PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT


PUBLIC IS INVITED TO VIEW ANTIQUE FIRE EQUIPMENT AND PARTICIPATE IN
ROTUNDA FIRE COMMEMORATION AT U.VA. NOV. 5

	As part of the University of Virginia's centennial
commemoration of the historic fire that gutted the landmark Rotunda,
the public is invited to a special colorful display and
demonstration of rare antique fire equipment on Sunday, Nov. 5.  The
University will thank Charlottesville firefighters for 100 years of
dedicated service, and more than 100 firefighters and their
families, as well city and University officials, are expected to
attend the event.

	At 3:15 p.m. a turn-of-the-century horse-drawn fire truck
will arrive at the Library Quadrangle in front of Alderman Library.
Firefighters in period costume will demonstrate the antique
equipment and explain how similar equipment was used to fight the
catastrophic fire that struck the Rotunda on Oct. 27, 1895.  The
fire pumper, owned by the Charlottesville Fire Department, has never
been displayed in public before.  [The demonstration will take place
rain or shine under a large tent in front of the library.]

	University student guides in period costume also will be on
hand from 3:15 to 6 p.m. to offer "living tours" and answer
questions about University life in that era. In addition, the
University Guides have prepared a special program for children
attending the event.

	In Alderman Library's McGregor Room, a special historical
exhibition, "Arise and Build!:  A Centennial Commemoration of the
1895 Rotunda Fire," will be on display.  The exhibit will be open to
the public from 3:15 p.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 5.  It is also on display
currently through Jan. 6, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through
Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.  The exhibition, drawn
largely from the libraryÕs Special Collections, features Holsinger
StudioÕs photographs of the fire, newspaper accounts, official
papers, plans and drawings for the White restoration, as well as
artifacts and other photos.  JeffersonÕs original drawings for the
Rotunda, other early descriptions and images, and a brief survey of
the 1973-76 restoration of the Rotunda to JeffersonÕs original
design also are included.

	The Rotunda fire was one of the worst catastrophes in the
University's history but one that ultimately changed the course of a
small, struggling institution.  The great fire gutted the landmark
domed building that Thomas Jefferson designed to be the centerpiece
and library of the University he founded. The fire that ravaged one
of the greatest achievements of American architecture on a Sunday
morning 100 years ago brought students, faculty and townspeople
running in a valiant effort to save the UniversityÕs book
collection.  Fire companies from throughout Central Virginia fought
in vain to prevent the building from being totally engulfed; only
its outer shell was undestroyed.

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October 25, 1995