Workers digging on the lower north plaza of the Rotunda have recovered a pillar that once flanked the opening in a wall along University Avenue. (Contributed photo, University Special Collections.)
Contractors working for the University of Virginia have uncovered another piece of history.
Workers on the Rotunda’s lower north plaza excavated a stone pillar, several feet tall with what looked to be concrete added to it to create the panels, that had originally been part of an early 20th-century wall that ran along University Avenue. At that time, a pair of pillars flanked an opening in the center of the wall, directly in front of the north entrance to the Rotunda.
The University of Virginia Academical Village Cultural Landscape Report stated the University undertook a wide range of traffic improvements between 1909 and 1913. “These important changes altered the character and experience of the Academical Village landscape,” the report read. “The greatest improvements were made on University Avenue, where the stone wall bordering the road was lowered in places at this time to provide a clear view of all the University buildings.”
The recent work on the lower north plaza included replacing the existing brick walkway to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act, adding removable bollards for emergency vehicle access, installing a mountable curb and removing planters.
The pillar, which will be added to the University’s architectural fragments collection, surfaced when workers were excavating the Rotunda’s lower north plaza. (Contributed photo)
“It appears that when the opening in the stone wall was widened, instead of removing the heavy material offsite, the posts were laid down and covered with fill dirt, preserving them near their original context,” Amy Moses, a project manager for Facilities Management, said.
University News Associate Office of University Communications
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