most important historical materials. By 1962, 
there were two divisions responsible for maintaining these items: the Rare Books Division and the Manuscripts 
and University Archives Division. The Special Collections Department formed in 1987, when the two divisions merged. The current building opened in 2004, largely financed by a substantial donation from Albert and Shirley Small (after whom the library is named). The Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library is divided into the three primary collections: Manuscript Collections, Rare Books, and the University Archives. Library holdings are comprised of over 16 million objects including manuscripts, archival records, rare books, maps, broadsides, photographs, and audio and video recordings. Particularly noteworthy collections include the Tracy W. McGregor Library of American History (donated 1938), the Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature, the William Faulkner collections (donated 1962), Jorge Luis Borges Collections, and the Sadleir-Black Collection of Gothic Fiction. It is also home to one of the world's largest collections of miniature books. Encompassed in the library's holdings are items concerning many significant individuals from American history, Thomas Jefferson in particular. Materials pertaining to Jefferson include hundreds of Jefferson's correspondences, architectural drawings; family documents; books from 
Jefferson's library; a research collection of works about 
Jefferson; and artifacts, such one of his polygraphs and a telescope from his residence at Monticello. The Virginia Collection contains numerous materials pertaining to notable Virginia families. Figures as Mark Twain, Robert Frost, and Ernest Hemingway are also well-represented.

The Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library is a research library specializing in American and Virginia literature and history. The library is located on the University of Virginia's campus grounds. It administers over 13 million manuscripts, 3.6 million items in the University archives, 325,000 rare books, and thousands of other items of literary or historical interest. Included in the collection are numerous examples from American and British literature, the history of Virginia and the southeastern United States, the history and archives of the University of Virginia, sporting books and manuscripts, World War I, bibliography and book arts, as well as documents and artifacts from the life of Thomas Jefferson.

Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library

The East and West Ranges consist of a series of structures dating back to the early nineteenth century. The complex is part of Thomas Jefferson's design for the university. The idea behind Jefferson's Academical Village was to establish a community of scholars who would live and study in an architecturally unified environment. Jefferson originally intended the Ranges to face the Lawn, the central point of the Academical Village, so they would be accessible via roads. However, the design of the Ranges and Hotels were modified several times prior to the start of construction because of the uneven terrain. The University of Virginia opened in 1825. At the time, enrollment was low enough such that many of the dormitories were used as office space. One of the earliest and most prominent residents of the Range was Edgar Allan Poe. In 1826, the author occupied Room 13 on the West Range. During his time at U.Va, he would recite poems and stories to university students. According to local stories, he also scratched his name into one of the windows; that window has since shattered. Poe was eventually left U.Va because of personal debt. Poe is far from the only famous occupant of the Range. From 1879 until 1881, Woodrow Wilson resided at 31 West while he attended the University. The Range has also housed other important figures from Virginian political and public life. Today, the complex is used by graduate students, while the Lawn pavilions house undergraduates. It is considered quite prestigious to live in the structures just off the Lawn. The Ranges have undergone a number of modifications since their construction. Poe's room is still maintained by the Raven Society, and Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity maintains the room 47 W. Range where it was founded on March 1, 1868. Other parts of the Range, however, have since been demolished. One of these was Room 56 East, which was replaced in the mid-19th century by Levering Hall. Moreover, several of the Hotels have been expanded. One such example is the "Crackerbox," which originally served as a kitchen for Hotel F but now functions as student housing.

The Range is an architectural complex situated parallel to the U.Va campus Lawn. It includes fifty-two rooms of graduate housing. In addition, there are six hotels on each side of the Range. Originally used as dining spaces, they now serve as administrative office space and house the Jefferson Literary Debating Society. Living on the range is considered to be an honor; notable former residents include Edgar Allan Poe (13 W. Range) and Woodrow Wilson (31 W. Range).

