Tours

1. Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and International Center for Jefferson Studies Library

Date and Time: Wednesday, June 17, 9:00am – 4:30pm

Rendezvous: Meet in Omni Hotel lobby at 8:45am for bus departure by 9:00am; participants will be returned by bus to the Omni Hotel at approximately 4:30pm

Description: Spend the day at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, enjoying special behind-the-scenes tours of the historic home and gardens, International Center for Jefferson Studies library, and the Thomas Jefferson Visitor Center. The day will begin at the newly opened (April 2009) state-of-the-art Visitor Center, where we will view an introductory film and explore the four new, innovative exhibitions. Next, participants will be given a special guided tour of Jefferson’s historic Monticello home which will include spaces not typically shown to visitors. A Plantation Community tour will focus on slave life at Monticello and include a visit to the Archaeology Department, home of the Digital Archaeological Archive of Comparative Slavery (DAACS). Around noon, participants will be taken to the nearby International Center for Jefferson Studies  where they will have lunch (included) followed by a tour of the Jefferson Library, a presentation about Jefferson and his library, and a visit to the offices of the Papers of Thomas Jefferson: Retirement Series. Senior staff will be on hand during the day to discuss topics of interest and their latest research. This will be primarily a walking tour; practical shoes are recommended. Bottled water and an afternoon snack will be provided.

URL: http://www.monticello.org and http://www.monticello.org/library/index.html

Registration Maximum: 19

Meal/Refreshments: Lunch will be provided.

Cost: $78 (requires advance registration and payment; see Registration form for details)

 

2. James Madison’s Montpelier and Barboursville Winery

Date and Time: Wednesday, June 17, 9:00am – 4:00pm

Rendezvous: Meet in Omni Hotel lobby at 8:45am for bus departure by 9:00am; participants will be returned by bus to the Omni Hotel at approximately 4:00pm

Description: We’ll take a 45 minute drive into the heart of Central Virginia to visit Montpelier, the lifelong home of President James Madison and famous first lady Dolley Madison. This is the site where Madison, fourth president, Father of the Constitution and architect of the Bill of Rights, read, researched, and pondered our form of government. Recently restored to its stately beginnings from its subsequent period as a bucolic mansion owned by the duPont family, the historic home and gardens are situated on a beautiful 2,650-acre tract that looks towards the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains. After lunch we will visit the nearby Barboursville Winery for a tour of the winery and wine tasting. We will also have the opportunity to see the ruins of the mansion of early Virginia governor James Barbour. One of only three residences that Jefferson designed for his friends, it was destroyed by an accidental fire on Christmas, 1884.

URL: http://www.montpelier.org and http://www.barboursvillewine.net

Registration Maximum: 19 [changed on 5/6/09] (requires advance registration and payment; see Registration form for details)

Meal/Refreshments: Participants may purchase lunch at Montpelier Visitors’ Center café (est. $8-12 not included in registration cost). Bottled water will be provided on the bus.

Cost: $46 (requires advance registration and payment; see Registration form for details)

3. Harrison Institute and Small Special Collections Library, University of Virginia

Date and Time: Thursday, June 18, 2:00pm – 3:30pm

Rendezvous: Meet at 1:55pm inside the entrance to the Harrison/Small building (#19 on campus map)

Description: Come on a guided tour of the Mary and David Harrison Institute for American History, Literature, and Culture and the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. The Harrison/Small building, designed by the Washington DC architectural firm Hartman-Cox, opened in 2004. The tour will include the exhibition and classroom spaces, auditorium and catering kitchen as well as the library reference and reading rooms, staff work areas, and a brief stop in the Digitization Services’ electronic scanning laboratory (for a more extended visit to Digitization Services, see Tour 7).

URL: http://www.lib.virginia.edu/small

Registration Maximum: 25

Meal/Refreshments: None

Cost: Free (no advance registration required; sign-up sheets will be available at onsite registration/welcome desk)

 

4. Law School Library Special Collections, University of Virginia

Date and Time: Thursday, June 18, 2:00pm – 3:30pm

Rendezvous: Meet at 1:35pm at University Chapel (#38 on campus map ) campus bus stop in order to catch the 1:40pm Northline bus.  Get off at the Copeley Student Housing stop opposite the Law School grounds. Or meet directly at the entrance to Arthur J. Morris Law School library at 2:00pm.

