The Lion House is a large residence built in 1856 by

Brigham Young Brigham Young (; June 1, 1801August 29, 1877) was an American religious leader and politician. He was the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), from 1847 until his death in 1877. During his time as ch ...

, second

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church), in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

History

Truman O. Angell, Young's brother-in-law, by his first wife Mary Ann Angell, and designer of the Salt Lake City Temple, was also involved in the design of this home. The house got its name from the statue of a lion, sculpted by the craftsman William F. Ward, above the front entrance. ''Lion of the Lord'' was a nickname of Young. The design is a Gothic Revival mansion with 20 gables for 20 small bedrooms. The house is situated at 63 East South Temple, near the corner of South Temple and State Street, just one block east of

Temple Square Temple Square is a complex, owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), in the center of Salt Lake City, Utah. The usage of the name has gradually changed to include several other church facilities that are immediately ...

. It is adjacent to Young's other official residence, the

Beehive House A beehive house is a building made from a circle of stones topped with a domed roof. The name comes from the similarity in shape to a straw beehive. Occurrences The ancient Bantu used this type of house, which was made with mud, poles, and c ...

, to which it is connected by a series of rooms used as offices. A

polygamist Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is married ...

, Young ultimately fathered 57 children by more than two dozen wives, and also had many adopted, foster, and stepchildren. He owned residences throughout Salt Lake City and

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state ...

, but many of his wives and children were housed in the Lion House. The house contains large public rooms on the ground floor with bedrooms on the upper floors and was home to as many as 12 of Young's wives, including Eliza R. Snow. In 1870, the Young Ladies’ Department of the Ladies’ Cooperative Retrenchment Association was founded in the Lion House--now called Young Women. In the 1920s, the Lion House housed the domestic science department of LDS University. In the 1930s, it was operated by the Young Women Mutual Improvement Association of the LDS Church as a social center for study and also for renting of rooms for social events. In 2020, the Lion House and other historic sites on Temple Square were closed to the public due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

Current use

Today the bottom floor of the Lion House is a functional, cafeteria-style restaurant called ''The Lion House Pantry'' which is open to the public. It is located adjacent to the LDS Church's main headquarters and heavily visited Temple Square. The Lion House is also known for the ''Original Lion House Rolls'' and signature recipe created by Head Baker Bill Ellis in 1977. The Lion House retail 'brand' includes rolls, brownie and raspberry muffin baking mixes sold nationally through commercial partner Lehi Roller Mills.Haddock, Sharon
"Lion House brand's going national with sale of mixes"
'' Deseret News'', 14 January 2010. Retrieved on 2 April 2021.

References

External links

*
The Lion House
Official site
Temple Square and Church Headquarters: Historic Lion House
Houses in Salt Lake City Properties of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Utah Houses completed in 1856 Brigham Young Restaurants in Utah History of the Latter Day Saint movement Historic preservation in the United States {{Utah-struct-stub

History

Current use

See also

References

External links