Georgia Governor’s Mansion

The official home of Georgia’s governors and their families is located north of downtown Atlanta in the Buckhead area. The home was built in 1967 and is Georgia’s fourth official governor’s residence. Current Governor Nathan Deal is the eighth governor to live in the home. The property once belonged to a former Atlanta mayor, who sold the land to the state after his home burned. The Governor’s Mansion is open for public tours on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings. The tour is free.

The home was designed by Georgia architect Thomas Bradbury in the Greek Revival style, and the most distinguishing exterior features are the 30 Doric columns that support its porches. The mansion has thirty rooms on three levels. Visitors may tour eight of the first floor rooms which are used for official entertaining. The tour is self-guided, but there are docents in each room who are available to answer questions.

Many of the furnishings in the Governor’s Mansion are from the Federal period and are considered to be museum quality antiques. They belong to the state of Georgia and do not change with administrations. A special committee selected the pieces during the mansion’s construction. There are also several silver serving pieces from the USS Georgia, a WWI era battleship. Upon entering the mansion, guests may note that the entrance hall contains the torch that was used to light the Olympic Cauldron for the 1996 Olympic Games that Atlanta hosted.

Some of the rooms that are featured on the mansion tour are the entrance hall, the state drawing room, a guest bedroom, and the circular hall with its beautiful staircase and chandelier. The library contains rare signed first editions of books by many Georgia authors including Margaret Mitchell, Joel Chandler Harris, Erskine Caldwell, and Flannery O’Connor. The elegant state dining room is regularly used for official luncheons and dinners. The more intimate family dining room is regularly used for smaller functions. The most notable feature of the family sitting room is the unusual butternut paneling.

The other two levels of the mansion are not part of the tour. The upper floor contains the private living quarters of the governor and his family. A ballroom is on the lower floor. The mansion’s 18-acre grounds are beautifully landscaped. In addition to gardens, the grounds contain a pool, tennis courts, and a greenhouse.

The Georgia Governor’s Mansion is located at 391 West Paces Ferry Road NW. The home is open between 10am and 11:30am on Tuesday through Thursday. The tour takes approximately 40 minutes. Visitors to the Atlanta area may want to include a stop at the Governor’s Mansion.

By: Pamela Haney

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Pamela Haney is the Director of Sales for The Holiday Inn Express Perimeter Hotel & Suites. The Holiday Inn Express® Hotel & Suites Atlanta North-Perimeter/Dunwoody is directly off Georgia 400 and I-285. With the hotel’s courteous staff, reasonable rates, and terrific amenities, this Atlanta Perimeter hotel is the place to "Stay Smart" in the Perimeter Center area. For more information visit: www.PERIMETERHOTEL.COM.com