The Pennsylvania Governor's Residence 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 Pennsylvania The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

, located in the

Uptown Uptown may refer to: Neighborhoods or regions in several cities United States * Uptown, Chicago, Illinois * Uptown Manhattan, New York City, New York * Uptown, Richmond, Virginia * Uptown, Dallas, Texas * Uptown, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania * Upt ...

neighborhood of

Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...

, Pennsylvania (PA).

Description and usage

The neo-Georgian residence was built from 1966 to 1968 and designed by George M. Ewing, heading an architectural firm in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. The mansion was only used for official functions and meetings during Governor

Tom Wolf Thomas Westerman Wolf (born November 17, 1948) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 47th governor of Pennsylvania from 2015 to 2023. He previously served as chairman and CEO of his business, The Wolf Organization, and l ...

's administration because he commuted from his private residence in nearby Mount Wolf. Incumbent Governor

Josh Shapiro Joshua David Shapiro (born June 20, 1973) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as the 48th governor of Pennsylvania since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was the attorney general of Pen ...

and his family have resided in the Governor's Residence since 2023. The Pennsylvania Governor’s Residence is a home. The seven-bay brick front has a wide projecting

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

ed central bay, in which a

Palladian window Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Republic of Venice, Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetr ...

perches on a pedimented doorway. The mansion is home to two

Steinway Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in New York City by German piano builder Henry E. Steinway, Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth le ...

grand pianos used for concerts and to entertain dinner guests. Every holiday season, the house is open for special tours. 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 ...

is adjacent to the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...

, and flooding has proven to be a significant hazard. Water intrusion in the basement area is a frequent issue, and the mansion has been evacuated three times since its construction due to serious inundation. The first and most serious time was during

Hurricane Agnes Hurricane Agnes was the List of costliest Atlantic hurricanes, costliest hurricane to hit the United States at the time, causing an estimated $2.1 billion in damage. The hurricane's death toll was 128. The effects of Agnes were widespread, ...

in 1972; then-Governor

Milton Shapp Milton Jerrold Shapp (born Milton Jerrold Shapiro; June 25, 1912 – November 24, 1994) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 40th governor of Pennsylvania from 1971 to 1979 and the first Jewish governor of Pennsylvania. He ...

and his wife, Muriel, evacuated for the weekend and returned by boat to inspect the flooded damage, shown in a common photograph at the time. The most recent was 2011 during

Tropical Storm Lee The name Lee has been used for eight tropical cyclones worldwide. In the Atlantic: * Tropical Storm Lee (2005), a short-lived, minimal tropical storm that did not affect land * Tropical Storm Lee (2011), a strong tropical storm that made landfal ...

. In 2021, following years of planning, a $1.9 million renovation began on the courtyard to restore more greenspace, amenities, and accessibility.

2025 arson attack

At approximately 2:00 a.m. on April 13, 2025, an arsonist set fire to the residence. Governor

and his family were safely evacuated, however, the southern portion of the residence sustained significant damage. Later that day, Cody Allen Balmer, a 38-year-old former mechanic from nearby

Penbrook, Pennsylvania Penbrook is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States, founded in 1861 and incorporated July 10, 1894. Penbrook was once named East Harrisburg and still maintains a Harrisburg postal ZIP code. The population was 3,268 at the 2020 ...

, turned himself in and was charged with terrorism, attempted murder, aggravated arson, and aggravated assault. Balmer reported that he "harbor dhatred" towards the governor and was planning to physically assault Governor Shapiro using a small

sledgehammer A sledgehammer is a tool with a large, flat, massive, often metal head, attached to a long wooden or solid handle. The long handle is combined with a heavy head which allows the sledgehammer to pick up momentum during a swing and applying a large ...

had he encountered him. Following Balmer's arrest, his mother Christie Balmer told

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...

that her son has

schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...

and

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...

and claimed that he "went off his medication." The attack occurred on the first night of

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Biblical Egypt, Egypt. According to the Book of Exodus, God in ...

, around 2 am, just hours after Shapiro and his family had partaken in a

Passover Seder The Passover Seder is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar (i.e., at the start of the 15th; a Hebrew d ...

. Balmer told police that he used two

Molotov cocktails A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see '') is a hand-thrown incendiary weapon consisting of a frangible container filled with flammable substances and equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with flammable l ...

to set the residence on fire.

References

External links

Governor's Residence website

The Governors Residence
{{US Governor Mansions Houses completed in 1968 Governors' mansions in the United States

Residence A residence is a place (normally a building) used as a home or dwelling, where people reside. Residence or The Residence may also refer to: * Domicile (law) In law and conflict of laws, domicile is relevant to an individual's "personal l ...

Buildings and structures in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Landmarks in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Government buildings in Pennsylvania Houses in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania Historic house museums in Pennsylvania Museums in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania