So Hoos Asking: What Are Those Large Metal Blocks Scattered About Grounds?

From Carr’s Hill to the West Range, large ornate metal sculptures can be found in several areas of the University of Virginia. They once were more than mere décor.

The cast iron sculptures are remnants of a building long since gone from the University. They are the capitals from columns fronting the Annex, a four-story extension built onto the north side of the Rotunda in 1853 that contained a basement, classroom, laboratory space, museum space and an auditorium. 

“Cast iron was an exciting new architectural material in the early 1850s,” Brian Hogg, senior historic preservation planner in the Office of the Architect for the University, said. “People were starting to use it for entire facades, often of store and loft buildings, because of its ability to accurately replicate the appearance of stone and its claimed fire resistance. There may have been an element of cost savings in the choice, but I’ve always thought it was more an expression of modernity and progressive design.”

Old portrait of the Annex held classroom space, laboratories, offices and performance space for the maturing University.

The Annex is visible in this photo from the UVA Special Collections. It held classroom space, laboratories, offices and performance space for the maturing University. (Photo by Rufus Holsinger, UVA Special Collections)

By the 1850s, Thomas Jefferson’s Academical Village did not have the space the University required. The Board of Visitors hired Robert Mills, who designed the Washington Monument and the Department of Treasury, to design a new, multi-purpose academic building for the University. Mills, who was a friend and protégé of Jefferson’s, appended the Annex to the north side of the Rotunda, which Jefferson considered merely its unadorned back door. 

Jefferson’s designs, including the column capitals, which were made of the “modern” material, cast iron, inspired Mills’ Annex. 

More than double the size of Jefferson’s Rotunda, some criticized the Annex as being too large and overwhelming. The new building allowed the University to move large gatherings from the  Rotunda’s Dome Room to the new facilities. Alumni commissioned French artist Paul Balze to paint a copy of Raphael’s “School of Athens” in the 1,200-seat auditorium, envisioning it as a fine arts gallery inspired by ancient architecture, much like the Academical Village. 

Ten cast iron capitals adorned the north end of the Annex, with four full capitals and four half square capitals on the south end where the building connected to the Rotunda.

Portrait of Carrara marble capitals.

Details on the capitals echo the elements of the Carrara marble capitals used for Thomas Jefferson’s original Rotunda. (University Communications photo)

Then came the fire of Oct. 27, 1895, a fire blamed on faulty electrical wiring in the upper northwest corner of the Annex. The blaze destroyed the Annex and heavily damaged the Rotunda. Mathematics professor William “Reddy” Echols – for whom the University’s Echols Scholar program is named – attempted to dynamite the connection between the Annex and the Rotunda in hopes of stopping the fire’s advance, but the effort failed. Students and faculty members rescued books and artwork from the Rotunda as the fire engulfed the building.

Although the Annex was destroyed, several of the cast iron capitals survived.

“They’ve been used as garden ornaments at least since the first decades of the 20th century,” Hogg said. “Early pictures of Lambeth Field show them in the landscape around what would become the site of O’Neil Hall, and there’s still a base for one of the columns in the southeast corner of the property.”

Tuition Covered For Virginia Households Making <$100K
Tuition Covered For Virginia Households Making <$100K

Today there are four complete capitals on display on Grounds, at Carr’s Hill, West Range, Monroe Hill House and the Lower Pavilion Garden IV. There’s a partial square one in the front courtyard of the Fralin Museum of Art and a full round one at UVA’s College at Wise.

“There’s a full one that’s in private hands and we also have a decent number of pieces in storage,” Hogg said.

Have a burning question for our crack team of UVA historians, experts, students and staff to answer? Send your queries to HoosAsking@virginia.edu.

Media Contact

Matt Kelly

University News Associate Office of University Communications