The Lion House

Location: 63 East South Temple, SLC

Built by President Brigham Young and used by him as a residence from about 1855 until his death in 1877. On the lower floor were the dining room and kitchens. On the next floor were the living rooms and large parlor; and on the top floor were the bedrooms.

It was in this house that President Young died. Later the building was used for school purposes and as a social center for women and girls. The lion is a replica of one that occupied a similar position on a prominent home in Vermont, the State where President Young was born and spent his youth.

In 1869, Brigham Young founded the Young Women organization in the Lion House.

Several SUP/UPTLA Markers are located near each other here.

• #34 – Eagle Gate
• #35 – A Private School House
• #50 – The Bee-Hive House
• #51 – The Lion House
• #52 – Brigham Young’s Office

The Lion House is part of the Brigham Young Complex and is located at 47 East South Temple in the downtown neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Utah and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places February 26, 1970 (#70000631).

The Utah Historic Site plaque says the Lion House was constructed 1855-56 as a residence for Brigham Young and his family.  The Lion House takes its name from the recumbent lion set on top of the front portico.  The House was designed by Truman O. Angell and built of stuccoed adobe.  Brigham Young, second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and first territorial governor of Utah, died in this house on August 29, 1877.  Since its construction, the Lion House has functioned as a community social center.

Tourstop 4 in the Salt Lake City Tour says: The Lion House takes its name from the carved  lion on top of the front portico.  The House was constructed with adobe blocks, a common building material during Utah’s settlement period.  Brigham Young, second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints built the Lion House for his wives and children.   He and some early Church members practiced the Old Testament principle of polygamy which was officially ended in 1890.  The basement contained a dining room which could accommodate 70 people.  On the main floor were sitting rooms and bedrooms for wives with children.  The second floor had bedrooms for children and childless wives – one under each of the 20 steeply-pitched gables.