Renovations begin at the Old Governor’s Mansion

Work to restore the Old Governor’s Mansion will begin January of 2002. The restoration project has been in the works for nearly six years. The restorations will include full exterior and interior work on the mansion in an attempt to bring the mansion to its historical 19th century appearance.

The restorations of the mansion are being funded by the state of Georgia. The project should cost between $ 5 to $ 9 million dollars, and the Georgia General Assembly has already contributed $5 million to the initial work.

In 1996, the state funded A Historic Structure Report composed by an Atlanta-based architectural firm called Surber and Barber. This report has many volumes with titles, such as “Existing Conditions,” “Landscaping,” and “Recommendations” that describe the mansion’s features. This report helped GC&SU show the state what we need the funds for.

In January of 2001, the Georgia General Assembly stopped by the mansion on their way to the newly renovated Old Capitol Building at GMC. Jim Turner, Acting Director of the mansion, believes this visit also helped the mansion’s project receive funds.

“When the Georgia General Assembly visited the mansion in January, they could see first hand our needs and the significance of the building. It’s important that they saw what we need the money for,” said Turner.

The research and campaigning that has led to this incredible restoration project can be attributed to Turner, Max Allen, the Director of Public Relations, and President Rosemary DePaolo, to name only a few.

Turner has visited nearly every archive in the Southeast to learn how to interpret the historical context of the house.

“Because the house has been used for so many things since it was built in 1839 and there are no original house plans, restoring the house to its original grandeur has required a lot of research,” said Turner. ” Also, we need to visually show the students the way the house looked in the 19th
Century.”

A lot of work around the mansion must be done prior to the restorations. A museum relocation specialist company called Fine Arts Express will begin packing and securely storing the mansion’s collection
in November.

Public and university events, such as weddings, receptions, and socials, will be not be held at the mansion after of November 1, 2001.

“It will be a challenging time on campus without the use of the mansion but we will find other places to hold events,” Allen said. “Dr. DePaolo, as always, is concerned about not displacing the students.”

Students can expect to see many changes on the exterior and interior portions of the house beginning in January. The architects will start on the exterior of the mansion first, but when the work is completed, the mansion will have a brand new catering kitchen and a visitor orientation building. The offices now on the first floor will be moved to the third floor, and the bedrooms on the third floor will be opened as well.

“The mansion will be a true historic house museum and a unique educational facility,” Turner said.

Turner stresses to students that the restoration process will present “golden opportunities” for them in many fields of study.

“It is a once in a lifetime opportunity to show the interior workmanship of the house. Several classes will be held while this is going on, built around several phases of the restoration,” Turner said.

There may be classes in Biology, History, Sociology, Geography, and even Archeology, as digging goes on under the house, that count for 3 hours of credit.

“The mansion, as always, is a perfect teaching laboratory. Students can learn anything from building material, to food sources, life ways, and social and political history,” Turner said.

The staff at the mansion and on the rest of the campus is enthusiastic about the new changes.

“We’re excited that it is finally going to happen,” said Allen.

Turner hopes that the restoration will be completed in 3 years, but while the work is being done, he and his staff will help as much as possible.

“We’ll be here onsite if they need help with anything,” said Matt Davis, a staff member at the mansion.

“I continue to do a lot of research with my staff and work very closely with the project manager,” said Turner.

Although the mansion will be closed to social events, public tours will continue indefinitely.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 21 2001. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry