The Governor's Mansion is the official home of the governor of the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

state of Georgia Georgia is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee and North Carolina; to the northeast by South Carolina; to the southeast by the Atlantic Ocean; to the south by Florida; and to the west by ...

. 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 located at 391 West

Paces Ferry Through much of the 19th century, Pace's Ferry was an important ferry across the Chattahoochee River near Atlanta. Started in the early 1830s near Peachtree Creek, it was run by Hardy Pace, one of the city's founders. It was an important transpor ...

Road NW, in the Tuxedo Park neighborhood of the affluent

Buckhead Buckhead is the uptown commercial and residential district of the city of Atlanta, Georgia, comprising approximately the northernmost fifth of the city. Buckhead is the third largest business district within the Atlanta city limits, behind Downt ...

district of

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Construction

The current Governor's Mansion is on property that belonged to former Atlanta mayor

Robert Maddox Robert Foster Maddox (April 4, 1870 – 1965) was the 41st Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia. Biography Maddox was born on April 4, 1870 to Robert Flournoy Maddox, an early Atlanta settler and war hero. He was educated in public school, and then at ...

(no relation to

Lester Maddox Lester Garfield Maddox Sr. (September 30, 1915 – June 25, 2003) was an American politician who served as the 75th governor of the U.S. state of Georgia from 1967 to 1971. A populist Democrat, Maddox came to prominence as a staunch segregationis ...

), who owned a large English Tudor-style home on the site. A

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

destroyed a large part of the house and Mr. Maddox sold the property to the state. The remainder of the home was

demolish Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a bu ...

ed to construct the current mansion. The Governor's Mansion is a three-

level Level or levels may refer to: Engineering *Level (instrument), a device used to measure true horizontal or relative heights *Spirit level, an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal or vertical *Canal pound or level *Regr ...

, 30-room,

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

style home built in 1967. It stands on approximately 18 acres (73,000 m²) on historic West Paces Ferry Road in north-northwest Atlanta. It was designed by Georgia architect A. Thomas Bradbury and officially opened on January 1, 1968. In 1975, the mansion was heavily damaged in a

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

that struck west and then north Atlanta on the morning of March 24, occurring just a week after Governor Busbee moved in after 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 inaugu ...

, and necessitating a

renovation Renovation (also called remodeling) is the process of improving broken, damaged, or outdated structures. Renovations are typically done on either commercial or residential buildings. Additionally, renovation can refer to making something new, ...

. It also led to the tornado being called the "governor's tornado", the worst to hit the city until the 2008 storm that hit downtown. Later in 2008, the front

door A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide security b ...

was damaged by

during another renovation on the afternoon of September 11. The

Atlanta Fire Department The Atlanta Fire Rescue Department provides fire protection and first responder emergency medical services to the city of Atlanta, Georgia. The department is responsible for an area of with over 519,000 residents. As of January 21, 2021, the Fi ...

quickly extinguished the fire, and determined through

thermal imaging Infrared thermography (IRT), thermal video and/or thermal imaging, is a process where a thermal camera captures and creates an image of an object by using infrared radiation emitted from the object in a process, which are examples of infrared i ...

that the fire had not spread inside the wall. Few people were present and nobody was injured, as it was after work hours, and the governor and his wife were away.

Exterior

The house covers 24,000 square feet (2,200 m²) and has a total of 30 Doric columns around the

porch A porch (from Old French ''porche'', from Latin ''porticus'' "colonnade", from ''porta'' "passage") is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance of a building. A porch is placed in front of the facade of a building it commands, and form ...

es. These columns are made from California redwoods and are each 24 feet (7 m) high. They are hollowed out and specially treated on the inside to handle water drainage from the roof. The setting is park-like with numerous trees. On the grounds is the

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 or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

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, children's

play area A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people w ...

, and the

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 ceramics, transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic condit ...

