Courtyard

The center's central Courtyard—an open space with covered walkways along its perimeter—is an ideal place for visitors to gather and relax.

The Courtyard features the Lockhart Entrance Terrace, a glass- and wood-roofed space; the Joanne B. Robinson Garden and the Walther Garden, each with planting rows based on those in Monticello's Vegetable Garden; four honey locust trees to provide shade; the Halsey Water Garden, which evokes West Lawn's Fish Pond; and a three-dimensional, 9½-foot by 5½-foot bronze scale model of Jefferson's entire Monticello plantation.

All five of the center's pavilions are accessible from the Courtyard.