The Range & Edgar Allan Poe Room

The Pavilions are located along the east and west sides of the University of Virginia's Academical Village. Centered around the Lawn, the Academical Village was designed by Thomas Jefferson as a unique environment where scholars would live and study in an architecturally unified space. The ten pavilions each represent an academic discipline, an order of ancient architecture, and were intended to recognize the dignity of each subject. Pavilion I is characterized by its four plastered white-painted columnns, topped by Doric capitals manufactured in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Chinese-inspired trellis on the second floor was designed by Jefferson himself. Pavilion I's first occupant was John Patton Emmet, professor of natural history, who taught chemistry, botany, and comparative anatomy. His botanical experiments included growing grapes, rare flours, fruit trees, and Chinese mulberries on which to raise silkworms. The garden soon overgrew the available space. In response, Emmet purchased property near the pavilion; it is still called "Morea" after the botanical name for mulberry. In 1997, the morning of the graduation ceremony commencement, the balcony on the second level of Pavilion I collapsed. Investigations into the matter revealed that the cause was a single corroded wrought iron tension rod and a lack of redundancies in the design. As the rod was concealed within a supporting wooden beam, there were no visible signs of the corrosion prior to the collapse. In response, the rods were replaced by ones made of stainless steel that look identical to the originals.

Pavilion I is a historic building located within Thomas Jefferson's Academical Village at the University of Virginia. The structure adjoins the steps of the Rotunda steps on the west side. Completed in 1822, it was the fifth pavilion to be constructed. It features columnns topped by Doric capitals, central doorways on the first two floors, and a center chimney. It is distinguished by the Chinese-inspired trellis on its second floor.

Pavilion I

The Rotunda sits on the original site of the University of Virginia. While designing the Rotunda, Jefferson referred frequently to a painting of the Pantheon. It has been noted that the Rotunda's dome is precisely half of that found in the Pantheon. The construction took four years (1822-1826) and was completed after Jefferson's death. The total cost of construction was $57,773. The Rotunda was used to hold a library, classroom space, and laboratory for the University of Virginia. In 1895 a fire burned all but the brick foundations of the building. First hand accounts note that students worked to remove the educational materials that they could before the fire engulfed the building. Because the dome and the additional annex of the building were entirely built of wood they were completely destroyed in the fire. The Rotunda was rebuilt from 1898-1899 by McKim, Mead, and White&nbsp;of New York. The design was modified slightly by Stanford White. White included a fireproof dome that was larger than Jefferson's original and did not rebuild the Annex. In 1972 the US Bicentennial Committee sought to restore the Rotunda to Jefferson's original design.&nbsp;&nbsp;The dome was restored to three stories, the skylight was given a simpler design,&nbsp;and the interior design choices made by White in 1899 were restored to the original design. The construction was completed by 1976 for the Bicentennial.&nbsp;

The Rotunda was designed by Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States. It is believed Jefferson was inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. Construction began in 1822 and was completed in 1826. In 1895 a fire destroyed the entirety of the wooden dome of the Rotunda and an Annex that had been added for additional classroom space. In 1898 the dome was rebuilt with a slightly modified design by Stanford White. The interior of the Rotunda was completely rebuilt in 1976 to reflect Jefferson's original design. 

