AUSTIN, Texas --- Tuesday marks the two-year anniversary of the attack on the Texas Governor s Mansion.
The mansion remains hidden behind a green tarp construction fence, but the noises coming from within the fence-line are proof the work to rebuild the mansion hasn't stopped.
In the early morning hours of June 8, 2008, a still-unknown person set themansion on fire. The flames roared through the house, breaking up through the roof top. It took hundreds of firefighters to contain it.
The person who caused the devastation remains a mystery. Grainy surveillance video is the only evidence investigators have released. The images show a hooded person walking up to the front porch of the mansion and throwing what detectives describe as a Molotov cocktail onto the porch. The fire spread quickly.
The State Board of Preservation is now leading the restoration project to bring back the mansion. Crews quickly installed scaffolding around the entire mansion to stabilize the house. It remains that way now, two years later. Recently, workers began the rebuilding process.
I never thought it would take this long. I thought three or four months, and there we would be, said Texas First Lady, Anita Perry. The Mansion is important to so many people. It's got a place and a passion in so many hearts.
The State Board of Preservation says the construction was delayed while funding was secured. It s an expensive project. Initially lawmakers approved $22 million for the restoration. In February, funding was reduced as part of budget cuts for all state agencies.
Now, the Board is relying on additional private donations. First Lady Perry leads the Texas Governor s Mansion Restoration Fund. It has collected more than $3.5 million.
The efforts to restore the mansion to its original historical integrity are extensive.
I think if it's not the Governor's Mansion, it's just another house -- a house museum --and in today's world a house museums are not particularly viable. So we want to restore it as beautifully as we possibly can; use the original material but also make sure that the Governor of Texas can comfortably and reasonably live here, said Dealey Herndon of the State Board of Preservation.
The construction centers on the structure itself. The mansion was virtually empty at the time of the attack because it was in the process of being upgraded. Much of what typically belongs in the mansion was in storage. Some of those precious pieces of history are now on display at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in an exhibit called Texas Treasure: Inside the Governor s Mansion.
The State Board of Preservation says construction is now moving smoothly. Restoration on the exterior of the mansion will begin in the next couple of weeks. Then crews will move inside to complete restoration.
