The restoration of Government House took place from 1983 to 1985, at a total cost of $2.5 million dollars. A great portion of this cost was defrayed by volunteer efforts by local artisans and craftsmen, interior designers Johnson-Berman, and monetary donations by Baltimorean individuals, corporations, and hoteliers. The placques of dedication placed over doors of some of the guest rooms are in appreciation of some of the larger donations to the restoration effort.
The Entrance Hall and Grand Staircase
The woodwork and stained glass seen throughout the Mansion is original to this 1889 structure. Prior to the restoration, some of the wood was covered with as many as twenty coats of paint. Toothbrushes were used to strip paint from the spires in the Grand Staircase. The faceted domes of the leaded glass bubbles in the entrance foyer are original to the building, and would cost $55.00 a piece to replace today. The parquet floor, original to the building, was covered by plywood subflooring during the years the Mansion served as the Baltimore City Department of Public Recreation. Though most people usually gasp in horror at the thought of covering these exquisite floors, the subflooring actually preserved them, as they would certainly have been ruined over the forty years of heavy foot traffic and moving of office furniture. Each room has its own intricate parquet pattern.
The Music Room
The piano in the Music Room is a Knabe square grand, manufactured in Baltimore. It is over 150 years old, and probably one of very few of its kind left in existence. Square grands are no longer built and are virtually untunable without replacing the interior works of the instrument. Faux painting is used throughout the first floor of the Mansion, in wood grain and marble finishes. There is a faux lizard hidden in the Music Room.
The Dining Room
Guests are invited to have breakfast at the Pothast table in the Dining Room. This table was manufactured in Baltimore, and is nearly as old as the Mansion itself. The chandelier in the Dining Room was salvaged from an 18th-Century castle in Germany, and the sconces over the fireplace match it. They are finely details with the heads and fists of knights in armor. All of the wallpaper in the Mansion is of William Morris design, true to the Victorian period. The decoupage on the ceiling of the Dining Room consists of seventeen different wallpapers.
The Library
The detailed woodwork and rounded bay windowseat with original stained glass add to the warm ambiance of the cozy Library. The wall treatment in this room is actually carved and hand-painted linoleum, a process known as Lyncrusta, typical of the period. The green marble of the fireplace in the Library was quarried in Baltimore.