Until 1950, the State of Arkansas did not have an official residence for its governor.[2]
History
In 1947, Act 257 of the Arkansas General Assembly established a Governor's Mansion Commission with an appropriation of $100,000.00. The site was the former location of the Arkansas School for the Blind, which had moved to new quarters near the city's Pulaski Heights neighborhood. The architects were Frank J. Ginocchio, Jr. and Edwin B. Cromwell. Little Rock insurance and television executive Clyde E. Lowry led the effort to raise funds to build the mansion.[3]
The architectural style of the mansion is Georgian Revival, colonial type. The main material of the exterior is brick. Construction began in December 1947 (incorporating 300,000 bricks from the original School for the Blind structures), and the Governor's Residence became operational officially on January 10, 1950. The first governor to reside here was Sidney S. McMath, who moved in on February 3, 1950. Significant additions to the mansion were completed during the administration of Mike Huckabee (1996-2007).
From 1986 to 1993, footage of the mansion was used for the television program Designing Women to represent the Atlanta home of character Suzanne Sugarbaker, played by Delta Burke, and in later seasons, the home of Anthony Bouvier, played by Meshach Taylor. In 2008, footage of the mansion was also used for the television program 30 Rock to represent the home of a character played by Steve Martin.[4]
