Governor's Mansion (Shawnee, Oklahoma) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Governors Mansion
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"Governor's Mansion" in Shawnee
September 26, 2012. |
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 Location in Oklahoma
Location in the United States
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| Location | 618 N. Park St., Shawnee, Oklahoma |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1903 |
| Architectural style | Neoclassical |
| MPS | Shawnee Historic Homes TR |
| NRHP reference No. | 83002122 |
| Added to NRHP | January 21, 1983 |
The Governor's Mansion in Shawnee, Oklahoma is a historic house built in 1903. It was constructed with a big dream: that Shawnee would become the capital city of Oklahoma. If that happened, this grand house was meant to be the official home for the state's governor.
However, things didn't quite turn out that way. Oklahoma officially became a state in 1907. The state leaders first chose Guthrie as the capital. Later, in 1910, Oklahoma City was named the permanent state capital. So, the house in Shawnee never actually served as a governor's residence.
This beautiful house is located in what was once Shawnee's very first neighborhood. This area was home to the city's first business owners, community leaders, and important professionals. Even though it never housed a governor, local people still call it the Governor's Mansion. It is also known as the Giza House because a man named Zygmund O. Giza once owned it. The house is still a special landmark in the community. In 1983, it was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places, recognizing its importance.
Exploring the Governor's Mansion in Shawnee
What Does This Historic House Look Like?
This three-story house is quite large, measuring about 60 feet (18 meters) by 70 feet (21 meters). It sits on a city lot that is almost one acre (4,000 square meters) in size. Many of the rooms inside have very tall ceilings, about 12 feet (3.7 meters) high!
The house has a strong brick foundation. Its outer walls are covered with "clapboard siding," which are long, overlapping wooden boards. The roof is made of wood shingles and has a "gabled" shape, meaning it comes to a point like a triangle. The style of the house is called Neoclassical, which means it looks like ancient Greek and Roman buildings.
Special Features of the Mansion's Design
The east and south sides of the house are decorated with elegant Ionic columns. These columns have fancy scroll-like designs at the top. The front of the house features a "bay window," which is a window that sticks out from the wall. This bay window has an open balcony on both the first and second floors. It even extends up into a gable on the third floor.
On the south side, the first two stories are rounded, and this rounded part continues up into a small tower called a "turret" on the third floor. A long balcony stretches across the second floor on the front of the house, connecting the bay window to the rounded section.
Most of the windows in the house are "double-hung," meaning both the top and bottom parts can slide up and down. However, the windows in the gables are "fixed type," which means they don't open. These fixed windows are quite large, measuring four by six feet.
The gable on the south side of the third floor looks similar to the one on the front of the house. On the north side, there's another bay window on both the first and second floors, also extending into a third-story gable. The second-story bay window here is decorated with small, turned pieces of wood called "spindles." The north side also has a special covered entrance for cars, called a porte-cochere. It is supported by Doric columns, which are simpler than Ionic columns, and has two small gables.
