Governor's Mansion

View the Governor's Mansion on the Capitol Campus Map.

The Governor’s Mansion is the oldest structure on Capitol Campus. The Governor’s Mansion Foundation provides free tours of the mansion’s public spaces. Learn more about Governor’s Mansion tours.

The foundation also maintains most furnishings, art, carpets, and draperies in the home’s public rooms and specific pieces in some private rooms.

History

The original Governor’s Mansion was built in 1856, when Isaac Stevens, the first Territory of Washington governor, had crews clear land near present-day 11th Avenue and Capitol Way. That building remained the Governor’s Mansion until January 1907, when Thurston County Senator A. S. Ruth introduced legislation to build a new one. One month later, Governor Albert Mead signed the legislation approving the project.

A State Building Commission consisting of the Governor, the State Treasurer, and the State Auditor set the conditions for the new mansion. The commission stated it should be made with stone or another “permanent” material and ready for occupancy on June 1, 1909.

When Washington became a state, the federal government offered to help finance the design and construction of a state capitol, and the State Building Commission began looking for architects to design the Governor’s Mansion. After a competitive selection process, the commission chose Tacoma architects Ambrose Russell and Everett Babcock.

Russell and Babcock designed a red brick building that combines a private home for governors and their families and a public space for entertaining and other government functions. Construction began on July 1, 1908.

Crews laid the building’s cornerstone on August 1, 1908, which was declared a half-day holiday in Olympia and honored with a cornerstone ceremony. The ceremony began with Governor Albert Mead and other government officials walking from the Old Capitol Building downtown to the mansion site. A marble plaque at the northwest corner of the Governor’s Mansion commemorates this event. Contractors completed the building in 1909, well before the June 1 date the State Building Commission specified in the authorization.

Samuel Cosgrove, an Eastern Washington lawyer, won the 1908 gubernatorial election and was set to become the mansion’s first resident governor. He wanted to move into the mansion immediately upon his arrival in Olympia. However, he became severely ill before his inauguration and went to California to recover. He was eventually inaugurated on January 27, 1909, while still sick. He requested a leave of absence during his inaugural speech and returned to California, where he died on March 28, 1909.

Despite Cosgrove’s illness, a housewarming party for legislators and officials at the mansion still took place the day after his inauguration. The party played a critical role in securing the vote for Washington’s female citizens. Earlier that day, a committee chairman signed against a women’s suffrage bill. At the party, the chairman acknowledged that he’d been mistaken and reversed his decision. The suffrage bill passed both houses in the 1909 Legislative Session, and in November 1910, the male electorate ratified the state constitution’s Sixth Amendment, granting women the right to vote. Thus, since its beginning, the Governor’s Mansion has played a critical role in legislative processes.

With Cosgrove’s passing, Governor Marion Hay and his family became the Governor’s Mansion’s first residents. Hay became Lieutenant Governor in 1908, took over as acting governor during Cosgrove’s illness, and became governor when Cosgrove died in March 1909.

The mansion’s future was in question just two years after its completion. In 1911, the legislature approved a new plan to build today’s Capitol Campus. The legislature did not require planners to include the Governor’s Mansion in their blueprints, meaning the building was at risk of being demolished and rebuilt elsewhere.

In August 1911, the State Capitol Commission selected Walter R. Wilder and Harry K. White’s designs for the new campus. Wilder and White’s symmetrical design showed an office building—which was supposed to mirror today’s Insurance Building—on the site of the Governor’s Mansion. They planned to move the mansion northwest to separate it from their main group of buildings, which strategically frame the Legislative Building.

By the 1950s, the state completed Wilder and White’s plan, except for the office building that was supposed to be on the Governor’s Mansion’s site. After a lawsuit mandating all state agency headquarters to move to Olympia, the state needed to expand Capitol Campus to accommodate more employees. By 1963, senators called for a new executive office building and Governor’s Mansion. In 1965, there were ideas to put the mansion on rollers and move it to the new location. However, Governor Albert Rosellini did not favor any plans to move the mansion, and he had the support of different organizations, including the Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington.

In 1966, Seattle architectural firm Nelson, Sabin & Varey surveyed the mansion and thought it was worth saving. The architects concluded that, while it has no great architectural significance, it is one of the better buildings on Capitol Campus, with its setting within trees, wide lawn, and pleasant view. They also acknowledged its history and stated that it could be a “significant” symbol with improvements. By 1967, Bert Cole and John Cherberg supported the retention and expansion of the mansion.

In 1970, the architect firm Walker, McGough & Foltz completed another Capitol Campus planning study, which kept the mansion at its historic location. By 1973, the legislature appropriated $600,000 for remodeling the mansion, helping to improve its electrical and plumbing systems, insulation and fireproofing, accessibility, and security.

Between 1975 and 1992, members of the Seattle-Tacoma Garden Clubs, in partnership with the Washington Federation of Garden Clubs, launched a committee to improve three areas around the mansion. They found artists to redesign the landscape and add a new fountain, and they worked with many groups, including Capitol High School students, the Senior Environmental Corps, the Washington Conservation Corps, Mountaineers and others, to create a wildlife garden with over 1,000 native plants.

The tragedy of September 11, 2001, called for stricter security regulations to be put in place at the mansion, including 24-hour trooper protection.

In 2009, the Governor’s Mansion Foundation sponsored a centennial celebration for the mansion, which included special events and commemorations.