Madison's Temple - Montpelier Station VA - Gazebos on Waymarking.com

Mr. Madison's Temple was built over a 2-story ice well in the early 1800s on the front lawn of James and Dolley Madison's home, Montpelier. This majestic gazebo was placed on the left side of the mansion, so guests could view it from the north roof of the home. It was designed to reflect the classical architecture of ancient Rome. William Thornton, who was the architect of the nation's Capitol, drew up the original sketch.

Its construction began with the excavation for the ice well, a hole that was 24' deep and lined with bricks. The structure was built on top. It had brick pillars which were then covered with stucco to resemble marble columns.

Originally the gazebo had a entrance to the ice well at the base, but the grade of the property is higher than in Madison's day and the entrance is buried. Access is through a sealed trapdoor in the floor.

The structure was a cool place in the summer since it was over a icehouse. It is said that James intended to use it for a study, but never did.

Today, Madison's Temple is used as a symbol for Montpelier.

Reference: montpelier.org - Mr. Madison's Temple.

Seating Type: No Seating Location: North front lawn of Montpelier Materials Used: Other (Describe Below) Other Material Used: Brick, stucco

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Date Logged Log User Rating   03/12/2015 Sneakin Deacon visited it 07/14/2013 DocDTA visited it 12/15/2011 mblatch visited it

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