Poplar Forest was the last dwelling house that Jefferson built to use for himself. Architecture was one of Thomas Jefferson’s favorite hobbies.  He never went to school to learn how to design buildings. He read many books on the subject, and over the years, he looked at many examples of buildings in America and Europe. Jefferson liked the classical buildings of ancient Greece and Rome. He also studied the drawings of an architect named Andrea Palladio who lived in 16^th century Italy. Palladio admired ancient Roman buildings. He used their architectural features such as the pediment, column, entablature, and the arch in his designs.

This is the south view of Poplar Forest.

Put your mouse here to see the pediment in RED.

Put your mouse here to see the columns in BLUE.

Put your mouse here to see the entablature in GREEN.

Put your mouse here to see the arches in YELLOW.

Drawing courtesy Mesick-Cohen-Waite, Architects, 1992

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