The Florida Governor's Mansion is home to the governor and the First Family of Florida. It is located at 700 N. Adams St., just ten blocks from the State Capitol. With 30 rooms, 15,000 square feet, and 1.5 acres of land, this house really is a mansion!
From 1845 (the year Florida became a state) to the early 1900s, Florida governors usually lived in either a hotel or a boardinghouse during their term in office. In 1905, the Florida State Legislature approved $25,000 for the construction of an official residence for the governor. The original Governor's Mansion was built on the current site in 1907, and was occupied by 15 governors for nearly 50 years. During the term of Governor LeRoy Collins in 1955, however, the building was dismantled because of space issues and also because it was considered to be structurally unsound. The current mansion was finished 2 years later, in the Spring of 1957.
The current Governor's Mansion was designed to resemble another historic building in Nashville, Tennessee known as the Hermitage. This plantation was home to Andrew Jackson, Florida's first military governor and our 6th president.
The mansion was designed to accommodate private living, as well as official entertaining for the chief executive of Florida.
On the 1.5 acres of outdoor land, the mansion has a screened pool, cabana, and beautiful brick patio area. There is also a greenhouse, along with a private park and its adjacent rose garden which provides many of the wonderful flowers found inside the mansion.
In 2005, a 550 square foot library was added to the mansion for then Governor Jeb Bush, and Governor Charlie Crist added a solar-powered swimming pool during his term in office.
On August 30, 2023, the northern front of the mansion was struck by a falling oak tree as hurricane Idalia passed through Florida; thankfully no injuries or serious damage was reported.
An eight-member commission was established by the state legislature to oversee the mansion. The Governor's Mansion Commission has the important responsibility to:
"Keep the structure, style and character of the Governor's Mansion, its grounds, and all structures thereon consistent with its original plan of construction and design...." -[Section 272.18, (3)(a), Florida Statutes]
Credits
Florida Governor's Mansion: www.myflorida.com
Florida Governor's Mansion: www.wikipedia.com
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