The Rotunda, University of Virginia

The Lawn is located at the heart of the University of Virginia campus. This terraced, grassy field (35-acres in total) is a favorite spot for student recreational activities and is the site of numerous university ceremonies. These include opening ceremonies, fall convocation, and final exercises. The "Lighting of the Lawn" is an annual event that illuminates the Rotunda and marks the beginning of winter. As the central component of Thomas Jefferson's Academical Village, it is framed by student and faculty housing. The most famous building on the Lawn, the Rotunda, is located on the northern end. To the south is Old Cabell Hall, which was constructed later and does not follow Jefferson's original design. Jefferson's vision for the Lawn was to provide an alternative to traditional English university quadrangle. He specified plans for a U-shaped model with a central dome, perhaps influenced by Joseph Jacques Ramée's design for Union College, Benjamin Latrobe's design for a military academy, the designs of Palladio, and his own residence at Monticello. The Lawn consists of four rows of colonnades on which alternate student rooms and larger structures. The inner rank of colonnades contains ten pavilions and 54 rooms for students. There are 206 columnns surrounding the lawn. The ten pavilions of the lawn reflect Jefferson's classification of the branches of learning. Each features a distinctive design and, as a whole were intended to be a model for architectural study. Opposite the Pavillions and Lawn rooms are ten quiet gardens. The outermost row of buildings on either side, considered the edge of the Academical Village, are known as "the Range" and serve as graduate student housing. Garry Wills described the overall effect as "paradoxical," stating that the design alternated between "regimentation and individual expression," "hierarchical order," "relaxed improvising." However, "it is the reconciliation of these apparent irreconcilables that is the genius of the system."1 The rooms on the Lawn provided space for 216 student residents. Enrollment at the university, however, increased quickly. By 1861, students were seeking other university-approved accommodations. During the Second World War, the rooms were used as barracks for officer candidates. Today, living on the Lawn is considered a great honor. Meanwhile, the Pavillions were used as faculty housing and classrooms. Prior to the American Civil War, these pavilions housed professors, their families, and their slaves. Students were not permitted to bring their slaves on campus, but professors did, housing them in Pavillion or Hotel cellars or in outbuildings. One slave owned by the university, Lewis Commodore, lived in the Rotunda itself for two years. The Rotunda is the most notable feature of the Lawn. In 1853, an Annex was added to the building, which provided classroom and meeting space. A fire gutted the Rotunda in 1895, destroying most of the university's library. Following the fire, the architect Stanford White (of McKim, Mead, and White) was hired to rebuild the structure. In addition, he created several new academic buildings at the base of the lawn to replace the Annex: Cocke Hall, Rouss Hall, and Cabell Hall. These buildings enclosed the southern view of the Blue Ridge Mountains and forced U.Va's subsequent architectural expansion to occur outside of the Academical Village. Most recently, improvements to the Lawn have been accomplished as part of the "South Lawn Project." This effort generated controversy but was finally completed in 2010. By the end of the project, over 100,000 square feet of classroom and office space were added, as was a bridge over Jefferson Park Avenue. The Lawn is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (added 1970), the Virginia Landmarks Registry (added 1970), and is designated as a National Historical Landmark District (designated 1971). Along with the original buildings of U.Va and Monticello, the Lawn is also a contributing part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Lawn is a terraced, grassy court at the center of Thomas Jefferson's Academical Village. The term "Lawn" also can refer to the original grounds designed by Jefferson for U.Va. It consists of four rows of colonnades, student/faculty housing, and several larger buildings, such as the Rotunda. The Lawn is a designated U.S. National Historical Landmark District and included as part of the Monticello UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Lawn (U.Va)

Cocke Hall, which sits on the south end of the Lawn at U.Va, flanks Cabell Hall and faces across from Rouss Hall. These structures are designed in a similar fashion to the more elaborate Cabell Hall. The Lawn was the heart of Thomas Jefferson's "Academical Village," the community of students and faculty living and studying within an architecturally unified space. Cocke Hall is a fine example of Neo-Classical Revival. It was amongst the three buildings designed by the notable architect Stanford White, built to compensate for the loss of the Rotunda Annex. The Rotunda and its extending structure, the Annex, had been destroyed in a devastating fire in 1895. The fire gutted the building and burned most of the contents of the school's library, except for the few books rescued by students. Cocke, Rouss, and Old Cabell Hall were intended to function as academic buildings. Their construction permanently closed off the south end of the Lawn, setting its dimensions permanently and obstructing the view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. This structure is named for John Hartwell Cocke II, an American military officer, planter, and businessmen. Cocke was also an associate of Jefferson's. He resided at a large plantation mansion at Upper Bremo (now a National Historic District) designed by master builder John Neilson, who had also worked on Monticello. In 1819, Cocke was appointed by Governor James Patton Preston to the first Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia. He retired from the board in 1852. Though he had inherited a number of slaves, Cocke is known for his hostile attitude toward slavery. He provided educational and training opportunities for slaves in order to prepare them for life as free people and spent his own money to send these freed slaves to the colony in Liberia. His diaries have been the subject of much academic interest, as they reference the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings. Cocke did not reveal the details of the relationship until after Jefferson's death.

Cocke Hall is located on the Lawn of the University of Virginia campus. Designed by Standford White of McKim, Mead & White, this Jefferson Revival building was completed in 1898 as part of an effort to replace classroom space lost in a fire that gutted the Rotunda. Cocke Hall, named after an associate of Thomas Jefferson, originally housed the Mechanical Laboratory. Today, it is used as classroom and office space. 

