The Thomas Jefferson Foundation, owner and operator of Monticello, approaches restoration with three goals: improving authenticity, upgrading guest amenities, and broadening its educational mission. Following restoration, existing operations will be reorganized and moved away from the “mountaintop” to help re-create Jefferson’s world, as it was after his retirement from the presidency in 1809.

New facilities, including a new visitors center, auditorium and administrative complex, will go a long way toward reaching Foundation goals. “The challenge is ensuring that the quality of the proposed new construction must be equal to the quality of the extensive restoration work already completed,” says Mike Merriam, facilities director of the Foundation. Two projects, the Jefferson Library at Kenwood, which expands the International Center for Jefferson Studies, and Saunders Bridge, a true stone arch bridge, were completed in 2002.

Helping the new intertwine seamlessly with the old provides us with a glance into the past and into the future. Barton Malow is honored to help the Foundation restore and re-create this beloved and world-renowned site, host to more than 500,000 tourists every year.