Description: The Special Collections department of the University of Virginia Law Library provides access to rare, historical, and unique materials with an emphasis on Anglo-American law. Visitors will view a selection of early English and American law books that represent the development of legal history from the early sixteenth through the nineteenth century. These include English and American treatises ranging from the major works of such scholars as Coke and Blackstone, and Kent and Story, to regional form books and justice-of-the-peace manuals. Law titles selected by Thomas Jefferson for the opening of the University of Virginia in 1825 are a core part of this collection. The department also houses a number of early admiralty and maritime law books as well as collections of colonial laws and early statutory material. Selections from notable manuscript collections such as the E. Barrett Prettyman, Jr. papers, which include original Supreme Court memoranda and related documents used in the landmark Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education, will also be on display.

URL: http://www.law.virginia.edu/special

Registration Maximum: 15

Meal/Refreshments: None

Cost: Free (no advance registration required; sign-up sheets will be available at onsite registration/welcome desk)

 

5. Health Sciences Library Special Collections, University of Virginia

Date and Time: Thursday, June 18, 2:00pm – 3:30pm

Rendezvous: Meet at 1:45pm at the west entrance (Lawn side) of the Rotunda (#34 on campus map) or directly at the entrance to the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library (#6 on campus map) at 1:55pm

Description: The Historical Collections in the Claude Moore Health Sciences Library are available to researchers in the Wilhelm Moll Rare Book and Medical History Room. The collections include works that instruct and inspire, and that demonstrate the importance of the roots of health science disciplines are preserved and made available for research uses.  These materials include rare books (the oldest was published 1493), journals, photographs, manuscripts, and archival records, and artifacts.  Manuscripts include the papers of such notable University graduates as Walter Reed, School of Medicine Class of 1869. Nearly 7,500 of the primary documents from the extensive Philip S. Hench Walter Reed Yellow Fever Collection have been digitized and made available on the web (http://yellowfever.lib.virginia.edu/).  The Papers of the American Lung Association of Virginia is another sizeable manuscript collection and is enhanced by the papers of the Blue Ridge Sanatorium. Holding also include three-dimensional artifacts, such as the Adolph Lomb Optical Collection which contains examples of early microscopes.

URL: http://www.hsl.virginia.edu/historical

Registration Maximum: 15

Meal/Refreshments: None

Cost: Free (no advance registration required; sign-up sheets will be available at onsite registration/welcome desk)

 

6. Alderman Library, University of Virginia

Date and Time: Thursday, June 18, 4:00pm – 5:30pm (could also offer from 12:30pm-2:00pm if 4:00-5:00 tour fills)

Rendezvous: Meet at 3:55pm inside the entrance to Alderman Library (#1 on campus map)

Description: Tour UVa’s central Alderman Library building with Jared Loewenstein, “Venerable Keeper of Library Lore.”  Learn about the history and expansion of the University of Virginia Library, with emphasis on its special collections.  You won’t want to miss such attractions as the recently renovated McGregor Room, the Dirt Room, and Tomb of the Unknown Librarian!

URL: http://www.lib.virginia.edu/alderman

Registration Maximum: 20

Meal/Refreshments: None

Cost: Free (no advance registration required; sign-up sheets will be available at onsite registration/welcome desk)

 

7. Digitization Services, University of Virginia Library

Date and Time: Thursday, June 18, 4:00pm – 5:30pm

Rendezvous: Meet at 3:55pm inside the entrance to the Harrison/Small building entrance (#19 on campus map)

Description: The Digitization Services (DS) unit of the University of Virginia Library's Digital Curation Services department manages the digitization of special collections materials. This tour, led by Bradley Daigle, Director of Digital Curation Services, and other DS staff, will provide an overview of the unit's electronic scanning equipment and procedures. Participants will have an opportunity to see a variety of digitization tasks being performed and ask questions.

URL: http://www.lib.virginia.edu/scholarlyresources/services.html

Registration Maximum: 20

Meal/Refreshments: None

Cost: Free (no advance registration required; sign-up sheets will be available at onsite registration/welcome desk)

 

8. Rotunda and Academical Village, University of Virginia

Date and Time: Thursday, June 18, 4:00pm – 5:30pm

Rendezvous: Meet Professor Daniel Bluestone at 3:55pm at the west entrance (Lawn side) of the Rotunda (#34 on campus map)

Description: For Thomas Jefferson, learning was an integral part of life. The "academical village" is based on the assumption that the life of the mind is a pursuit for all participants in the University, that learning is a lifelong and shared process, and that interaction between scholars and students enlivens the pursuit of knowledge. This guided tour of the Rotunda and historic central grounds of the University will show how Jefferson integrated these concepts into his architectural plan for the University, which he founded in his retirement years.

