The Alabama Governor's Mansion is the

official residence An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of th ...

of the

governor of Alabama A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

and the governor's family in Montgomery, the capital city of

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. The current Governor of Alabama,

Kay Ivey Kay Ellen Ivey ( ; born October 15, 1944) is an American politician who is the 54th governor of Alabama, serving since 2017. A Republican since 2002, Ivey was the 38th Alabama state treasurer from 2003 to 2011 and the 30th lieutenant governor o ...

lives at the governor's mansion. The original governor's mansion for Alabama was occupied from 1911 until 1950, when the current mansion was acquired. The current mansion was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on July 3, 1972.

First residence

The first official residence for Alabama's governor was acquired in 1911. Prior to that time, governors of the state lived in private homes or local

hotels A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a refr ...

during their terms of office. The first residence was built by Moses Sabel in 1906. The house, a Beaux Arts brownstone, was located on the southwest corner of South Perry and South Streets in Montgomery. It was purchased for use as an executive mansion by a special state commission, formed by an act of the

Alabama Legislature The Alabama Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is a bicameral body composed of the House of Representatives and Senate. It is one of the few state legislatures in which members of both cham ...

. This commission was authorized to contract for the construction, purchase, or improvement of a residence and the acquisition of grounds. The former Sabel home cost the state $46,500. Governor

Emmet O'Neal Emmet O'Neal (September 23, 1853 – September 7, 1922) was an American Democratic politician and lawyer who was the 34th Governor of Alabama from 1911 to 1915. He was a reformer in the progressive mold and is best known for securing the com ...

was the first to occupy the

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

and

Jim Folsom James Elisha "Big Jim" Folsom Sr. (October 9, 1908 – November 21, 1987) was an American politician who served as the 42nd governor of the U.S. state of Alabama, having served from 1947 to 1951, and again from 1955 to 1959. He was the first ...

was the last. The state relocated the official residence from this house to the former Robert Ligon, Jr. house in 1950. The old residence was then used as state offices for the Adjutant General and the Military Department until May 1959, when the property was sold to Montgomery Academy, a private secondary school. It was subsequently condemned and demolished in 1963 as part of the construction of

Interstate 85 Interstate 85 (I-85) is a major Interstate Highway in the Southeastern United States. Its southern terminus is at an interchange with I-65 in Montgomery, Alabama; its northern terminus is an interchange with I-95 in Petersburg, Virginia, ...

Current residence

The current official residence for the governor replaced the first executive mansion in 1950. Designed in the

Classical Revival Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassic ...

or Neoclassical style by the architect Weatherly Carter, it was built in 1907 for Robert Fulwood Ligon, Jr., son of General Robert Fulwood Ligon. The house was purchased by the state for $100,000, with an additional $130,000 spent on renovations and furnishings. Governor

Gordon Persons Seth Gordon Persons (February 5, 1902 – May 29, 1965) was an American Democratic politician who was the 43rd Governor of Alabama from 1951 to 1955. A relative moderate, Persons provided reforms to the state prison system, and limited po ...

and his family were the first to occupy the former Ligon home, assuming possession of it the day of his

inauguration In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inau ...

, January 15, 1951. The most prominent features of the exterior are a monumental Corinthian composite tetrastyle

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

at the front, recessed

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.05%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4.5%), or 0.25 for low carbon "mild" steel. Wrought iron is manufactured by heating and melting high carbon cast iron in an ...

balconies on the second level, and an elaborate Ionic

porte-cochère A porte-cochère (; ; ; ) is a doorway to a building or courtyard, "often very grand," through which vehicles can enter from the street or a covered porch-like structure at a main or secondary entrance to a building through which originally a ...

to one side. The interior features 17 primary rooms, with a double staircase leading from the entrance hall to the second level. A formal garden, surrounded by a high ornamental wall, originally covered the entire rear grounds of the property, which extends through the city block to South Court Street. These grounds now feature gardens, a large

pergola A pergola is most commonly used as an outdoor garden feature forming a shaded walkway, passageway, or sitting area of vertical posts or pillars that usually support crossbeams and a sturdy open lattice, often upon which woody vines are t ...

, a

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

in the shape of the state, a guest house, a stone grotto

water feature In landscape architecture and garden design, a water feature is one or more items from a range of fountains, jeux d'eau, pools, ponds, rills, artificial waterfalls, and streams. Before the 18th century they were usually powered by gravity ...

, and

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 Types of tennis match, doubles and singles matches. A variet ...

s. The entire property is surrounded by a wrought iron fence, with octagonal guard houses at the main gates. In 2003, Patsy Riley, wife of then-Governor

Bob Riley Robert Renfroe Riley (born October 3, 1944) is an American retired politician and businessman who served as the 52nd governor of Alabama from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he was the U.S. Hous ...

, coordinated an effort to renovate and reopen the Governor's Mansion to tourists. The mansion had been closed to tourism for almost a decade. She and her "First Lady and Friends of the Mansion" organization raised private funds and donations to finance this effort. It did not involve any taxpayer money.

References

External links

Alabama Governor's Mansion"George Wallace, Presidential Contender"
from

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American Cable television in the United States, cable and Satellite television in the United States, satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a Non ...

's '' The Contenders'', broadcast from the Alabama Governor's Mansion {{National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Montgomery, Alabama Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Alabama Governors' mansions in the United States State government buildings in Alabama Historic house museums in Alabama Neoclassical architecture in Alabama Beaux-Arts architecture in Alabama Houses completed in 1907 Museums in Montgomery, Alabama Houses in Montgomery, Alabama Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Alabama