But what is less well known are the many important examples of other architectural idioms built in this Piedmont Virginia county, many by nationally renowned architects. At the turn of the twentieth century, the renewed interest of wealthy clients in eclectic architectural styles attracted some of the finest Beaux Arts architects in the country to the Charlottesville area. Grand new buildings complemented and competed with the Jeffersonian models of a hundred years earlier. In addition, throughout its history Albemarle County has seen construction of a great variety of public architectural landmarks: mills and churches, movie theaters and hospitals, gas stations and taverns.

For many years K. Edward Lay has been teaching, guiding tours of, and writing about this rich architectural legacy. Here at last is his definitive treatment of a topic that has been his life's work, presented in an elegantly illustrated volume. Following a general introduction by John S. Salmon, Lay divides his book into six chronological chapters: "The Georgian Period", "Thomas Jefferson and His Builders", "The Roman Revival (1800-1830)", "The Greek Revival (1830-1860)", "Beyond the Classical Revival", and "The Eclectic Era (1890-1939)". He discusses over 800 buildings, froma Sears house to grand estates, the Abell-Gleason house and the Albemarle County Jail to Wavertree Hall and Zion Baptist Church, with 26 color photographs and 369 black-and-white illustrations complementing his text. A final chapter discusses the University of Virginia.

Maps of the area allow readers and visitors to trace the locations of individual buildings and to recognize trends of settlement and construction in the area.

This elegant giftbook or reference gives architects, historians, visitors, and residents an un-precedented view of the wealth of buildings in Charlottesville and Albemarle County.

A CD-ROM supplementing The Architecture of Jefferson Country is available separately. It provides a comprehensive inventory of over 3,000 images identified with 2,400 buildings. The CD-ROM allows its user to scroll through county and town maps and click on important buildings to access individual records. The records, drawings, and photographs are searchable by building type or characteristic, surname, or other keyword. As an important bonus the CD-ROM includes the 1907 Massie Map of the county, a large, detailed wall map showing historical data and the locations of buildings. The map is definitively indexed and has never been reproduced since its origin.