WHEREAS, the Maymont Mansion, a beautiful, well-preserved historic house museum and one of the most visited historic attractions in Richmond, celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2018; and

WHEREAS, completed in 1893, the Maymont Mansion, a 13,000-square-foot Richardsonian Romanesque residence, was designed by Edgerton Rogers for the Honorable James H. Dooley, a financier, philanthropist, and three-term member of the Virginia House of Delegates, and his wife, Sallie; and

WHEREAS, the Maymont Mansion overlooks the James River from the heart of a 100-acre estate, which is now a public park and museum; Sallie Dooley's passion for horticulture is evident in the estate's picturesque landscaping, elaborate gardens, and an arboretum that includes more than 300 species of exotic plants and trees; and

WHEREAS, after the Dooleys' deaths in the 1920s, the Maymont Mansion, along with the entire estate and original furnishings, was bequeathed to the City of Richmond and opened to the public as a park and museum in 1926; and

WHEREAS, in 1975, the nonprofit Maymont Foundation assumed responsibility for maintenance and operation of the Maymont Mansion, initiating a long-term preservation program to ensure that new generations of visitors could continue to enjoy the estate; and

WHEREAS, supported by federal grants, private donations, and the Maymont Council, a preservation group founded in 1983 by Mary Tyler Cheek McClenahan, the Maymont Foundation has conducted extensive repairs and restorations on the Maymont Mansion and conserved hundreds of its objects; and

WHEREAS, the Maymont Mansion provides a rare window into the Gilded Age of American history, as the house never underwent major alterations after the Dooleys' deaths, its collection of furnishings and artwork was kept intact, and the landscape of the estate remained largely unchanged; and

WHEREAS, the Maymont Mansion has received many awards and accolades, including the 2011 Ross Merrill Award for Outstanding Commitment to Preservation and Care of Collections from the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That the Maymont Mansion hereby be commended on the occasion of its 125th anniversary; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the Maymont Foundation as an expression of the House of Delegates' admiration for the Maymont Mansion's unique place in Virginia history.