The famous Rotunda the center of the University of Virginia is an important part of history. Thomas Jefferson built it as a library at the center of his small university. Since then, it has been transformed into the central focus of the school…but not after being used as a chem lab. (Yep.)
Renovations on the historic Rotunda began on May 19, 2014 and will conclude in Summer 2016. During these renovations, workers discovered a hidden gem inside one of the walls: a chemical hearth and workstation, sealed since the 1850s.
Thomas Jefferson’s original Rotunda was home to laboratory experiments and chemistry classes, each taking place in the Lower East Oval Room and lectures in the Lower West Oval Room.
The chemistry hearth contains two “fire boxes” that provided heat, as well as underground brick tunnels that fed air to the wood-burning and coal-burning furnaces.
According to the university, the (super-cool) chemical hearth will remain on display, even after the renovations are complete.
You won’t be able to make your own meth, but visitors can peek inside of the small lab and see the workstations that students used.
Now, one final question must be answered.
Did Thomas Jefferson just support education…or was he an old-school Walter White (a la Breaking Bad)?
