Alabama Governor's Mansion

Infobox_nrhp | name =Alabama Governor's Mansion
nrhp_type =nrhp

---

caption = The current Alabama Governor's Mansion.
location= 1108 South Perry Street
Montgomery, Alabama, United States
lat_degrees = 32
lat_minutes = 21
lat_seconds = 42.81
lat_direction = N
long_degrees =86
long_minutes = 18
long_seconds =26.84
long_direction = W
locmapin =
area =
built = 1907
architect= Weatherly Carter
architecture=Neo-Classical Revival
designated=
added = 1972cite web|title="Alabama: Montgomery County "|work="National Register Historic Places"|url=http://www.nationalhistoricalregister.com/al/montgomery/state.html|accessdate=2008-02-25]
governing_body = State
refnum=72000172The Alabama Governor's Mansion is the official residence of the Governor of Alabama and his family. The Governor of Alabama, Bob Riley, and his wife, First Lady Patsy Riley, are the current residents.

First residence

The first official residence for Alabama's chief executive was acquired in 1911. Before that time, governors lived in private homes or even in local hotels during their terms of office. Built in 1906 by Moses Sable, the Beaux Arts brownstone was located on the southwest corner of South Perry and South Streets in Montgomery.cite web|title="The Governor's Mansion"|work="Alabama Department of Archives and History"|url=http://www.archives.state.al.us/mansion.html|accessdate=2008-02-25]

A special commission of seven members was authorized by an act of the 1911 legislative session to contract for the erection, purchase, or improvement of a residence and the acquisition of grounds. The Sable home cost the state $46,500. Governor Emmet O'Neal was the first to occupy the mansion. The state moved the official residence from this house to the former Robert Ligon house in 1950 and then used it to house the state offices of the Adjutant General and the Military Department until May 1959, when the property was sold to the Montgomery Academy, a private school. In 1963, the original Governor's Mansion was demolished as part of the construction of Interstate 85.

Current residence

The current official residence for the governor replaced the original executive mansion in 1950. The Capitol Building Commission was established by the state legislature in that year and it purchased the home of the late Robert Ligon from his heirs. It was purchased at a cost of $100,000 with an additional $130,000 spent on renovations and furnishings.

The house was originally built in 1907 for Robert Fulwood Ligon, Jr., son of General Robert Fulwood Ligon. It was designed by architect Weatherly Carter. Governor Gordon Persons and his family were the first to occupy the former Ligon home when it became the Governor's Mansion, moving in on the day of his inauguration - January 15, 1951.

Architecture

The executive residence is in the Neoclassical Revival style with a two-story Corinthian composite portico at the front. It features a 17-room interior with a double staircase leading from the foyer to the second level. A formal garden surrounded by a high ornamental wall originally covered the entire back lawn of the property which extends through the block to South Court Street. The grounds feature a large pergola, a pool in the shape of the state of Alabama, a guest house, a stone grotto with a waterfall, and tennis courts. The grounds are surrounded by a wrought iron fence with octagonal guard houses at the main gates.

In 2003, First Lady Patsy Riley spearheaded 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.cite web|title="Biography"|work="Official Website: Alabama First Lady Patsy Riley"|url=http://www.firstlady.alabama.gov/bio.htm|accessdate=2008-02-25] It did not involve any taxpayer dollars.cite web|title="First Lady and Friends of the Mansion to Host Mansion Fundraiser"|work="Alabama Governor's Mansion"|url=http://www.governorpress.state.al.us/pr/fl-2003-04-24-01-mansion.asp|accessdate=2008-02-25]

References

External links

* [http://www.archives.state.al.us/mansion.html Alabama Governor's Mansion]