Governor’s Private Office

The Governor’s Private Office has been restored to appear as it did during the tenure of Governor George Pardee from 1903 to 1907. Interviews with Pardee’s daughter, Helen, and surviving photographs were used to faithfully recreate this historic space. 

The elaborate textured wallpaper, known as “Lincrusta,” was painstakingly replicated by restoration artisans using fiberglass molds. In Pardee’s era, this type of wallpaper would have been made by sculpting a mixture of sawdust and linseed oil. In the corner of the room, a dressing screen obscures a sink that the governor could use to “freshen up.” In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, etiquette dictated that the washing of hands be conducted privately. Nearby, an icebox held refreshments for the governor’s guests and associates. A large block of ice in the upper compartment kept the bottles stored in the lower compartment cool during hot Sacramento summers.  

Pardee’s desk features state-of-the-art technological conveniences of the time – a “candlestick” telephone and an electric lamp. The various books, magazines, and pamphlets on the desk illustrate Pardee’s numerous professional and personal interests. These included forest conservation, medicine, education, and history.  

Governor George Pardee was California’s 21st governor. He had previously served in the California State Assembly and as the mayor of Oakland from 1876 to 1878. Pardee, his wife, and their four daughters were the first governor’s family to live in the Governor’s Mansion at 16th and H Streets in Sacramento. Pardee was an ear, nose, and throat doctor and received his training in Germany. He continued to actively practice medicine during his term as governor.  

While studying overseas, Pardee developed a keen interest in forestry and environmental preservation. His views on conservation helped him to become an ally and friend of President Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt even asked Pardee to run as his Vice President in 1904, but Pardee turned him down to focus on California politics. 

Pardee’s 1903 gubernatorial campaign emphasized an “open door” policy in response to growing public concerns about government transparency. Pardee honored his campaign promise and allowed visitors to speak with him with a minimal amount of protocol. “Now everything is open,” remarked The Sacramento Evening Bee in 1903, “The visitor walks into the ante-room [sic] and beholds with astonishment that the door opening into the room occupied by the two Secretaries is not closed, and his surprise increases in entering to see Governor Pardee waiting in his own office in plain view, ready to extend a cordial welcome to one and all alike.”