Poe's room: #13 West Range to get renovation
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Poe is celebrated with a plaque.photo by Hawes Spencer -
It's in the West Range on McCormick Avenue on the central Grounds.photo by Hawes Spencer -
A glass door lets visitors peer-- but not step-- inside room #13.photo by Hawes Spencer -
This floor will be refinished.photo by Hawes Spencer -
And the fireplace gets a new mantel.photo by Hawes Spencer -
Bonus photo: the Rotunda!photo by Hawes Spencer
The room reportedly inhabited by Edgar Allan Poe when he was a student at the University of Virginia is getting a makeover, thanks to a $15,000 grant won by the Raven Society, the group created over 100 years ago to celebrate the author's time at UVA.
The renovation, first reported by the Associated Press, will give the room, #13 West Range, a new paint job, a floor refinishing, and an upgraded audio system so visitors can continue to understand the college life of the gothic fictionier.
Poe matriculated at UVA in 1826, at the age of 17 and just six months before the death of University founder Thomas Jefferson. But money problems caused him to drop out. The only thing Poe ever wrote about his time in Charlottesville was "A Tale of the Ragged Mountains."
Note: Only the first photo ran in the printed version of this story. The others are an online bonus.
3 comments
I wonder if the Raven Society would be interested in saving the magnificent forest at Ragged Mountain ( soon to be demolished )
- known to be a favorite haunt of Poe during the time he attended the University.
Who did they "win" it from? The taxpayers?
Then, you're welcome.
The AP states it's a grant from an alumni association endowment. Poe is an important literary figure, having basically invented both the detective story and the modern short story form. He deserves to be commemorated.