. The

centerpiece A centrepiece or centerpiece is an important item of a display, usually of a table setting. Centrepieces help set the theme of the decorations and bring extra decorations to the room. A centrepiece also refers to any central or important object ...

of the entrance is a Georgia

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or Spring (hydrology), spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. ...

with three large

flagpole A flagpole, flagmast, flagstaff, or staff is a pole designed to support a flag. If it is taller than can be easily reached to raise the flag, a cord is used, looping around a pulley at the top of the pole with the ends tied at the bottom. The fla ...

Interior

The mansion has three levels: a lower level, the main level, and the upper level. The lower level has various rooms supporting the mansion. The

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic man ...

is located on this level. The ballroom has a capacity of 175 for

formal dinner Dinner usually refers to what is in many Western cultures the largest and most formal meal of the day, which is eaten in the evening. Historically, the largest meal used to be eaten around midday, and called dinner. Especially among the elite, ...

and has uses for smaller functions as well. The pool and outside

patio A patio (, from es, patio ; "courtyard", "forecourt", "yard", "little garden") is an outdoor space generally used for dining or recreation that adjoins a structure and is typically paved. In Australia the term is expanded to include roofed str ...

are also off this level. The main floor can be considered the State Floor. The majority of the rooms on this floor are used for official

entertaining Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousan ...

. The rooms also can be used for day-to-day activities. The Entrance Hall is the main entrance. Flanking the right side is the Georgia Library containing books written by Georgia authors. Flanking the left of the entrance is the guest bedroom, which is the only bedroom on the main floor. Toward the back of the mansion is the Circular Hall with its grand staircase. Located on the right is the State Dining Room and on the left the State

sitting room In Western architecture, a living room, also called a lounge room ( Australian English), lounge (British English), sitting room (British English), or drawing room, is a room for relaxing and socializing in a residential house or apartment ...

. They are both used for formal state functions. The back center of the entrance hall contains the powder room on the right, Family Dining Room in front, and the Family Sitting Room to the left. The

kitchen A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation in a dwelling or in a commercial establishment. A modern middle-class residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running water, a ...

is in the back corner of the dining room. These are the three rooms used regularly by the family since this is the kitchen of the mansion. The upper floor contains the Governor's private living quarters. This level contains among other features the Governor's Mansion

office An office is a space where an Organization, organization's employees perform Business administration, administrative Work (human activity), work in order to support and realize objects and Goals, plans, action theory, goals of the organizati ...

first lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

's office, and family

living room In Western architecture, a living room, also called a lounge room (Australian English), lounge (British English), sitting room (British English), or drawing room, is a room for relaxing and socializing in a residential house or apartment. Su ...

. There are several special bedrooms on this floor. The Presidential Suite with its own sitting room, bedroom, and bath has a commanding view of the front

lawn A lawn is an area of soil-covered land planted with grasses and other durable plants such as clover which are maintained at a short height with a lawnmower (or sometimes grazing animals) and used for aesthetic and recreational purposes. L ...

. The Carter Bedroom, named after the former president, Lincoln Bedroom, and a couple of other bedrooms are also on this level.

Furnishings

All of the furnishings in the house are considered to be museum quality and make up one of the finest

Federal period Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the newly founded United States between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was heavily based on the works of Andrea Palladio with several inn ...

collections in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. These furnishings were acquired by a 70-member fine arts committee while the Mansion was being constructed. It is a permanent collection and belongs to the state of Georgia. It does not change from one administration to the next.

Governors residing in the mansion

was the first governor to live there, followed by

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

George Busbee George Dekle Busbee Sr. (August 7, 1927 – July 16, 2004), was an American politician who served as the 77th Governor of the State of Georgia from 1975 to 1983, and a senior partner at King & Spalding thereafter. Early life Born in Vienna, Geor ...

Joe Frank Harris Joe Frank Harris (born February 16, 1936) is an American businessman and Democratic politician who served as the 78th Governor of the U.S. state of Georgia from 1983 to 1991. Early life and career Harris was born in the Atco Mill Village o ...

