Illinois Executive Mansion
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Executive Mansion | |
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| Location | Springfield, IL |
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| Coordinates | 39°47′47.85″N 89°38′59.86″W / 39.7966250°N 89.6499611°WCoordinates: 39°47′47.85″N 89°38′59.86″W / 39.7966250°N 89.6499611°W |
| Built | 1855 |
| Architect | John Murray Van Osdel |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| Governing body | State |
| NRHP Reference # | 76000728 [1] |
| Added to NRHP | July 19, 1976 |
The Illinois Executive Mansion is the official residence of the Governor of Illinois. It is located at 410 E. Jackson Street in Springfield, Illinois and is open to tours on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings, free of charge. The Georgian style Mansion was designed by Chicago architect John M. Van Osdel. It recently underwent a three million dollar renovation. The Mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
The 16-room manor was completed in 1855 and was first occupied by governor Joel Matteson, who held the official grand opening on January 10, 1856. It is one of the oldest historic residences in the state of Illinois and one of the three oldest continuously occupied governor's mansions in the United States. The governors mansion is constructed in an "H" shaped configuration.
During the Christmas season the mansion is decorated lavishly with Christmas decorations, including over a dozen Christmas trees.
Although sometimes used for state functions such as state dinners and the like, the mansion proper is, for the most part, a historic site. The libraries, bedrooms, parlors, sitting rooms, etc. are maintained as they may have looked in the 19th century. The governor and his family are not expected to actually reside in the main mansion itself. Rather, a 7-room private apartment on the second floor of the mansion is provided for the governor and his family.
Former Illinois Governor George Ryan and First Lady Lura Lynn Ryan refurbished much of the mansion's furniture during their tenure using private donations.[2]
In 2009, newly elevated Governor Pat Quinn announced that he was looking forward to living in the mansion, calling it "the people's house.",[3] in contrast to his predecessor, Rod Blagojevich, who continued to live in his Ravenswood, Chicago home while commuting via state plane to Springfield and preferred to execute his gubernatorial duties from within his home and, less commonly, the Governor's office in Chicago's Thompson Center.[4]
Notes
- ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23.
- ↑ Angelo, Phil (2011-06-29). "Lura Lynn Ryan: State's former first lady was 'June Cleaver without the pearls". Daily Journal (Illinois). Retrieved 2011-07-15.
- ↑ http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/illinoisnews/story/85FA7F9053846C2E8625754E00156C4E?OpenDocument
- ↑ McDermott, Kevin; Kari Andren (January 30, 2009). "Rod Blagojevich removed from office by unanimous vote of Illinois Senate". St. Louis Today. Retrieved January 30, 2009.
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