The Governor’s Mansion is one hundred years old, and preserving its beauty is a top priority.

Jeannie Ritter walked briskly into the Palm Room of the Governor’s Residence. Dressed in a silk business suit, she fit comfortably into the elegant surroundings. She slipped out of her sling-back pumps and tucked her feet under her legs on the large sofa, which is positioned between two imposing marble columns. Colorado’s first lady has an intimate relationship with the grande dame of Colorado homes in ways she never expected.

While touring the residence prior to Gov. Ritter’s inauguration, Mrs. Ritter says then First Lady Frances Owens turned to her and said, “Of course, you’ll have the hundredth anniversary of the mansion.” The enormity of the legacy struck the incoming first lady like an avalanche.

“Frances had done so much work and left the mansion in great condition,” Mrs. Ritter says. “I knew I wanted to preserve the work and carry it on. In the past, funding and work had waxed and waned. Funding the mansion should not to be a burden for every sitting governor. We would be remiss not to care for it.” She knew this major undertaking would have to fit in with her long-term commitment to building awareness of mental-health needs in our state. “Mental health is my stake in the ground,” she says. “I wanted a stigma-busting campaign.”

Throughout the first year, she worked on these two commitments, along with her daily challenge of establishing a new lifestyle for her family who had moved from a Platt Park bungalow to a public mansion, one that she intended to make even more public. “Privacy is such a commodity. Both Bill and I are lucky. We really enjoy people and have a high threshold for public events and opportunities. It’s the children you want to protect,” she says. “We are just a regular family with teenagers, laundry, soccer games and homework.”

And, as with any family, aunts, uncles, cousins, parents and grandparents come to visit. Understandably, Gov. Ritter’s family was elated when he was elected but for a reason others might not imagine: They finally would have a space big enough for family gatherings. “Bill’s family is a tribe,” says Mrs. Ritter. “About 70 of us get together for Christmas. His mother especially loves it here. We had our gift exchange and talent show in the carriage house last year.”

During the transition year, Mrs. Ritter refined and shaped her plans for the preservation of her new home. She envisioned a two-pronged program for the Governor’s Residence: one for historical preservation of the structure and its contents and one for programs that would open up one of our state’s treasures to school children and the public.

She called on Jean Galloway, a friend and daughter of a former Nebraska governor, to help her establish the Governor’s Residence Preservation Fund (GRPF). Galloway, president and CEO of Galloway Group, is chairperson of the committee established at the beginning of this year. Galloway’s heart is tied closely to the fund. Entering the mansion brings back memories of her childhood years spent growing up in the Nebraska governor’s mansion. “Jeannie Ritter has great vision and energy,” says Galloway. “She will not rest well at night until the mansion fund is a reality. This is a gift Jeannie can give the state.”

Galloway is thrilled with the progress. In the first six months, the fund grew to $600,000, primarily through donations from the first six Centennial Founding Partners. This exclusive group is limited to fewer than 15 partners with only one partner invited from a particular industry in the case of corporate donors. “Ultimately, we hope to have more than $10 million over the next 10 years to ensure the future of the endowment,” says Galloway. Donors also may participate at $100 and $1,000 levels.

Until this year, Colorado was one of the few states in the nation that did not have a “friends of the mansion” fund, according to James Stratis, interim director of the State Historical Fund, the grant-giving arm of the Colorado Historical Society.

Although Coloradans are proud of their state and love its history, relatively few know about the architectural gem that sits at the corner of Logan and Eighth Avenue. Nonetheless, Christopher Nims, GRPF board member and principal at Tryba Architects, recognizes the possibilities. “It is uncharacteristic of Colorado and shameful that our state is one of the last in the nation to establish an endowment fund to maintain the visual and aesthetic aspects of our state home,” he says. “The board of directors has been together only six months, however, and we have gained a lot of support.”

The GRPF also will help green up the aging beauty. But how in the world does one make green a piece of history, a landmark? “Greening up the mansion is a wonderful challenge,” says Nims. “Of course, you cannot change the appearance of the mansion, but you can use glazing and insulation to help make the mansion green. The geothermal system being put in the yard will be invisible. Sustainability and historic preservation are not mutually exclusive. The Governor’s mansion is a wonderful demonstration of these two intents.”

The collections in the mansion are assigned to the State Historical Society but had not been inventoried prior to the Owens administration. Nan Rickey, historic preservation specialist at the State Historical Fund, says the inventory revealed some treasures that rival pieces she saw in the White House collection during her tenure at the National Park Service, the custodial agency responsible for the national collection.

Many of the pieces in the Governor’s Residence belonged to the Boettchers, who left the mansion and its contents to the state in 1959. Rickey is especially impressed with the Louis XIV cylinder desk, created by André Boule, a highly regarded furniture-maker of the court. It is believed to be one of only two in the world. She also cites the Waterford crystal chandelier that hangs in the drawing room as a standout. It lighted the White House ballroom in 1876, the year Colorado became a state, and eventually ended up here.

In the state dining room stands a beautiful Italianate, carved black walnut dining table. Until the Democratic National Convention, the Ritters had hosted only one official state dinner — for the prince of Jordan. “Frances Owens had a state china created with the Columbine flower centered on gold-rimmed plates,” says Mrs. Ritter, pointing out the display in the foyer. “I always want to go in the basement and get the old china, but the staff members say, ‘No, no use the good china.’”

Mrs. Ritter’s favorite room is the library. “When I have book club at my house, everyone shows up,” she says. The room itself tells a story. A large blue contemporary rug that boasts every wildflower found in the state of Colorado sets off the carved wall paneling. Pieces of the Boettcher chinoiserie collection can be seen throughout the room, and the Louis XIV desk fills a west wall.

If the library is Mrs. Ritter’s favorite room, then her second favorite might be the Palm Room. At the south end of the space, by the curved windows that overlook the terrace, stand two large armchairs. “Bill and I love to turn those chairs outward and have talks there,” she says. “For a while, the staff kept them turned outward because they knew that’s where we liked to sit and talk.”

Today, the family is at home at Logan and Eighth. Sam reads in the Palm Room. Tally attends a new high school. Friends come over after a movie and have pizza. Mrs. Ritter cooks dinner in the galley kitchen on the second floor Sometimes they eat on the private terrace, sometimes on the garden terrace next to the Palm Room.

You could drive past the Governor’s Residence at Boettcher Mansion and not know you are welcome, not feel you could walk up to the door of this regular family. That is changing. Jeannie Ritter is throwing open the doors to Colorado’s home, a state treasure that far too many know far too little about. Just as she did in her Platt Park bungalow, she welcomes all: Come on in and see us.