The Governor's Mansion, located in the capital district on
Northeast Twenty-third Street in Oklahoma City, is situated
approximately two blocks east of the Oklahoma Capitol. The site
was designated as early as 1914 when construction work began on
the Capitol. Lacking sufficient funds to construct the home
during the 1910s, no further action was taken until 1927 when
the oil boom was in full swing. At that time, the Oklahoma
legislature appropriated seventy-five thousand dollars for the
mansion's construction. An additional twenty-five thousand was
earmarked for furnishings. This was less than half the price
that Board of Affairs members and Gov. and Mrs. Henry S.
Johnston had planned for the house to cost. These 1927 plans
were scrapped when the Board of Affairs determined to stay
within the legislative allocation. As with many other Oklahoma
public buildings, the Oklahoma City architectural firm of
Layton, Hicks and Forsyth designed the mansion. Jewell Hicks was
primary on the project. In January 1928 when a