A bit of history, an anniversery & fireworks! (PAH)

hot_rod

That's right. I'm giving my bride a silver & black Munchkin for our 25th. She'd better like it too(G). I'll park that little beauty between the Revolution and Opus. What a gift, what a guy!

Hey Wallsters, we spent the 4th at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello (home in VA) in 400 degree heat and witnessed the coolest ceremony. 77 new USA citizens representing 37 countries took their solemn oath of allegience to this great land under a blistering sun and administered to them by the most stately southern Judge you'd ever want to see & hear. Silver tongue, that one. Lump in throat as the band struck up patriotic tunes & the Boy and Girl Scouts presented the colors for the Pledge as the newest citizens (and the rest of us) joined together in one voice.

Off to tour the home & the A/C was cranking. My tour consisted of finding the source (well concealed) for the A/C in each room & checking out the antique privies (6 in total). A 16' deep ice room for cool drinks in mid-summer's heat!

A nice tour of UVA (self guided) to discover more mechanical wonders tucked neatly out of plain view. Ahhhhhh, mixing new with the old & a modern wonder was the workmanship of those mechanics as they wound the threads of cool air through those venerable structures. Out of sight & out of mind for those unaware of the intricate challenges we face in delicate installations. Made me proud to be a contractor. As for my family? They were studying really boring historical stuff while I was in seventh heaven studying the Dead Men's unspoken and unrecorded history written plainly for all to see - at least those mechanically attentive.

Off to a wedding (why we were there) & then off to a glorious display of fireworks. What a country!

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John R. Hall

Gosh Dave

You are such a romantic!

Did the home have a Unico system in it?

Steamhead

I've seen UVA

and agree it's beautiful- Monticello too. How did the Dead Men heat those lovely buildings?

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Wayco Wayne

I love Montecello

Went last year to show my son around. He tried to act bored but didn't succeed. He couldn't wait to find the dumwaiter, and the letter copying machine, or the cannonball clock, (modified for a different height by cutting a hole through the floor so the cannon ball on a rope could go through to the cellar. Ole Thomas sure could think outside the box.) Like Dave said the mechanical is there. Look at this Kitchen in the cellar, over 200 years old with a sprinkler pipe runnig through it. Did TJ teach his slaves to thread pipe or is it new stuff? WW

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hot_rod

heating

mit schteam, but foist deh used fireplaces!

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hot_rod

No way, Jose

They used conwentional ductwerk (in a twisted sort of way) - installesd in 1953. The emphasis was evidently on keeping it out of sight and not letting it interfere with historical correctness. It's gotta be a chilled water system, as there was not a bit, or whisper, of noise eminating around the home's exterior.

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hot_rod

Ham!

Smoked ham. A wine tasting every day just before dinner, hard cider every morning - what's not to like about being Thomas Jefferson?

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Wayco Wayne

Dave

Did you see the Privey that had a clay tile pipe buried and running up the side of the hill to the floor of the privey. TJ had this done to create a draft to cleanse the air of oderiferous vapours. A byproduct of this experiment was an air conditioned privey. The air traveling through the pipe gathered coolth from the pipe and kept the privey 70 degrees in the middle of the Summer. What a guy our 3rd pres. was. WW

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hot_rod

And, for a buck a month

you could "volunteer" to clean out the privy! From what I read, that was a sought after job - yikes.

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John R. Hall

Joisy Monticello

I'm thinking of the Monticello home that was recreated in New Jersey. I believe they used a Unico system.

John R. Hall

Here is Web site

I finally found this in my dusty files:

http://www.21stcenturymonticello.com/