1111 East Broad Street, Capitol Square

The oldest governor’s mansion in the United States, built for that purpose, was completed in 1813 and is the home to the Commonwealth’s governors and their families.  Designed by Boston architect Alexander Parris, the mansion, a classic example of Federal-style architecture, is first a comfortable and welcoming family home. Outside the house, the historic Gillette Garden is a spot not to be missed. In the 1950s, First Lady Anne Bassett Stanley employed Charles Gillette to design and install a formal garden suitable for entertaining on the south side of the mansion. This restoration project, undertaken by the Garden Club of Virginia, was funded with proceeds from Historic Garden Week tours. In 2016, the Valentine-Jackson Memorial Garden was established and dedicated to several enslaved families who worked at the mansion in the 1800s. The Garden Club of Virginia also worked collaboratively on this effort.