Utah Governor's Mansion, Historic mansion at South Temple District, Salt Lake City, United States.
The Utah Governor's Mansion, also known as the Kearns Mansion, is a light-colored stone house completed in 1902 at 603 East South Temple Street. Its symmetrical facade has two round towers with dark conical roofs flanking a central section with a flat roof parapet; columns frame the entrance and support a balcony, and a flagpole rises from the roofline. A black metal fence runs across the front, with steps leading up to the building.
Mining entrepreneur Thomas Kearns built this house in 1902 to display his business success in the region. In 1937, the Kearns family donated the property to the state, and it became the official residence for Utah's governors.
The mansion's name recalls Thomas Kearns, the senator and mining magnate who had it built, and it is still called the Kearns Mansion. In its early years it was a venue for entertainment, where guests danced to live orchestras and dignitaries such as President Theodore Roosevelt visited. Since 1937 it has served as the governor's residence, and it is listed on the National Register as the Thomas Kearns Mansion and Carriage House.
The mansion stands at 603 East South Temple Street, within the South Temple Historic District, and the property covers 9 acres including a carriage house. It is the governor's private residence, so the house itself is not open for tours; visitors see the facade and grounds from the street, behind the black metal fence.
The property listed on the National Register of Historic Places covers 9 acres and includes a carriage house as well as the mansion. A 1993 fire started by faulty wiring on a Christmas tree in the main hall destroyed much of the interior, and the $7.8 million restoration that followed returned the house to its 1902 appearance while adding sprinklers, new wiring and seismic upgrades.
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