Executive Mansion (Virginia)

Governor's Mansion

Virginia Executive Mansion on July 10, 2011
Location Richmond, Virginia
Coordinates 37°32′19″N 77°25′57″W / 37.53861°N 77.43250°W / 37.53861; -77.43250Coordinates: 37°32′19″N 77°25′57″W / 37.53861°N 77.43250°W / 37.53861; -77.43250
Built 1811 (1811)
Architect Parris, Alexander; Thompkins, Christopher
Architectural style Federal
NRHP Reference # 69000360[1]
VLR # 127-0057
Significant dates
Added to NRHP June 4, 1969
Designated NHL June 7, 1988[2]
Designated VLR November 5, 1968[3]

The Virginia Governor's Mansion, better known as the Executive Mansion, is located in Richmond, Virginia, on Capitol Square and serves as the official residence of the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Designed by Alexander Parris, it is the oldest occupied governor's mansion in the United States. It has served as the home of Virginia governors and their families since 1813. This mansion is both a Virginia and a National Historic Landmark, and has had a number of successive renovations and expansions during the 20th century. Adjacent and immediately north of Capitol Square is the Court End neighborhood, which houses the White House of the Confederacy. During the Civil War, Virginia's statehouse, also in Richmond, housed offices of the Confederacy.

History

The Executive Mansion in 1905

When Richmond became the capital of Virginia during 1779, there was no residence for the governor, but Thomas Jefferson rented one. The state was so poor that it could not pay the rent in time and blamed Jefferson for the problem. The state finally paid its rent and built a residence for the governor on the site of the present building.

The law that provided for the construction of the current building was signed on February 13, 1811 by James Monroe, with the building being completed in 1813. He was succeeded by George William Smith. Smith, however, was not the first governor to live in the mansion because he lost his life in the Richmond Theatre fire while he was saving others on December 26, 1811.[4] His successor, James Barbour, was the first governor to live in the mansion. The term "mansion" was not used in the law authorizing it to be built, but it has been used ever since.

The gardens were redesigned in the 1950s, at the request of Governor Thomas B. Stanley, by noted landscape architect Charles Gillette.[5] Under Governor James S. Gilmore III, the Mansion was renovated and expanded in an effort to restore the home to its historical appearance but also to bring the Mansion into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and to provide additional living space for the First Family.

Currently, Governor Terry McAuliffe occupies the mansion. Governor Tim Kaine's wife, Anne Holton, lived in the mansion during the 1970s when her father, A. Linwood Holton Jr., was governor. (Thomas Jefferson's daughter Martha Jefferson Randolph, known as "Patsy", was married to Virginia Governor Thomas Mann Randolph Jr. but never lived in the Mansion).

It was featured on American Idol (season 5) when Kaine and his wife, Anne Holton, welcomed Richmond-native and Idol-finalist Elliott Yamin and his family to the mansion on national television.

Restoration and remodeling work on the Mansion was shown on Bob Vila's Home Again television show's tenth season, which aired in early 2000.

The Mansion's most notable television appearance occurred on January 31, 2006, when recently inaugurated Governor Tim Kaine delivered the Democratic response to the 2006 State of the Union address. The address was delivered from the Mansion's historic ballroom.

Tours of the mansion are offered several days a week.

Plaque that is at the gate of the mansion, describing its history.

Distinguished visitors

References

  1. ↑ National Park Service (2008-04-15). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ "Virginia Governor's Mansion". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
  3. ↑ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  4. ↑ "Richmond Theatre Fire - December 26, 1811". Richmond Times-Dispatch. 2009-01-26.
  5. ↑ Library of Virginia: About the Charles F. Gillette Photograph Collection
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