This former house of Brigham Young, Beehive House (67 E. South Temple St., 801/240-2671, tours every 10 minutes 9 a.m.–9 p.m. Mon.–Sat., free) was built in 1854 and occupied by Young and his family until his death in 1877. The adobe and brick structure stood out as one of the most ornate houses in early Salt Lake City.

Free tours lasting 30–40 minutes take visitors through the house and tell of family life within its walls. The interior has been meticulously restored with many original furnishings. A beehive symbol, representing industry, caps the house and appears in decorative motifs inside.

Brigham Young had about 27 wives, but only one at a time stayed in this house; other wives and children lived next door in the Lion House. Downstairs in the main house, Young’s children gathered in the sitting room for evenings of prayer, talks, and music. Upstairs, he entertained guests and dignitaries in a lavish reception room called the Long Hall.

Other rooms to see include the kitchen, the family store, bedrooms, the playroom, and the “fairy castle,” where small children could peer through a window at grown-ups in the hallway below.

The Lion House (63 E. South Temple st.), next door, was built in 1855–1856 of stuccoed adobe; a stone lion guards the entrance. Brigham Young used it as a supplementary dwelling for his many wives and children. Today, the pantry and basement of the building are open to the public as the Lion House restaurant.