Zell Miller Zell Bryan Miller (February 24, 1932 – March 23, 2018) was an American author and politician from the state of Georgia. A Democrat, Miller served as lieutenant governor from 1975 to 1991, 79th Governor of Georgia from 1991 to 1999, and as U. ...

Roy Barnes Roy Eugene Barnes (born March 11, 1948)Cook, James F. (2005). ''The Governors of Georgia, 1754-2004, 3rd Edition, Revised and Expanded.'' Macon, GA: Mercer University Press. is an American attorney and politician who served as the 80th Govern ...

Sonny Perdue George Ervin "Sonny" Perdue III (born December 20, 1946) is an American veterinarian, businessman, politician, and university administrator who served as the 31st United States Secretary of Agriculture from 2017 to 2021. He previously served as t ...

Nathan Deal John Nathan Deal (born August 25, 1942) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 82nd governor of Georgia from 2011 to 2019. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a member of the Democratic Party in 1992 a ...

, and

Brian Kemp Brian Porter Kemp (born November 2, 1963) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 83rd governor of Georgia since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Kemp served as the 27th secretary of state of Georgia from 2010 t ...

, who is the mansion's current resident.

Public tours

Lester and Virginia Maddox, the first residents of the mansion, set a precedent of opening the mansion to the public for regularly scheduled tours, and that tradition has continued through today.

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...

are conducted throughout the year on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays between 10:00 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Reservations are needed for groups of 10 or more. There is no charge.

Previous mansions

Georgia has had three official mansions and one unofficial mansion in two different cities: * The first Executive Mansion (1838–1868) was located in Milledgeville and is still open today for public tours. * The state capital was moved from Milledgeville to Atlanta in 1868 and the first residence was unofficial, a three-story building on the east side of

Peachtree Street Peachtree Street is one of several major streets running through the city of Atlanta. Beginning at Five Points (Atlanta), Five Points in downtown Atlanta, it runs North through Midtown Atlanta, Midtown; a few blocks after entering into Buckhead ...

, between Ellis and Baker streets, owned by Charles Larenden. * In 1870 the first official mansion in Atlanta was purchased from John H. James at Cain (now Andrew Young Intl. Blvd.) and Peachtree and its first occupant was

Rufus Bullock Rufus Brown Bullock (March 28, 1834 – April 27, 1907) was a Republican Party politician and businessman in Georgia. During the Reconstruction Era he served as the state's governor and called for equal economic opportunity and political rights f ...

. Seventeen governors occupied this large Victorian home until Governor Dorsey vacated the increasingly rundown building for his summer home near the Atlanta Water Works in 1921. The old James home was demolished in 1923 and the

Henry Grady Hotel The Henry Grady Hotel was a hotel in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The building, designed by architect G. Lloyd Preacher, was completed in 1924 at the intersection of Peachtree Street and Cain Street, on land owned by the governme ...

was later built on that site, which is now occupied by the

Westin Peachtree Plaza The Westin Peachtree Plaza, Atlanta, is a skyscraper hotel on Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, adjacent to the Peachtree Center complex and the former Davison's/Macy's flagship store with 1,073 rooms. At and 73 stories, a total ...

.Garrett, Vol.I, p.835. * In 1925, the state acquired the granite mansion and estate of Edwin Ansley, located at The Prado in

Ansley Park Ansley Park is an intown residential district in Atlanta, Georgia, located just east of Midtown and west of Piedmont Park. When developed in 1905-1908, it was the first Atlanta suburban neighborhood designed for automobiles, featuring wide, win ...

. That estate housed 11 governors before it was vacated and demolished in 1968, despite its

historic History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

importance.

Notes

References

* Office of the Governor, Georgia State Capitol, Atlanta, GA 30334 * *

External links

Official website of the Georgia Governor's Mansion

pictures of first Governor's mansion in Atlanta
{{Authority control Governors' mansions in the United States Museums in Atlanta Historic house museums in Georgia (U.S. state) Government buildings in Georgia (U.S. state) Demolished buildings and structures in Atlanta Burned houses in the United States Governor of Georgia (U.S. state)