Monticello was the primary residence of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, which he designed himself and on which grounds he was buried. It was not just an estate, but also a plantation with around 130 enslaved African Americans working on its grounds. Due to its historical and architectural significance, the place is now a National Historic Landmark and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
At Monticello, the visitors can admire the unique architecture of the estate, which Jefferson has been designing, dismantling, and reimagining for around 40 years. They can take a tour around the house and explore the interiors in which Jefferson worked and lived with his family. More about the president’s personality and lifestyle can be discovered through the artifacts preserved at the house. A tour of the gardens provides both magnificent views and an overview of how a plantation was managed and how the slaves lived and worked.
The Monticello Explorer website offers an interactive tour around the estate and plantation. It gives a good feel of the location and provides a lot of useful visual and textual information about the place. However, from a technological point of view, the website has serious disadvantages. It uses Adobe Flash Player, which eats a lot of memory and requires additional installation, and the graphics and quality of materials are low.
After having an interactive tour, I can say that Monticello is definitely a place that I would like to visit someday. To me, the architectural value of the place has the most appeal, and I would like to admire Jefferson’s design in real life. I also believe that walking around the plantation would help better understand and live through the history of slavery and the experience of African Americans working there.