Are Governor’s Mansions White Elephants?
In the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, governor’s mansions were state palaces, meant to symbolize the grandeur of government while providing a place for formal entertainment and housing for the state’s chief executive. Now, however, governor’s mansions tend to be white elephants—older homes in need of (sometimes very expensive) updating. Throw in the fact that it costs a lot of money to run for office, and you have a crop of governors whose current homes can be nicer than the formal state “executive residences.” The result is a group of governors’ mansions that are costly, sometimes empty – and occasionally turned into wedding mills to make ends meet.
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