The Governor's Mansion in

Shawnee, Oklahoma Shawnee () is a city in and the county seat of Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 29,857 in 2010, a 4.9 percent increase from the figure of 28,692 in 2000. The city is part of the Oklah ...

was built in 1903, on the speculation that Shawnee would be selected as the state capital and that this structure would become the Governor's official residence when Oklahoma became a state. However, Oklahoma did not attain statehood until 1907, and the Legislature chose Guthrie as the first capital, before naming Oklahoma City as the permanent state capital in 1910."Governor's Mansion (Giza House)". NRHP Inventory - Nomination Form.
Accessed September 13, 2015. The house was built in an area known as Shawnee's first neighborhood, "...where the first generation of merchants, town leaders and early professionals lived."
Accessed September 13, 2015. The house was never used as the Governor's Mansion. Once it was clear that Shawnee would not become the state capital, the mansion became just another private residence. It is also known as the Giza House, because it was once owned by Zygmund O. Giza. It is still considered a local landmark and local residents still refer to it as the Governor's Mansion. It was registered with 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 ...

in 1983.

Description

The footprint of the three-story house is about by . It sits on a city lot about in area. Most of the rooms have ceilings that are high. The house has a brick foundation, clapboard siding and a gabled wood shingle roof. The architectural style has been called neoclassical. The east and south sides of the house are decorated with

Ionic columns The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite ...

. The front has a bay window decorated with an open balcony on the first and second stories, which extends into a gable on the third story. The first two stories are rounded on the south end extend into a turret on the third story. A balcony across the second story on the front of the house extends from the bay window to the rounded portion of the house. Except for the windows in the gables, all other windows are double hung. Those in the gables are four by six fixed type style. The gable on the south side of the third floor is similar to the one on the front of the house. The north side of the house has a bay window on both the first and second stories that extend into a third-story gable. The second-story bay window is decorated with spindles. The north side of the house has an attached porte-cochere that is supported by

Doric columns The Doric order is one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of t ...

and decorated with two small gables.

Notes

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Oklahoma Houses in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma Houses completed in 1903 National Register of Historic Places in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma Governor of Oklahoma

Description

See also

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References