The New York State Executive Mansion is the

official residence An official residence is the residence of a head of state, head of government, governor, religious leader, leaders of international organizations, or other senior figure. It may be the same place where they conduct their work-related functions. ...

of the

governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ha ...

. Located at 138 Eagle Street in Albany,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * ...

, it has housed governors and their families since 1875.

History

The building was constructed in 1856 as a private home in the

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italia ...

style for banker Thomas Olcott. During the 1860s, the residence was extensively remodeled by Robert L. Johnson, its second owner. Samuel Tilden became the first governor to reside in the house when he rented it in 1875, and the state purchased it two years later. After a fire in 1961, the possibility of building or purchasing a modern mansion uptown was considered, but Governor

Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky, was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. A member of ...

fought for restoration and was instrumental in getting the mansion named to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. In the early 1980s, the Executive Mansion Preservation Society was established to coordinate restoration of the home. Inmates from state prisons once staffed the mansion. Over the years, various governors have altered the mansion.

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

, for example, had a

gym A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational in ...

nasium constructed during his stay.

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As th ...

installed a

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built above ground (a ...

in 1932. It was subsequently filled in when its building was converted into a

greenhouse A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic conditions are grown.These ...

, but

Mario Cuomo Mario Matthew Cuomo (, ; June 15, 1932 – January 1, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 52nd governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party, Cuomo previously served as ...

had the pool restored during his tenure.

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was an American politician who served four terms as List of governors of New York, Governor of New York and was the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party's candidate for ...

had a zoo built, and Nelson Rockefeller added the mansion's

tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be u ...

s. Twenty-nine consecutive governors had used the building on a mostly full-time basis until Governor

George Pataki George Elmer Pataki (; born June 24, 1945) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 53rd governor of New York from 1995 to 2006. An attorney by profession, Pataki was elected mayor of his hometown of Peekskill, New York, and went o ...

. Former Governor

Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cuo ...

(who previously maintained his principal residence at the Lily Pond estate in

New Castle, New York New Castle is a town in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 18,311 in the 2020 United States census, an increase over 17,569 at the 2010 census. It includes the hamlets of Chappaqua and Millwood. History New Castle ...

, with former partner Sandra Lee) began to live in the mansion during the autumn of 2019. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, his three daughters quarantined at the residence. Governor

Kathy Hochul Kathleen Hochul ( ; née Courtney; born August 27, 1958) is an American politician serving as the 57th governor of New York since August 24, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she is New York's first female governor, as well as the first ...

and her husband William Hochul currently reside in the mansion along with her daughter Caitlin and her partner.

Green certification

In April 2009,

Michelle Paige Paterson Michelle R. Paige Paterson (born April 1, 1961 in Fairfield, California) was the First Lady of New York state. Then-wife of New York Governor David Paterson, she became the First Lady of New York on March 17, 2008, when her husband was sworn in as ...

, wife of Governor

David Paterson David Alexander Paterson (born May 20, 1954) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 55th governor of New York, succeeding Eliot Spitzer and serving out nearly three years of Spitzer's term from March 2008 to December 2010. A ...

, announced that as a result of efforts to "green" the operations and maintenance of the building and grounds, the mansion had earned a

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

(LEED) Gold certification from the

US Green Building Council The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), co-founded by Mike Italiano, David Gottfried and Rick Fedrizzi in 1993, is a private 501(c)3, membership-based non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in building design, construction, and op ...

. The mansion is the first governor's residence in the country to earn Gold status using the LEED for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) rating system. The project encompassed almost two years and was initiated by previous First Lady Silda Wall Spitzer.

Tours

Free guided tours of the Executive Mansion are given on Thursdays from September to June at 12:00, 1:00, and 2:00 p.m. by reservation only. Tours for school groups are also offered.

References

External links

New York State Executive Mansion
(official website)
New York State Executive Mansion Tour Program
* ''See also:'
''Accompanying 1 photo, exterior, from 1970''
{{Authority control

Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Historic house museums in New York (state) Museums in Albany, New York Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Houses completed in 1856 Houses in Albany County, New York National Register of Historic Places in Albany, New York Governor of New York (state)