Why was the Governor’s Mansion in California abandoned and left vacant?
Hi everyone, ken here, welcome to This House.
Today we set out to Sacramento to uncover the history of the Governor’s Mansion.
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In 1848, the discovery of gold caused the small settlement of Sacramento to boom.
Business men moved in, and seemingly overnight, the small community was transformed into a
city of hastily built wood structures which made the spread of devastating fires inevitable.
But the resources in the land were too valuable to abandon, so the city was rebuilt before
it flooded.
After 3 floods, the decision was made to raise the old city with infrastructure by 10 feet.
It was around this time in 1854 that the California
legislature relocated to Sacramento, and by
1879 it had been named the official capitol of California.
Now the only thing missing in the city was a grand home for the governor.
One of the business men who was quick to capitalize
on the ever expanding city was Albert Gallatin,
who became incredibly wealthy after opening up a line of hardware stores.
With his money, he constructed a Second empire style mansion with 30 rooms spread out across
three floors.
This stately residence became attractive to the state when it went up for sale.
In 1903, the state of California purchased the mansion to serve as the permanent home
of all future Governors.
Entering the home, you would pass below the 5 story tower and be greeted by a vestibule
with a tile mosaic floor set below niches and decorated with live plants.
Directly ahead of you was the entrance hall, boasting a grand staircase, curving around
a rounded wall below a hand stenciled ceiling.
rotating around the stairs, the side entrance sat below the stair landing.
In this photo we can see that not much has changed over the last century as many of the
original furnishings remain in the house.
Entering the parlor is like entering a time capsule as we can see these two photos side
by side taken over 100 years apart.
We can notice the same chairs have been resting in front of the marble hearth here for over
a century.
The dining room stretched across its rectangular plan with a solid stone fireplace anchoring
the center of the room below a gilded east lake mirror.
This room boasted small, elaborate details such as the plaster medallion from which the
crystal chandelier was suspended.
Above the doors, the likenesses of rulers from antiquity were imbedded in the millwork
along with crests and symmetrical streams of garland.
Even the door knobs were engraved with geometric patterns surrounding birds and flowers in
each section.
On the walls, set in the wainscotting, carved fruits protruded from their vines to decorate
the walls.
Heading upstairs, you would first arrive at the stair landing and gaze down the hall,
seeing doors to each bedroom below the hand stenciled ceiling.
As we continue to admire the intricate stenciling, we continue our gaze upwards to find the stairs
spiraling overhead as they ascend four stories further to the top of the tower.
The sumptuous interiors of each bedroom carried their own themes, such as this bedroom with
deep red carpets accented by pink and white wallpaper and upholstery.
The guest room was themed with greens and golds, as was a very popular choice during
the gilded age.
No expense was spared to impress foreign dignitaries
as the guest room was positioned to include
a large bay window, a marble fireplace, and a crystal chandelier.
The mansion continued to be the home of California’s
governors up until 1967, when then Governor
Ronald Reagan broke with tradition at his wife’s request in favor of a new home.
At that point, the mansion was conveyed to the State Parks department which opened it
as a house museum in 1970.
In 2015, the mansion underwent extensive renovations
to update its utilities and remove all the
lead paint at which point former Governor Jerry Brown moved in.
In 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom and his family moved into the house for only a few short
months before purchasing a house in Fair Oaks.
Since that time, the mansion has sat vacant and closed to the public as the state decides
how to utilize the mansion going forward.
What do you think it should be used for?
If you were lucky enough to visit while it was still a house museum, I would love to
hear about your experience down below in the comments section.
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