Cocke Hall

Blind Homer With His Student Guide is a bronze figure depicting a man, thought to be the ancient bard Homer, clad in classical garb. He sits on a bench covered with a cloth and is attended to by a youthful student guide. Homer has placed his left hand on the guide's head. The young Egyptian assistant, facing east, carries in his left hand a writing tablet or musical instrument. The sculpture sits on a base of Black marble, donated by the artist. The dimensions are approximately: 6 x 3 x 5 ft. (figure group); 41 x 48 x 64 in. (upper base); 7 x 67 x 140 in. (lower base). This sculpture was created in 1907 by Virginia native Moses Jacob Ezekiel (October 28, 1844 – March 27, 1917) from his studio in Rome. The statue was commissioned by J.W. Simpson, a New York lawyer who presented it to Amherst College as a gift. For unknown reasons, Amherst refused the sculpture. Thomas Nelson Page, an active member of the U.Va Alumni Association who had visited Ezekiel's studio, contacted U.Va President Edwin Alderman about securing the work for the university. Ezekiel visited the campus and chose the South Lawn, where the Cabell, Cocke, and Rouss Halls were just being completed, as the location for the piece. Of the sculpture, Simpson wrote in 1906: <blockquote>I am delighted with the spirit with which you accept the Homer group of Moses Ezekiel. My own college having no suitable place for it, the University of Virginia seemed to me its natural home.1 </blockquote>Moses Jacob Ezekiel was the first Jewish cadet to attend the Virginia Military Institute and a Civil War veteran, where he fought for the Confederate Army. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery near one of his own pieces: The Confederate Soldier's Memorial. He is also the artist responsible for the Jefferson Statue in front of the Rotunda.

Blind Homer With His Student Guide is a bronze sculpture by noted Jewish American soldier and artist Moses Jacob Ezekiel. It depicts the Greek poet Homer, author of the Illiad and the Odyssey, accompanied by an Egyptian student guide. The statue was completed and acquired by U.Va in 1907, along with a bronze of Thomas Jefferson. The Homer sculpture is located on "The Lawn" at the University of Virginia in front of Cabell Hall.

Blind Homer With His Student Guide (Sculpture)

Three days after the fire that destroyed the Rotunda and its attached classrooms (October 27, 1895), the Board of Visitors launched a program to rebuild the library and replace lost auditorium space. The proposed "Academical Building" was to contain a public hall in order to meet the latter need. Architect Stanford White of the New York firm McKim, Mead, and White was hired to design the new building. Construction on Cabell Hall completed in 1898 and the subsequently named after Joseph Carrington Cabell. Cabell was a friend of Thomas Jefferson and made significant contributions to the university. "New" Cabell Hall, added in the 1950s, wraps around White's 1898 building. The exterior features a pediment sculpture by George J. Zolnay, completed in 1898. This sculpture is an allegorical piece based on John 8:16: "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."1 In front of the hall is a bronze sculpture of the poet Homer and his guide, created in 1907 by Moses J. Ezekiel. Inside the structure is U.Va's primary concert and lecture hall, which hosts musical and speaking events—such as the 1998 appearance by the Dalai Lama. When it was constructed, the "public hall" had a capacity of 1,500 persons. The seats were made of molded plywood and divided into 600 seats below the railings and additional seating in the gallery, with standing room behind the railing and next to the wall. Subsequent renovations to improve accessibility and the quality of the seating, however, have shrunk the capacity to 851. There are several notable works of art within Cabell Hall. Copied from the Rotunda Annex was a mural of Raphael's painting, School of Athens. The mural, created in 1902, was commissioned by an anonymous alumnus. It is the work of painter George W. Breck. In 2000, the University of Virginia added a mural by Lincoln Perry, entitled The Student's Progress. Perry's mural depicts a young woman's experience at U.Va. The Skinner Organ in the auditorium was gifted to the university in 1906 by Andrew Carnegie; it was dedicated during a recital by Samuel Baldwin on March 18, 1907.

Old Cabell Hall is located at the south end of the Lawn on the University of Virginia campus. Constructed between 1895 and 1898, this structure was intended to replace lost classroom and auditorium space following the Rotunda fire of 1895. Originally called the "Academical Building," it was renamed in 1898 in recognition of Joseph Carrington Cabell for his service to the university. "New" Cabell Hall wraps around the 1898 building. Today, Cabell houses the Hall McIntire Department of Music and the Music Library, in addition to the University's primary lecture and concert hall.

University of Virginia Highlights Walking Tour

Newcomb Hall & Pavilion XI

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources

Additional Information