Beehive House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Beehive House
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U.S. National Historic Landmark District
Contributing Property |
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South Temple Street entrance to the Beehive House
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| Location | 67 E South Temple St, Salt Lake City, Utah |
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| Built | 1854 |
| Architect | Angell, Truman O. |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival |
| Part of | Brigham Young Complex (ID66000739) |
| NRHP reference No. | 70000626 |
| Added to NRHP | February 26, 1970 |
The Beehive House was once a home for Brigham Young, who was the second President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is located in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The house got its name from a special beehive sculpture on top of it.
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Brigham Young's Home and Office
The Beehive House was built in 1854. It was constructed two years before the Lion House, which was another home for Brigham Young, right next door. Both houses are very close to the Salt Lake Temple and Temple Square in Salt Lake City.
The Beehive House was designed by Truman O. Angell, who was Brigham Young's brother-in-law and also the architect for the Salt Lake Temple. The house was made from adobe (a type of sun-dried brick) and sandstone.
Brigham Young had a very large family, and the Beehive House was built to have enough space for everyone. It also became his official home when he was the governor of Utah Territory and the president of the Church. One of his wives, Lucy Ann Decker Young, became the main hostess of the Beehive House and lived there with her nine children.
From 1852 to 1855, the Beehive House was used as the official residence for the governor of the Utah Territory. Brigham Young often welcomed important guests there. The house is connected to the Lion House by a set of rooms. These rooms included Brigham Young's offices and his private bedroom, where he passed away in 1877.
What Happened After Brigham Young Died?
After Brigham Young's death, there were some disagreements about who owned his properties, including the Beehive House. Eventually, the house went to his family. The Beehive House was later replaced as the official governor's residence by a larger home called the Gardo House.
For a short time, two later Church presidents, John Taylor and Wilford Woodruff, lived in the Beehive House.
In the late 1880s, Brigham Young's son, John W. Young, added a large new section to the back of the house in the Victorian style. He also updated the older parts of the home. However, the Young family lost the house in 1893 when it was sold to pay off debts that John W. Young had.
A successful miner named John Beck lived in the house briefly. Then, the Church bought the house. It became the official home for Church presidents Lorenzo Snow and his successor Joseph F. Smith. Both of these presidents passed away while living in the mansion.
Later Uses of the Beehive House
A Home for Young Women
In 1920, a group from the Church called the Young Women Mutual Improvement Association opened the Beehive House as a place for single women to live. Many of these women worked as secretaries in the Church's main offices nearby in Salt Lake City. The Beehive House continued to be a boarding house until the 1950s.
Becoming a Museum
The Beehive House was carefully restored between 1959 and 1960. This project was led by Georgius Y. Cannon, who was Brigham Young's grandson. Today, the Beehive House is a historic house museum. It is filled with furniture and items from the time Brigham Young lived there, many of them original to the house. This helps visitors see what life was like for the Young family in the mid-1800s. Church missionaries offer free tours of the house every day.
Temporary Closing
In 2020, the Beehive House and other historic places around Temple Square were temporarily closed to visitors because of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.
