United States · Utah · Salt Lake City
South Temple Historic District, Salt Lake City — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Carriage steps and trees line the South Temple Historic District, the mansion street of Salt Lake City, running east from downtown to Virginia Street.
Hotel links are affiliate links: booking through them may earn us a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never affects how places are ranked. How this works
Where to stay in South Temple Historic District
Where the beds are, and what that means for the visit.
South Temple Historic District holds mansions rather than lobbies, and the beds sit at its two ends. Downtown Salt Lake City starts a few blocks west of the Cathedral of the Madeleine and keeps most of the front desks. East of there, toward Virginia Street, the lots run to houses, churches and private clubs, and one of them, the Queen Anne Emanuel Kahn House, was long ago converted to lodging. Walking is the whole argument here.
It suits you if sleeping on the same street as the Kearns Mansion is worth a short walk west to find a hotel.
Find hotels in South Temple Historic District
Direct booking searches for these neighbourhoods.
The Cathedral of the Madeleine end
The western blocks of the district sit closest to downtown, so the walk to a front desk is short and the Cathedral of the Madeleine and the First Presbyterian Church of Salt Lake City are both on the way. Rooms are few around here — worth securing early.Find hotels in The Cathedral of the Madeleine enda converted house rather than a hotel, on the quieter half of the streetThe mansion blocks toward Virginia Street
Deep lots and mature trees hold the Kearns Mansion, the David Keith Mansion and Carriage House and the Enos Wall Mansion, and lodging here means a converted house such as the Emanuel Kahn House. Lodging is scarce in this area; reserve in advance.Find hotels in The mansion blocks toward Virginia Streetbookings that need a conventional front desk and a short walk east into the districtDowntown Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City keeps its guest rooms on the downtown grid west of the district, within walking distance of the South Temple Street frontages.Find hotels in Downtown Salt Lake CityHotel links are affiliate links: booking through them may earn us a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never affects how places are ranked. How this works
Things to do in and around Salt Lake City
Ranked by global recognition; descriptions from Wikidata (CC0).
Museums & Galleries
3- Utah Museum of Fine Arts
- Church History Museum
- The Leonardo
Churches & Religious Sites
3- Japanese Church of Christ Heritage
- Iglesia La Luz del Mundo Heritage
- First Presbyterian Church of Salt Lake City
Castles & Historic Sites
3- Matthew Stanford Robison Memorial
- Seagull Monument
- Celebration of Life Monument
Landmarks & Notable Places
6- Devereaux House Heritage
- Beehive House Heritage
- Simon Bamberger House Heritage
- David Keith Mansion and Carriage House Heritage
- William Culmer House Heritage
Show 1 more →
- Frederick A.E. Meyer House Heritage
worth knowingacross 4 categories in and around Salt Lake City
About South Temple Historic District
What are the main landmarks in South Temple Historic District?
The landmark run along South Temple Street is architectural, not scenic. Carl Neuhausen gave the Cathedral of the Madeleine its Neo-Romanesque front, and the Gothic Revival First Presbyterian Church of Salt Lake City stands on the same block in red sandstone from Red Butte Canyon. Neuhausen drew the Kearns Mansion too, raised for the mining senator Thomas Kearns and later taken over as the Utah Governor's Mansion.
Further east sit the David Keith Mansion and Carriage House, by Frederick Albert Hale, and the Enos Wall Mansion. Egyptian Revival closes the set. That is the Salt Lake Masonic Temple.
What is the history of South Temple Historic District?
South Temple Historic District grew along the avenue Brigham Young set out in 1847 as the settlement's most prominent, the road that carried traffic east to Red Butte Canyon and Fort Douglas. Mining fortunes of the late nineteenth century turned it into the address of Utah's political leaders, mine owners and immigrant merchants. Then the wrecking crews came.
Commercial pressure in the mid twentieth century cost the street a long run of its houses. Preservation was the answer, and Salt Lake City put the street on its own register in 1976, the first local historic district here; the National Register listing followed in 1982.
Where is South Temple Historic District?
South Temple Historic District follows South Temple Street east from Third East to Virginia Street, with The Avenues above it and downtown Salt Lake City behind.
Common questions
What is the best area to stay in South Temple Historic District?
The Cathedral of the Madeleine end: arrivals who want the district's churches and clubs on the doorstep and downtown a few minutes west. The mansion blocks toward Virginia Street: a converted house rather than a hotel, on the quieter half of the street. Downtown Salt Lake City: bookings that need a conventional front desk and a short walk east into the district.
Good for
More areas in Salt Lake City
Updated October 2026