BRATTLEBORO — Thomas Jefferson never knew the Monticello of today - in perfect condition, impeccably furnished.
Dartmouth College senior lecturer Marlene Elizabeth Heck explains the lifelong project Jefferson called his “essay in architecture” during the February edition of the First Wednesday lecture series presented by Brooks Memorial Library and the Vermont Humanities Council, on Feb. 1, at 7 p.m., at the library.
Heck's work focuses on the architectural and social history of America in the “Age of Jefferson.” She is particularly interested in vernacular building traditions and the way 18th-century building design was altered to respond to new social and cultural practices adopted during the early national period.
She is at work on a pair of articles on America's 18th-century Palladian architectural tradition, and has begun research for an architectural and social history of Portsmouth, N.H., in the years just following the Revolution. As a founding partner in the Austin, Texas-based cultural resource management firm of Hardy, Heck, Moore & Associates, she has conducted architectural surveys throughout the country.
All First Wednesdays events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact the library at 802-254-5290 or visit brookslibraryvt.org.