Governor's Mansion State Historic Park

California Governor's Mansion
Location 1526 H St, Sacramento, California
Coordinates 38°34′48″N 121°29′05″W / 38.58000°N 121.48472°W / 38.58000; -121.48472Coordinates: 38°34′48″N 121°29′05″W / 38.58000°N 121.48472°W / 38.58000; -121.48472
Built 1877
Architect Nathaniel D. Goodell
Architectural style Second Empire-Italianate
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 official home of the Governor of California. It housed thirteen governors and their families from 1903 to 1967 and began housing its fourteenth governor in 2015.[3] The mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Located at 1526 H Street in Sacramento, the mansion has now returned to being the official residence for the state governor and will still be used 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 governor to reside there for nearly 50 years. The mansion resumed its role as an official residence in 2015, when Governor Jerry Brown moved into the property with his wife.[4]

History

The thirty-room, three story 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 the wife of Earl Warren. The structure has been renovated a number of times over the years. In 1967 after the Reagans moved out, the mansion was turned into a museum and opened to the public. The third floor of the mansion has been closed to the public since the 1990s.

Avoidance by later governors

The Governor's Mansion was not occupied by state governors between 1967 and 2015. In 1974, an alternative governor's residence was constructed in the Sacramento suburb of Carmichael and was completed just as Reagan left office. Jerry Brown, who succeeded Reagan, refused to live in the large residence, and it was sold by the state in 1982. Instead, Brown lived in a sparsely furnished apartment 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.[5]

George Deukmejian, Pete Wilson, and Gray Davis all lived in different Carmichael residences. Arnold Schwarzenegger stayed in a hotel suite at the 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.[6]

The former Carmichael house is now in a gated community called La Casa de los Gobernadores in Carmichael. It is located next to Ancil Hoffman Golf Course.[7] The home overlooks the American River (38°36′20″N 121°19′17″W / 38.60556°N 121.32139°W / 38.60556; -121.32139 ).

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.[8] 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.[9]

Returned as Official Residence

It was announced on October 16, 2015, that Governor Brown, in his fourth term, would be moving into the Governor's Mansion in late-2015 or early-2016 following extensive renovations. He is the first governor to reside there since Ronald Reagan in 1967.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "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. ↑ "Mansion History". California State Parks. Retrieved 2012-01-21.
  4. ↑ http://www.capradio.org/articles/2015/12/17/first-family-moves-into-california-governors-mansion
  5. ↑ Goldmacher, Shane (December 22, 2010). "Jerry Brown chooses a trendy loft near the Capitol". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 January 2011.
  6. ↑ Halper, Evan; Rothfeld, Michael (2008-03-07). "This puts your commute to shame". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  7. ↑ http://www.insidepublications.com/IMC%200802/pdf_articles/2004_Stories/Sept04/Carmichale%20Gov%20Mansion%20Tour%200904.pdf[]
  8. ↑ "State Parks Announces Closures" (PDF) (Press release). California State Parks. 2011-05-13. Retrieved 2011-09-24.
  9. ↑ 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.

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