As the attack on the Governor’s Mansion edges past its one-year anniversary, authorities are still searching for the identity of the arsonist who torched the historic building with a Molotov cocktail last June.
Although video surveillance showed a man leaving the mansion, the identity of the arsonist still remains unknown. Tela Mange, a spokeswoman with the Texas Department of Public Safety, said the department is still receiving leads but has not identified a suspect.
“Certainly, it is very challenging,” Mange said. “Arson can be pretty difficult, but we are confident someone out there will come forward and talk to us.”
Mange said she would not comment on what leads the department is investigating, but she said a $50,000 reward will be offered to anyone who gives information that leads to the arsonist’s arrest.
Gov. Rick Perry and his wife Anita moved from the mansion to a Barton Creek rental home during a $10 million defered mainenance project already underway before the fire.
In May, the Texas Legislature approved $22 million to help restore the house, and private donations generated an additional $3.4 million.
In the aftermath of the fire, the mansion’s roof collapsed and the interior of the home suffered significant fire, smoke and water damage. Mold was beginning to grow throughout the interior of the house due to the water used to extinguished the blaze.
John Sneed, the executive director of the State Preservation Board, said crews had to put a temporary roof in place and dry the mansion out to combat the mold growth. They are now preparing the house for restoration.
Earlier this week, Sneed said a request for proposals was issued to architectural firms to “design the work that is needed to be done on the house.”
With the approved funding, authorities hope to restore the entirety of the governor’s home in a two-phase process. First, authorities hope to rebuild the mansion’s roof to help stabilize its walls. Sneed said crews placed stabilizers along the walls of each room to keep them in place. Once the roof is rebuilt, crews will replace damaged paint, mortar and bricks from the mansion’s facades. When they complete the exterior structural renovations, crews will work on the interior of the residence.
The exterior restoration is expected to be finished by October 2010, but interior work could start concurrently as crews restore the outside of the mansion, Sneed said.
The mansion, which has housed Texas governors since 1856, is an architecturally significant piece of Texas history.
“It’s a strong structure that symbolizes the strength of this state,” he said. “The fact that the house is still standing despite the type of damage it sustained speaks volumes.”
Jacqui Schraad, executive director for the Heritage Society of Austin, said she was very pleased with the Legislature’s efforts to restore the mansion, which will continue to house the governor and his or her family once the restoration is completed.
Schraad said ideas circulated in the Legislature to make the mansion a museum, but none was approved in the final funding proposal.
“It’s a very important piece of Texas history, so it is more than just a house,” Schraad said. “If we forget our past, we won’t be able to move into the future.”
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