Michigan Governor's Mansion facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Michigan Governor's Mansion |
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General information | |
Location | Lansing, Michigan, U.S. |
Coordinates | 42°43′10″N 84°35′09″W / 42.71946°N 84.5859°W |
Completed | 1957 |
The Michigan Governor's Mansion is where the leader of the U.S. state of Michigan lives. It's like a special home for the governor! Michigan actually has two official homes for its governor.
One main home is in Lansing, which is the state capital. The other is a summer house on Mackinac Island. Both of these homes belong to the state. People also donate money to help keep them nice. Michigan's rules say the governor must have a home in Lansing.
Primary Residence: Home to Michigan's Governors
The governor's main home in Lansing was built in 1957. It was made for Howard and Letha Sober. They gave it to the state in 1969. The state also provided the furniture.
A famous architect named Wallace Frost designed this house. He was known for traditional buildings. But this house is a modern ranch-style home with a stone outside. A special garden room was added in the 1970s.
This big house sits on about four acres of land. It's in a private area of Lansing, near the beautiful Grand River. Many governors have lived here while in office. These include William Milliken, James Blanchard, John Engler, Jennifer Granholm, and the current Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
The mansion was updated in the early 2000s. It has about 10,300 square feet of space. Inside, there are five bedrooms and four bathrooms. Governor Rick Snyder chose to stay at his own home in Ann Arbor. He only used the mansion for special events from 2011 to 2019.
Summer Residence: A Getaway on Mackinac Island
The Michigan Governor's Summer Residence is on Mackinac Island. It's a three-story house on a hill. From there, you can see the Straits of Mackinac.
This house was first built for a lawyer from Chicago named Lawrence Andrew Young. In 1944, the Mackinac Island State Park Commission bought the house. They paid $15,000 for it. Since then, Michigan's governors have used this home. They host important meetings with leaders from Michigan and other states here. This house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. This means it's an important historical building.