Governor's Mansion

Gretchen Kraus

Benson (Season 1)

The **Governor's Mansion** is the main location of the ABC sitcom, *Benson*, and is the home of Governor Gatling, his daughter Katie Gatling, the housekeeper, Gretchen Kraus, and the Mansion chef, Mrs. Cassidy.

Benson lived in the mansion until Season 2 when he bought an apartment to get away on weekends. He moved out entirely in Season 4 when he bought a condo. The mansion is located in the state's Capitol City.

## Exterior

Prior to the mansion grounds, there is a large gate to prevent intruders entering the mansion. Outside of the mansion is a large field of land. There are also sprinklers for the grass that go off automatically. The mansion itself is white and plastered with Palladian and Neoclassical features. According to the Governor, behind the mansion is a large garden.

## Interior

The Governor's Mansion has two stories. On the first floor there's a kitchen that features an entrance/exit to the mansion. The hallway to that entrance appears to also be the direction to Kraus's room. Opposite of that hallway appears to be the direction to Katie's room.

The first floor also features a living room that is decorated with paintings on the walls and chandeliers on the ceiling. There's a couch and a rug in the middle of the room and a window to the right of the room.

The second floor includes the budget director's office, the Lieutenant Governor's office, and the Governor's office. In the first two seasons, the hallway to the Governor's office is used as a secretary's office.

### The Kitchen

The kitchen features a black and white checkered floor with a table in the middle and a desk to the side. Diagonal of the table, is the refrigerator. There's also a sink in the same direction. Above the sink are cabinet. There is also a large closeted cabinet behind the work desk. It also features three windows in the background and shelfs for pots and pans. To the right in the background, is a freezer, while to the left, is an oven. The kitchen is colored in white with a chandelier in the middle.

### Katie's Room

Katie's room is decorated with plush dolls such as Winnie the Pooh and other kid friendly characters. Her room has a drawer, two windows, a bed, and a restroom. It also has a small table with chairs.

Katie's room is only shown in the first two seasons.

### Kraus's Room

In the first season, Kraus' room is colored in faded shades of blue, pink, and white. Her room featured a rocking chair, a bed with a lamp next to it, and a white desk. Her room had multiple lights and was decorated with paintings on the wall. It also had a small window and was relatively a small room.

When her room is shown again in season 4, it features generally the same color patterns and decorations with the main difference being the size; featuring a restroom, and a TV this time. It could be possible that either Kraus rearranged the room, or that the rest of the room was simply off screen in the first season.

### Governor's Office

The Governor's office features a large window displaying the garden outside of the mansion. In front of the window is the Governor's desk with a few seats around it for guests. Around the room are multiple drawers, a shelf full of books, and a closet door. In the pilot episode, there is a sofa in the office, though it is never seen again. The room is colored in shades of brown and faded burgundy.

### Secretary's Office

The secretary's office appears to be located in the middle of hallway and serves as an entrance to the Governor's office. In the secretary's office, is a large sofa propped in between two drawers; both with lamps. There is a small chandelier located right above the sofa. In the background are two windows both with chairs in front on them. In between both windows, lies a table with a bouquet of flowers. In fact, there appear to be multiple plants decorating the office. Two small pillars also stand in the background.

In the foreground is the secretary's desk which features it's own drawer. On top of the desk is a typewriter and a wired telephone. There's also a drawer near the entrance of the office and paintings hung on the walls.

    In the Pilot episode, her office appears to be located on the first floor and doesn't act as a hallway, but instead, is it's own room. Despite this, the design of the room is the same.

The secretary's office is removed after the second season.

### Budget Director's Office

The budget director's office is a relatively small room with a drawer, a desk, a window, five chairs, and a restroom. The room is decorated with paintings on the wall, candles, and a plant. The room is colored in brown and green.

The hallway to the budget director's office serves as the secretary's office for the budget director. It is decorated similarly featuring a desk, paintings, and plants. It is also colored in brown and green.

### Lt. Governor's Office

The Lt. Governor's office is a larger office featuring a desk, which features its own drawers, a closet, a drawer, a closet drawer, a couch, three chairs, multiple little drawers, shelves of books, a bathroom, and three windows with a door that lead to an outside balcony. The room is colored from light to dark shades of brown and is decorated with paintings and plants with a rug in the middle of the room.

## Trivia

* The real-life location of the mansion is 1365 South Oakland Avenue in Pasadena, California
* The mansion was seen in the movie *The Beverly Hillbillies* (1993), in a 2006 U.S. television commercial for the RE/MAX real estate company, and in the *Columbo* episode "Etude in Black", as well as in Season One, Episode 11 of *Barnaby Jones*, entitled, "To Denise, with Love and Murder", in which it was used as the outside view of the mansion belonging to the married couple played by Louise Troy and Bill Bixby.
* The mansion was also used briefly in the 2005 Rom-Com film, *Monster-In-Law*.
* The mansion is commonly mistaken for the same mansion in the 90's NBC sitcom, *The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.* Although both homes are located in California, this is not the case.
	+ The real-life location for the *Fresh Prince* mansion is 251 N Bristol Los Angeles, CA 90049.
* The Governor's office and the budget director's office were originally sets used on *Soap.* They were redecorated and slightly retooled to be re-used on *Benson*.