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Texas Governor's Mansion

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Governor's Mansion
The Texas Governor's Mansion in 2006.
Location1010 Colorado St., Austin, Texas, USA
Built1855
ArchitectAbner Cook
Architectural styleGreek Revival
NRHP reference No.70000896
Significant dates
Added to NRHPAugust 25, 1970[1]
Designated NHLDecember 2, 1974[2]

The Texas Governor's Mansion, also known simply as Governor's Mansion is a historic home for the Governor of Texas in downtown Austin, Texas. It was built in 1854, designed by prominent architect Abner Cook, and has been the home of every governor since 1856.

On June 8, 2008, while midway through a major renovation, the mansion was heavily damaged by an arson fire started with a Molotov cocktail.

History

The mansion is the oldest continuously inhabited house in Texas and fourth oldest governor's mansion in the United States that has been continuously occupied by a chief executive. The mansion was the first-designated Texas historic landmark, in 1962.[3] It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places as "Governor's Mansion" in 1970, and further was declared a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1974.[2][3]

Original Architecture

Built by Abner Cook in a Greek Revival style and completed in 1856, the building occupies the center of a block and is surrounded by trees and gardens. The original mansion was 6,000 square feet (560 m2). Remodeling in 1914 increased the size of the mansion to 8,920 square feet (829 m2). The original mansion had 11 rooms but no bathrooms. The remodeling brought the room count to 25 rooms and 7 bathrooms.

2008 fire

The mansion was partially destroyed by a four-alarm fire in the early morning of June 8, 2008. Current Texas Governor Rick Perry and First Lady Anita Perry were in Europe at the time of the fire. They had moved out in October 2007 for a $10 million major deferred maintenance project that began in January 2008. The project was to include a fire suppression system.[4] State Fire Marshal Paul Maldonado said the following Sunday that investigators have evidence that an arsonist targeted the 152-year-old building.

On February 2nd 2011 Chief Tony Leal, an assistant director of the Texas Rangers, announced that a person of interest has been identified that is connected to an Austin-based anarchist group which has also been linked to an attack (involving Molotov cocktails) which was planned for the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis in September 2008.[5] An official close to the investigation said agents determined the fire was a criminal act after reviewing footage from security cameras." A restoration is under way, but is not expected to be done until 2012.[6]

Restoration

In May 2009, $22 million was allocated to the restoration the Governor's Mansion, $11 million of which came from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. An additional $3.4 million has been raised through private fund raising.[7] The restoration area, which includes the mansion and the adjacent segment of Colorado street, has been closed off from the public with a chain-link fence and barbed wire, and is currently monitored by state troopers at all times.

Notes

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. ^ a b "Governor's Mansion (Austin)". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
  3. ^ a b Chambers, Allen (August 14, 1974). "Template:PDFlink" (Document). National Park Service. and Template:PDFlink
  4. ^ "Governor's Mansion burns; arson possible". Austin News KXAN.com. 2008-06-08. Retrieved 2008-06-08.
  5. ^ "DPS Identifies Persons of Interest in Mansion Fire". The Texas Tribune texastribune.org. 2011-02-17. Retrieved date=2011-02-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Missing pipe in: |accessdate= (help)
  6. ^ Hoppe, Christy, and Emily Ramshaw (2008-06-08). "Fire marshal says Texas Governor's Mansion blaze appears deliberate". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 2008-06-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/05/22/0522mansion.html

References

  • "The Texas Governor's Mansion," The Magazine Antiques, July 2006.
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