ArchitectureUnited States · Mostly private residences
A state-by-state tour of America's official governor's mansions
From an 1877 Sacramento Victorian to a midcentury-modern Santa Fe residence, the houses awaiting 19 newly elected US governors.
In January, 19 newly elected American governors start work, and most can move house too. All but five states (Arizona, Idaho, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont) keep an official residence, and Architectural Digest's state-by-state tour shows how widely they vary. Virginia's has housed every governor since 1813. Montana's sits empty and in disrepair, and Nebraska's has gone unused for more than a decade.
The styles read like a short course in American domestic architecture. Alabama's 1907 neoclassical house opens with four Corinthian columns and a split staircase. Sacramento's 1877 Victorian was abandoned by the Reagans in 1967 and served as a museum, then became a home again after a 2015 renovation; it has Italian marble fireplaces and a kidney-shaped pool. New Mexico's is a midcentury-modern building from 1955, while Minnesota's mixes English Tudor with Beaux-Arts.
The quirks are the fun part: local beers on tap in Denver, a Peter Rabbit-inspired 'Storybook Trail' in the Ohio residence's gardens, a swimming pool shaped like Oklahoma, and a 1901 Arts and Crafts summer residence on Michigan's Mackinac Island.
These are working homes rather than attractions, though Iowa's 1869 Second Empire Terrace Hill opens its first two floors as a museum, and Wyoming's former 1905 residence is now a museum too. A good read for anyone who likes old houses with a public role; check visiting arrangements before planning a detour.
Our summary of a story from Architectural Digest, published 6 November 2026. Read the original
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From Architectural Digest