The California Governor's Mansion is the

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

of the

governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, t ...

, located in

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, the capital of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Built in 1877, the estate was purchased by the Californian government in 1903 and has served as the executive residence for 14 governors. The mansion was occupied by governors between 1903–1967 and 2015–2019. Since 1967, the mansion has been managed by

California State Parks The California Department of Parks and Recreation, more commonly known as California State Parks, manages the California state parks system. The system administers 279 separate park units on 1.4 million acres (570,000 hectares), with over 280 ...

as the Governor's Mansion State Historic Park.

History

The thirty-room, three-story Second Empire-

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 Italian ...

Victorian mansion was built in 1877 for local hardware merchant Albert Gallatin, who sold it to businessman Joseph Steffens, the father of journalist

Lincoln Steffens Lincoln Austin Steffens (April 6, 1866 – August 9, 1936) was an American investigative journalist and one of the leading muckrakers of the Progressive Era in the early 20th century. He launched a series of articles in '' McClure's'', called " ...

, in 1887. In 1903, the State of California purchased the house to serve as the governor's mansion. Many furnishings remain from former governors, including Pardee's 1902

Steinway Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in Manhattan by German piano builder Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth led to the opening of a ...

piano, velvet chairs, and sofas belonging to Governor

Hiram Johnson Hiram Warren Johnson (September 2, 1866August 6, 1945) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 23rd governor of California from 1911 to 1917. Johnson achieved national prominence in the early 20th century. He was elected in 191 ...

, and

Persian rugs A Persian carpet ( fa, فرش ایرانی, translit=farš-e irâni ) or Persian rug ( fa, قالی ایرانی, translit=qâli-ye irâni ),Savory, R., ''Carpets'',(Encyclopaedia Iranica); accessed January 30, 2007. also known as Iranian ...

bought by the wife of

Earl Warren Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. The Warren Court presided over a major shift in American constitutio ...

State park

In 1967, ownership of the mansion was transferred from the Governor of California to

, establishing the Governor's Mansion California State Historic Park. Governor Reagan lived in the mansion for a few months while making arrangements for his own residence. He leased a home in East Sacramento's "Fabulous 40s" neighborhood at 1341 45th Street. Reagan set a precedent that was adopted by all subsequent California governors until 2015. In 1970, the mansion was designated as a "historic house museum" and opened to the public. From 1974 to 1975, during Reagan's tenure, a new executive mansion was constructed in the Casa de los Gobernadores neighborhood of Carmichael, a suburb of Sacramento. Reagan never resided in the mansion, as it was completed after his tenure as governor ended, and the mansion was subsequently sold by Reagan's successor,

Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of S ...

. Brown, during his first two terms as governor from 1975 to 1983, lived in a sparsely-furnished two-bedroom apartment at the Dean Apartments at 1400 N St. Governor's Mansion State Historic Park - second parlor

Governors

George Deukmejian Courken George Deukmejian Jr. (; June 6, 1928 – May 8, 2018) was an American politician who served as the 35th governor of California from 1983 to 1991. Of Armenian descent, Deukmejian was a member of the Republican Party and he also served ...

Pete Wilson Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 36th governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as a United States senator from California betw ...

, and

Gray Davis Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis Jr. (born December 26, 1942) is an American attorney and former politician who served as the 37th governor of California from 1999 to 2003. In 2003, only a few months into his second term, Davis was recalled and remov ...

all lived in different Carmichael residences. Governor

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

ordinarily commuted each day by private plane from his home in the Brentwood area of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

. When he would need to stay in Sacramento overnight, he would take a hotel suite at the

Hyatt Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational hospitality company headquartered in the Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts, and va ...

Regency Sacramento which is across the street from the

California State Capitol The California State Capitol is the seat of the California state government, located in Sacramento, the state capital of California. The building houses the chambers of the California State Legislature, made up of the Assembly and the Senate, a ...

. When Brown became governor again in 2011, he opted to live in a downtown loft. In July 2012, the Governor's Mansion was one of 70

proposed for closure as part of a deficit reduction program. Previously, it was also one of several state parks threatened with closure in 2008. These threatened closures were ultimately avoided by cutting hours and maintenance system-wide.

Renewed executive residence

In 2015, the mansion once again became the official residence of the governor of California as well as being a museum, when Governor Jerry Brown and his wife, Anne Gust Brown, moved into the governor's mansion after it underwent $4.1 million in renovations to update electrical and plumbing systems, as well as to remove lead-based paint and install a fire sprinkler system and other security features. In 2019, Governor

Gavin Newsom Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California f ...

and his family lived briefly in the mansion before taking up residence in a house purchased in the Sacramento suburb of Fair Oaks.

Stanford Mansion

The

Leland Stanford Mansion The Leland Stanford Mansion, often known simply as the Stanford Mansion, is a historic mansion and California State Park in Sacramento, California, which serves as the official reception center for the Californian government and as one of the o ...

, the former residence of

Leland Stanford Amasa Leland Stanford (March 9, 1824June 21, 1893) was an American industrialist and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 8th governor of California from 1862 to 1863 and represented California in the United States Sen ...

(8th Governor of California and founder of

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

), serves as the official reception house for the Californian government. It is often used by the governor for official receptions of foreign dignitaries and for ceremonial purposes. The Stanford Mansion also hosts an official office and working space for the governor.

Casa de los Gobernadores mansion

During 1974–1975, a new Governor's Mansion was built at 2300 California Avenue in the Casa de los Gobernadores neighborhood of Carmichael, a Sacramento suburb.() It was a one-story, hacienda-style, 11,984 square foot single-family home, 17 rooms with 8 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms. It is built on an 11.3-acre parcel that has a view of the

American River , name_etymology = , image = American River CA.jpg , image_size = 300 , image_caption = The American River at Folsom , map = Americanrivermap.png , map_size = 300 , map_caption ...

; the parcel was donated by friends of Governor Reagan. Reagan never resided in this new governor's mansion as it was completed after his term ended.

, who succeeded Reagan, refused to live in the mansion. In 1982, the erstwhile governor's mansion was sold by the state. It is now a private residence with no connection to the California state government.

References

External links

Official Governor's Mansion State Historic Park website

Parks.ca.gov: Online tour of the Historic Governor's Mansion
* ''Visiting... with

Huell Howser Huell Burnley Howser (October 18, 1945 – January 7, 2013) was an American television personality, actor, producer, writer, singer, and voice artist, best known for hosting, producing, and writing '' California's Gold'' and his human interest s ...

'
Episode 417
features a tour of the mansion by

Kathleen Brown Kathleen Lynn Brown (born September 25, 1945) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 29th Treasurer of California from 1991 to 1995. Brown unsuccessfully ran for Governor of California in the 1994 election. Early life and e ...

{{National Register of Historic Places in California Official residences in California California State Historic Parks Museums in Sacramento, California Historic house museums in California

Houses completed in 1877 Houses in Sacramento County, California California Historical Landmarks Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in California Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in California National Register of Historic Places in Sacramento, California Landmarks in Sacramento, California Parks in Sacramento County, California Protected areas established in 1970 Italianate architecture in California Second Empire architecture in California Victorian architecture in California 1970 establishments in California Gilded Age mansions