Thomas Jefferson’s affinity for domes is well known given his design of the Rotunda at the University of Virginia and his estate at Monticello. But his most lasting architectural impact was decidedly pointier.
A new PBS special put Jefferson’s design for the Virginia State Capitol at the top of its list for “10 Buildings that Changed America.” Home to the Virginia General Assembly since 1788, the white, classical structure with its towering columns and notable peak roof maintains an iconic aura in Richmond and around the country, even following renovations in 2007.
The program did not specify why it ranked the capitol No. 1 (and unfortunately it doesn’t air until 2013), but the state’s website boasts that the building “has served as a prototype for countless capitols, courthouses, municipal buildings, and even churches and residences for more than 200 years.”
Virginia is well represented on the list of influential buildings. Washington Dulles International Airport also cracked the Top 10, demonstrating the broad range of the buildings highlighted by the program.
Here’s the full list:
1. The Virginia State Capitol
2. Trinity Church in Boston
3. Wainright Building in St. Louis
4. Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House in Chicago
5. Highland Park Ford Plant in Michigan
6. Southdale Center in Edina, Minn.
7. Seagram Building in New York City
8. Dulles International Airport in Chantilly
9. Vanna Venturi House in Chestnut Hill, Pa.
10. Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles
