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Unitarian Universalist Church

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1947–1950, Stanislaw Makielski. 717 Rugby Rd.
  • (Photograph by Mark Mones)
  • Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Church (Richard Guy Wilson)
  • (Photograph by Mark Mones)
  • (Photograph by Mark Mones)

An elegant tapered steeple of interlocking spirals tops the large concave entrance portico of the church. The portico is an enlarged version of Pavilion IX at the university. The complex, intricate geometry of the steeple is reminiscent of the work of seventeenth-century Italian Baroque architects Francesco Borromini and Guarino Guarini. The familiar presented with an eccentric twist is a theme in the work of Makielski, an early graduate of the university's architecture program, later a faculty member, and an area architect. In Autumn 2020, the congregation voted to remove "Thomas Jefferson" from the church's name following months of discussion and prompted a national conversation about systemic racism taking place across the United States. The congregation is holding a series of "cottage conversations" to determine new name. 

Writing Credits

Author: 
Richard Guy Wilson et al.
Updated By: 
Gabrielle Esperdy
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Data

Timeline

  • 2020

    The words "Thomas Jefferson" are removed from the congregation's name.

What's Nearby

Citation

Richard Guy Wilson et al., "Unitarian Universalist Church", [Charlottesville, Virginia], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/VA-01-CH34.

Print Source

Buildings of Virginia: Tidewater and Piedmont, Richard Guy Wilson and contributors. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002, 162-162.

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