Governor's Mansion State Historic Park

California Governor's Mansion
Location Sacramento, California
Coordinates 38°34′48″N 121°29′05″W / 38.58000°N 121.48472°WCoordinates: 38°34′48″N 121°29′05″W / 38.58000°N 121.48472°W
Built 1877
Architect Nathaniel D. Goodell
Architectural style Second Empire-Italianate
Governing body State of California
NRHP Reference # 70000139 [2]
CHISL # 823[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP 10 November 1970
Designated CHISL August 10, 1974

Governor's Mansion State Historic Park is the location of Historic Governor's Mansion of California, the former official home of the Governor of California. It housed 13 governors and their families from 1903 to 1967.[3] The mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Located at 1526 H Street in Sacramento, the mansion is now used primarily for public and state ceremonies and events. George Pardee was the first governor to live in the house; Ronald Reagan, who lived in it for only four months, was the last.[3]

History

The thirty-room Second Empire-Italianate Victorian mansion was built in 1877 for local hardware merchant Albert Gallatin. The State of California purchased the house in 1903 to serve as a governor's mansion. Many furnishings remain from former governors, including Pardee's 1902 Steinway piano, velvet chairs and sofas belonging to Governor Hiram Johnson, and Persian rugs bought by Mrs. Earl Warren. The structure has been renovated a number of times. Some rooms are closed.

Avoidance by later governors

Currently, the state of California does not have an official residence or mansion for its governor. The state had built a governor's residence in the Sacramento suburb of Carmichael, which was completed just as Reagan left office. Jerry Brown, who succeeded Reagan, refused to live in the house and it was sold by the state in 1982. Brown lived in a sparsely furnished "bachelor pad" during his first two terms as Governor from 1975 to 1983. When Brown became Governor again in 2011, he opted to live in a 1,450-square-foot (135 m2) downtown loft.[4]

George Deukmejian, Pete Wilson, and Gray Davis all lived in different Carmichael residences. Arnold Schwarzenegger stayed in a hotel suite (Hyatt Regency Sacramento) near the Capitol when he was in Sacramento, but ordinarily commuted each day by private plane from his home in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles.[5]

The former Carmichael mansion is now a gated community called La Casa de los Gobernadores in Carmichael. It is located next to Ancil Hoffman Golf Course, the 11,000–12,000-square-foot (1,000–1,100 m2) home is located at the end of (6232) Gobernadores Lane and accessed via a gate at 2300 California Avenue.[6] The home overlooks the American River (38°36′20″N 121°19′17″W / 38.60556°N 121.32139°W ).

Proposed for closure

The Governor's Mansion was one of 70 California state parks proposed for closure by July 2012 as part of a deficit reduction program.[7] It was previously one of several state parks threatened with closure in 2008. Those closures were ultimately avoided by cutting hours and maintenance system-wide.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Governor's Mansion". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved 2012-10-11.
  2. ↑ "California (CA), Sacramento County: California State Capitol". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 20 July 2010. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Mansion History". California State Parks. Retrieved 2012-01-21.
  4. ↑ Goldmacher, Shane (December 22, 2010). "Jerry Brown chooses a trendy loft near the Capitol". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
  5. ↑ Halper, Evan; Rothfeld, Michael (2008-03-07). "This puts your commute to shame". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  6. ↑ http://www.insidepublications.com/IMC%200802/pdf_articles/2004_Stories/Sept04/Carmichale%20Gov%20Mansion%20Tour%200904.pdf[]
  7. ↑ "State Parks Announces Closures" (Press release). California State Parks. 2011-05-13. Retrieved 2011-09-24.
  8. ↑ McGreevy, Patrick; Sahagun, Louis (2009-09-26). "State parks to stay open, but with cuts in hours, staffing". Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, Calif.). Retrieved 2011-12-30.

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Governor's Mansion State Historic Park.