The Oklahoma Governor's Mansion is the official residence

Official residence

An official residence is the residence at which heads of state, heads of government, gubernatorial or other senior figures officially reside...

 of the Governor of Oklahoma

Governor of Oklahoma

The governor of the state of Oklahoma is the head of state for the state of Oklahoma, United States. Under the Oklahoma Constitution, the governor is also the head of government, serving as the chief executive of the Oklahoma executive branch, of the government of Oklahoma...

 and is located at 820 NE 23rd Street in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...

.

Construction

After Oklahoma's admission to the Union on November 16, 1907, the Oklahoma Legislature

Oklahoma Legislature

The Legislature of the State of Oklahoma is the biennial meeting of the legislative branch of the government of Oklahoma. It is bicameral, comprising the Oklahoma House of Representatives and the Oklahoma Senate, with all members elected directly by the people. The House of Representatives has 101...

 was concerned mainly with establishing the Oklahoma State Capitol

Oklahoma State Capitol

The Oklahoma State Capitol is the house of government of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the building that houses the Oklahoma Legislature, and the meeting place of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. It is located along Lincoln Boulevard in Oklahoma City. The present structure includes a dome that was...

 and not the Governor's residence. After the completion of the Capitol in 1919, the Legislature began to deliberate about a Governor's residence. The site for the Mansion had been selected in 1914: a plot of land just east of the Capitol.

The site would remain a grassy lot for more than a decade while the Legislature debated on funds for the Mansion. Not until 1927 did debate end. That year, Oklahoma prospered due to an oil boom, which increased tax funds that State collected. The Legislature allocated $100,000 to the Mansion project. Of that $100,000, $75,000 was spent on the actual construction of the Mansion and the other $25,000 was used to provide the Governor with furniture. Two years later in 1929, the Legislature would spend another $39,000 on landscaping and other outdoor buildings on the Mansion's property.

The Mansion was completed in 1928, one year after construction began. Built by the Oklahoma City

Oklahoma city

Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...

 architectural company Layton, Hicks and Forsyth,the 14000 square feet (1,300.6 m²) Mansion is of Dutch-Colonial style. Carthage limestone was used so the exterior of the Mansion would complement the Oklahoma State Capitol.

Over the years, the Mansion's 19 rooms on three floors have been reduced to 12 to increase living space. The rooms include a library, parlor, dining room, grand ballroom, kitchen, sun room and five bedrooms.
The governor and family live in the five rooms on the second floor. All major furnishings of the floor were donated to the Governor by Oklahomans. However, as property of the state, they will remain with the Mansion for future Governors.

History

Governor Henry S. Johnston

Henry S. Johnston

Henry Simpson Johnston was an American lawyer and politician who served as a delegate to the Oklahoma Constitutional Convention, the first President pro tempore of the Oklahoma Senate, and the seventh Governor of Oklahoma...

 was the first governor to live in the Mansion. However, due to his impeachment he lived there only three months. Governor William H. Murray

William H. Murray

William Henry Davis "Alfalfa Bill" Murray was an American teacher, lawyer, and politician who became active in Oklahoma before statehood as legal adviser to Governor Douglas H. Johnston of the Chickasaw Nation...

 was the first governor to reside a complete term in the mansion. Murray was Governor of Oklahoma when the Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

 began. He brought a team of mules to the mansion in order plow a large portion of the lawn, which he did himself, converting the grounds into a vegetable garden where the poor were invited to plant vegetables. There is a legend Murray's ghost still resides in the mansion, watching the governors. When Governor E. W. Marland

E. W. Marland

Ernest Whitworth Marland was an American lawyer, oil businessman, and politician who served as the tenth Governor of Oklahoma.-Career as an Oilman:...

 took office in 1935, oil was discovered on the mansion property. The Legislature took advantage of the fact by placing an oil well on the mansion grounds, and it remained there during the 1930s and 1940s.

In the 1960s, a temporary heliport was added to the Mansion so that President Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon B. Johnson

Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...

 would have a place to land the President's helicopter. A concrete slab was poured quickly for the President's visit. Once President Johnson left, the slab was converted to a private tennis court. During the following decade, Oklahomans raised money for a private swimming pool in the shape of Oklahoma.

The Mansion today

In 1995, while Frank Keating

Frank Keating

Francis Anthony "Frank" Keating is an American politician from Oklahoma. Keating served as the 25th Governor of Oklahoma. His first term began in 1995 and ended in 1999...

 was governor, the Governor's Mansion was renovated. Governor Keating asked ordinary Oklahomans to help with the remodeling and many responded. To help finance the project, the Friends of the Governors Mansion, Inc was established to raise funds.

Extensive structural work was done to keep the kitchen capable of preparing state dinners. However, the existing red and black granite countertops (from Granite, Oklahoma

Granite, Oklahoma

Granite is a town in Greer County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,065 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Granite is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land....

) installed in the early 1990s were preserved. The library's walnut paneling and moldings have been restored to both their original luster and the room's 1928 color-scheme of rich burgundy, gold and green. A Persian rug

Persian rug

The Persian carpet is an essential part of Persian art and culture. Carpet-weaving is undoubtedly one of the most distinguished manifestations of Persian culture and art, and dates back to ancient Persia. In 2008, Iran’s exports of hand-woven carpets was $420 million or 30% of the world's market...

 was added to the ballroom's original maple wood floor. The ballroom's windows, chandeliers and moldings were recreated to match to originals of 1928.
Tours of the mansion are available on Wednesday afternoons. The mansion is closed for tours during summers.

See also

• Governor's Mansion (Shawnee, Oklahoma)
  Governor's Mansion (Shawnee, Oklahoma)
  The Governor's Mansion in Shawnee, Oklahoma was built in 1903. It was registered with the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.-References:...
  
  , listed on the National Register of Historic Places

External links

• Oklahoma Governor's Mansion on TravelOK.com Official travel and tourism website for the State of Oklahoma
• Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Governor's Mansion