The cornerstone event is commemorated by a wall mounted plaque near Pavilion VII:
...On 6 October 1817, in the presence of Thomas Jefferson, James Madision, James Monroe, and many another distinguished citizen, was laid the cornerstone of this Pavilion, the first to be erected
of the group that was later to give visible form to Jefferson's architectural plan for the University of Virginia.
Jefferson's Academical Village, consisting of the Rotunda, the ten pavilions and the Lawn, is little changed with the exception of the south end of the Lawn. Until 1898 with the construction of what is now called Old Cabell Hall there was an unobstructed view of the mountains. Over the years the growth of the university has occurred outside of the Lawn preserving the Academical Village.
The pavilions were intended to house staff and their families on the upper floors with the first floor of each pavilion reserved for classrooms and teaching. Today nine of the ten pavilions are used as student housing and there is an application / selection process to fill the rooms that are available to students. Pavilion VII is the exception and serves as a faculty club known as the Colonnade Club.