Before last night, I had only set foot in the old Kearns Mansion - the official residence of Utah's governor - once, and that was in the midst of the house's restoration after the 1993 Christmas tree fire that gutted the Grand Hall and nearly destroyed the dome over the three-story staircase.

Last night, Gov. Jon Huntsman - in a holiday tradition going back longer than my tenure in Utah - opened up the mansion for invited guests, including pretty much every reporter in the state. (There's an old joke, unfortunately true, about how they call it a free press because we always show up for the free food.)

Seeing the mansion dolled up in its Christmas finery was a treat, though. I counted four Christmas trees on the first floor alone, with the biggest one (pictured) in the Grand Hall - decorated with badges from police and fire departments from across Utah, as well as a Utah Highway Patrolman's hat, a dalmatian plush toy and other symbols of first responders.

The mansion staff conducts free public tours - but there's only one left before Christmas, on Thursday from 2 to 4 p.m. The mansion is at 603 E. South Temple, Salt Lake City.

Labels: government, Jon Huntsman