Carl M. Neuhausen designed the Utah Governor's Mansion, completed in 1902 for Senator Thomas Kearns at 603 East South Temple Street. This elegant house was completed in 1902 for United States Senator and mining magnate Thomas Kearns and today serves as the official residence of the governor of Utah and family. The mansion was designed by notable Utah architect Carl M. Neuhausen, who also designed the Cathedral of the Madeleine.
Built with the finest materials by the finest craftsmen, its quality and style were meant to echo grand Eastern houses—think Vanderbilts and Carnegies. In Kearns's day the rooms were not just private spaces; they were where he conducted official business and where guests danced to the music of live orchestras. Political and religious dignitaries frequently visited; President Theodore Roosevelt, a personal friend of Senator Kearns, was among them.
Senator Kearns died in 1918, and in February 1937 Jennie Judge Kearns donated the mansion to the State. Jennie Judge Kearns gave the house to the State in February 1937, and Utah's governors have lived in Senator Kearns's rooms since.