URL: http://www.virginia.edu/academicalvillage

Registration Maximum: 25

Meal/Refreshments: None

Cost: Free (no advance registration required; sign-up sheets will be available at onsite registration/welcome desk)

9. Charlottesville Albemarle Historical Society and Downtown Walking Tour

Date and Time: Friday, June 19, 2:00pm – 3:30pm

Rendezvous: Meet at 1:55pm at the entrance to the Omni Hotel lobby facing the Downtown Mall.  Look for Charlottesville Albemarle Historical Society volunteer tour guides Jarrett Millard and Rhetta Bearden, who will be wearing straw hats.

Description: The Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society will give a walking tour of historic downtown Charlottesville. Stroll around the Court Square familiar to Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe. Learn about the early years of Charlottesville, its citizens, businesses and buildings. During this tour you will see reminders of over 250 years of the community's heritage.

URL: http://www.albemarlehistory.org

Registration Maximum: 25

Meal/Refreshments: None

Cost: Free, but a modest cash donation (suggested $5) to the tour guide for the Society will be appreciated (no advance registration required; sign-up sheets will be available at onsite registration/welcome desk)

10. American Shakespeare Company Performance at Blackfriar’s Theater

Note (5/6/09): We regret that this tour has been canceled. Those who have already registered will receive a refund.

Date and Time: Saturday, June 20, 12:45pm – 7:15pm

Rendezvous: Meet in Omni Hotel lobby at 12:30pm for bus departure by 12:45pm; participants will be returned by bus to the Omni Hotel at approximately 7:15pm

Description: Enjoy a live performance of a Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing and a behind-the-scenes tour of the Blackfriar’s Theater in Staunton, Virginia (about 45 minutes by bus from Charlottesville). Blackfriar’s is the world's only replica of Shakespeare's original indoor theater, and is home to the internationally acclaimed American Shakespeare Center. The afternoon play and tour will be followed by dinner at the nearby Depot Grille (moderately priced, continental fare; cost of dinner not included in registration).

URL: http://www.americanshakespearecenter.com/index.php and http://staunton.depotgrille.com

Registration Maximum: 19

Meal/Refreshments: Participants will receive a box lunch to eat on the bus on the way to the theater. After the performance and tour, participants will have an early dinner together at the nearby Depot Grille restaurant in Staunton, Virginia. Menu items range $10-$15. Participants will divide the check; no pre-payment.

Cost: Canceled (see note above).

 

11. Monticello House and Garden Tour

Date and Time: Saturday, June 20, 1:00pm – 5:30pm

Rendezvous: Meet in Omni Hotel lobby at 12:45pm for bus departure by 1:00pm; participants will be returned by bus to the Omni Hotel at approximately 5:30pm

Description: Spend a relaxing Saturday afternoon at Thomas Jefferson Foundation’s Monticello. The afternoon will begin at the newly opened (April 2009) state-of-the-art Thomas Jefferson Visitor Center, which features an introductory film and four new, innovative exhibitions. Lunch (not provided) can be purchased at the Cafe at Monticello in the Visitor Center. Afterwards, participants will take a guided tour of the historic home and have time to time stroll through the gardens and enjoy woodland walks on their own.

URL: http://www.monticello.org

Registration Maximum: 19

Meal/Refreshments: Available for purchase on site at the Monticello Visitors Center (est. $8-12)

Cost: $35 (requires advance registration and payment; see Registration form for details)

 

12. Blue Ridge Mountains Hiking Expedition

Date and Time: Saturday, June 20, 1:30pm – 6:00pm

Rendezvous: Meet in Omni Hotel lobby at 1:15pm for bus departure by 1:30pm; participants will be returned by bus to the Omni Hotel at approximately 6:00pm

Description: Virginia is well known for its beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, and hiking is superb. A hike to popular but steep Humpback Rocks affords one of the best vistas on the famed Parkway. If time allows, we will also visit the pioneer farmstead nearby for a leisurely stroll around 19th-century structures. Bottled water and snack will be provided, but participants should eat or purchase lunch items prior to boarding the bus. The site is approximately 40 minutes from Charlottesville.
Note: The hike up to Humpback Rocks is not long in distance (total of four miles, up and back), but the trail is rated strenuous and parts are quite steep, so participants should be in good physical health and accustomed to exercise.

URL: http://www.virtualblueridge.com/maps/humpback-rocks-trails.asp

Registration Maximum: 19

Meal/Refreshments: Bottled water and snack will be provided (est. $5).

Cost: $25 (requires advance registration and payment; see Registration form for details)