Colorado Governor's Mansion facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Colorado Governor's Mansion
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 Location in Colorado
Location in the United States
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| Location | 400 E. 8th Ave., Denver, Colorado |
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| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1904 |
| Architect | Willis A. Marean and Albert J. Norton |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 69000039 |
| Added to NRHP | December 3, 1969 |
The Colorado Governor's Mansion, also called the Cheesman-Boettcher Mansion, is a historic house in Denver, Colorado. You can find it at 400 East 8th Avenue. On December 3, 1969, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. This means it's a very important building. You can visit it for free on scheduled tours, and it also hosts special public events.
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History of the Governor's Mansion
This famous building is in Denver, at the corner of 8th Avenue and Logan Street. It's also known as the Cheesman-Evans-Boettcher Mansion because of its past owners.
Building the Mansion
The house was built in 1908. It was designed by Denver architects Willis A. Marean and Albert J. Norton. The mansion was first built for the widow and daughter of Walter Cheesman. He was a very successful businessman in Denver who bought and sold land and buildings.
The mansion was designed to hold two families. In 1908, Cheesman's daughter, Gladys, married John Evans II. He was the grandson of John Evans, who was the second governor of the Colorado Territory. The widowed mother and the young couple lived there together. They moved out after their first child was born.
The Boettcher Family Buys the Mansion
Claude K. Boettcher bought the mansion in 1923. He led a huge business group that included sugar, livestock, cement, and transportation. Boettcher was known for his big parties. Even President Dwight D. Eisenhower visited in 1952. Claude Boettcher passed away in 1957, and his wife in 1958.
Becoming the Governor's Home
The house was then given to the Boettcher Foundation. This foundation offered the house to the State of Colorado to be the Governor's official home. The building needed a lot of repairs. For nine months in 1959, no one was sure what would happen to it. Three state agencies said no to the offer. But on the last day of 1959, Governor Stephen McNichols accepted the house as a gift to the state.
Since then, many governors have lived there. These include Governors Stephen L. R. McNichols, John Love, John D.Vanderhoof, Richard D. Lamm, Roy R. Romer, William Owens, and William Ritter. The building was fixed up in the 1980s.
In 2011, Governor John Hickenlooper and his family decided to stay in their own home in Denver. However, Hickenlooper did live in the mansion part-time after 2012. The next governor, Jared Polis, also chose to live in the mansion only part-time. He stayed there during legislative sessions, which is when laws are being made. He kept his main home in Boulder.
Architecture of the Mansion
The Cheesman-Evans-Boettcher Mansion is built in a formal, late Georgian Revival style. It looks very grand.
Outside the Mansion
A strong metal fence with round decorations on brick posts surrounds the building. The walls of the mansion are made of red brick. There is white wooden decoration under a roof that slopes on all sides. This roof also has windows sticking out. The decorative trim under the roof is fancy and has tooth-like shapes.
On the west side, there's a porch with huge, two-story tall, fancy columns. These columns have scroll-like tops. The entrance is dramatic, with more columns that hold up a porch. This porch then becomes a balcony on the second floor with a railing. A round room with lots of windows for sunlight was added in 1915. It looks out over a small area now called "Governor's Park." The mansion was built in 1908.
