Restoration set for Governor’s Mansion

The Old Governor’s Mansion is receiving a 10 million dollar restoration, which will restore it back into its original plan of the 1850′s.

When this institution was founded, the Old Governor’s Mansion was the first building on campus. It served as an academic hall and a residence hall. The first students who attended the university lived and had class there. Once more buildings were established for housing and classrooms, the Old Governor’s Mansion became the home of the college president. Eventually the university quit supplying the president with housing, and the mansion became the president’s office.

The Old Governor’s Mansion has always been called a public house, which means it is open to the public. People were allowed to come inside the house to tour it. The house also held various social functions. The university has continued that tradition up until this day allowing tours to enter the house and by holding social functions in it.

“Through the various renovations in the past a lot of old components were removed and new components were put in,” said David Groseclose, senior director for facilities. “Somewhere along the way bathrooms were installed, along with tile and things of that nature which aren’t original to the house.”

“In this restoration we are actually taking this house back to its configuration in 1853. Bathrooms have been removed out of the house making rooms and bedrooms back into their original size,” said Groseclose.

Every building component, including the plaster, stucco, paint and roof were all analyzed to determine what was actually original.

“Great pains have been taken to go back to the stucco,” said
Groseclose. “They went to the point of determining where the sand came from and then went to the same sand pit in order to remake the stucco.”

The house will be restored to its original historic materials.

Like the lunchroom and library, the Old Governor’s Mansion is a two-phase process.

“The restoration is going very well, and we are on schedule for phase one,” said Groseclose.

Phase one will cost a little over five million dollars with a little over four million dollars of that money spent on construction costs. This is primarily for the demolition work and the exterior work to stabilize the building.

Work inside the Old Governor’s Mansion is also a part of phase one. A tremendous amount of demolition work has taken place.

“The ground floor currently has dirt floors, there is no plaster on the ceilings, and very little plaster on the walls,” said Groseclose.
Mechanical systems are also being put in during phase one including, the heating and air conditioning systems.

One student found the installation of heating and air conditioning to be contradictory to a total restoration.

“If the contractors are taking the mansion back to its original plans, then why are they going to put heating and air conditioning back in?” said Ty Howell a junior biology major. “It seems kind of silly to take out the bathrooms and keep the heating and air, those two (air condition and bathrooms) go hand in hand.”

Another student awaits the completion and voices her frustration with campus construction.

“I’m disappointed that it is taking this long because I feel it would be a major contribution to this town, said Jillian Stough, a music education and performance major. “I also feel there is too much construction taking place right now, to be in the middle of yet another project.”

Despite curiosity and frustrations the project will go on.

“We should be complete with phase one by late August,” said Groseclose. “This includes all of the exterior and interior demolition, installation of mechanical systems, exterior stucco painting, rough electrical lines and a new roof.”

The funding for phase two has not yet been received and will cost around four million dollars.

“Phase two consists of going in and repairing all of the interior work, plastering the walls, finishing floors, routing electrical fixtures including lighting and receptacles,” said Groseclose.

Phase two should be complete about August of 2004.

“Every time I go in the mansion I wonder if we are ever going to get it back to where it needs to be,” said Groseclose. “But in the end it’s going to be a wonderful facility, something that we will all be proud of.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 18 2003. 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