Thomas Hope: Regency Designer Book

I am not a fan of Jefferson. No doubt he was a talented individual, no doubt he played a great part in founding our country and expanding our territory. However, while all heroes or great personalities have faults, I find Jefferson's duplicity in general and underhandedness, particularly during Washington's administration distasteful and at odds with my personal moral compass. I consider Jefferson to be our first modern politician; saying one thing while meaning another and constantly politicking.

That having been said, I am a fan of architecture and as one who has wondered about how our "Federal City" and its buildings came to be, I was intrigued by the liner notes in Hugh Howard's book. I was not dissapointed. While Jefferson plays an important part in the narrative, Dr. Kimball takes the top billing here. His personality and resourcefulness are captivating and his talent at detective work is fascinating. This is a man with the tenacity of a bull terrier once he is on the trail with but a scent of the quarry.

As a result, we follow Kimball's route as he trips across small clues and pieces together the story of Jefferson's part in and the developing school of the first truly American architects. It is always a wonder to me that so many priceless artifacts such as Jefferson's sketches, the original drawings submitted for the "Capitol" contest, Latrobe's waterworks and so many others were, in the case of the drawings, simply filed away helter skelter or in the case of many of the constructed "firsts", simply knocked down with little thought. While understanding that preservation is a modern idea, it boggles the mind thinking of how much we have lost!

There is a great story to tell about the Washington and Jefferson memorials as well as Monticello and Mount Vernon, interesting life stories about our first "builders" and first real "architects" as defined currently and it is all here.

A wonderful book and a wonderful life story of Sidney Fiske Kimball.