Frankfort is a Capitol City

We're currently on a "southern" U.S. road trip from NH to FL and posting about sites seen & foods sampled along the way. This post is about a stop in Frankfort, KY.

If you followed posts from our cross-country road trip last summer, you know that we're very fond of visiting state Capitols. There's many good great reasons especially learning the history and architectural details of these buildings. Even better, they're free to tour and, in many cases, there's also a no-cost guided tour as well, such a deal.

Kentucky State Capitol, Frankfort, KY

Continuing with capitol visits this trip, we went to the Kentucky State Capitol in Frankfort. It's considered one of the most beautiful state capitols in the U.S. This state capitol is the fourth permanent building since statehood in 1792. It was built to replace an earlier 1830 capitol on the public square in downtown Frankfort, which became outdated for the growing state government.  

Old State Capitol in downtown Frankfort, KY

The Old State Capitol, also known as Old Statehouse, still stands on the public square in downtown Frankfort, KY. The Kentucky legislature voted for construction in 1827 and it was the home of the Kentucky General Assembly from 1830 to 1910. It was built in the Greek revival style to imitate the Temple of Minerva and the front of the building followed the style of windowless Greek temples. The building is a U.S. National Historic Landmark and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

When it became inadequate to support the growing state's governmental needs, a long debate ensued among Louisville, Lexington and Frankfort over which city should be chosen for Kentucky's new capitol. In 1904, after the legislature appropriated funds for a new capitol, commissioners were charged with finding the most suitable location that would also provide the most assistance toward construction. Frankfort won out after pledging more manpower than the other cities. The architect's design for the capitol was overpowering for the downtown location and the present site in southern Frankfort was selected.

The Kentucky General Assembly appropriated $1 million for the capitol's construction. Ground was broken in 1905 and construction was completed in 1909 at a cost of $1,180,434. Kentucky's new capitol was dedicated in June 1910. 

Here's how to distinguish between capital and capitol: A capitol is the building housing headquarters of government. A capital is the city that is the seat of government of a state or nation. (Think of the “O” in capitol as the top of a capitol buildings' dome.)

The Kentucky Capitol houses the three branches (executive, legislative, judicial) of the state government of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

Kentucky is a commonwealth, another word for state. (The term implies a commitment to the “commonweal” or common good of the people.) There are four U.S. states called commonwealths: Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Commonwealths are like any other state in politics and laws; there's no difference in their relationship to the nation as a whole. Since KY was formed from VA, the state’s founders kept the term.


Kentucky's State Capitol is the fourth permanent building since statehood in 1792. From 1792 to 1830, two buildings were used as the state capitol, both of which burned down completely. In 1830, another capitol was built on the old public square in down Frankfort and used until 1910 when it became inadequate to accommodate the growing state government. The 1830 former capitol is located in downtown Frankfort and is now a museum operated by the Kentucky Historical Society. (It wasn't open the day we were there.)

The exterior of the capitol is faced in Indiana limestone and Vermont granite. It was designed by architect Frank Mills Andrews in the neoclassical Beaux-Arts style, a style of architecture that was popular from 1880-1930. Influenced by classical Roman and Greek forms, it was the dominant style of U.S. architecture between the late 19th century and early 20th century. 

The main part of the Capitol has three floors. The first floor contains the offices of the governor (and staff), lieutenant governor, secretary of state, and attorney general. The rotunda features statues of famous Kentuckians and other exhibits.

The 14-foot high cast bronze statue of President Abraham Lincoln standing beside a chair is located in the center of the rotunda. In the rear and to the left is a 15-foot high full length marble statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. 

The bronzed model of the statue of Henry Clay was presented to the Kentucky State Bar Association which presented it to the Commonwealth of Kentucky under the condition that it be placed in the Rotunda of the Capitol. 

Many striking architectural features and opulent decorative finishes in Kentucky's Capitol illustrate his penchant for classical French interiors. The staircases are replicas of those of the Opéra Garnier in Paris. Decorative lunettes above each staircase highlight the entrances to the House and Senate chambers. 

The elegance of the capitol's interior was achieved using white Georgia marble, gray Tennessee marble and dark green Italian marble.The grand corridors feature 36 imposing columns of Vermont granite and delicate art glass skylights.

The second floor contains the courtroom of the state Supreme Court, as well as the chambers of the justices. The state law library is nearby on the same floor. 

The chambers of the House of Representatives and Senate face each other on opposite ends of the third floor. Several high-level legislative offices, for example, Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate, are also located there. Kentucky's legislative bodies meet in the House and Senate chambers. Both chambers continue the classical motifs of the building, incorporating scagliola (faux marble) for decorative architectural features.

In reply to a fellow blogger's comment, the computer screens shown in the above photos can only be used for voting or viewing legislative issues. (There's no game-playing or texting allowed in these rooms.)

The Supreme Court (below) is as the seat of the judicial branch of state government. The room is noted for its solid Honduras mahogany paneling and its elegant ceiling covered in Old Dutch Metal leafing, hammered to resemble old bronze. It's open to the public during sessions.

The State Reception Room was designed as a place for ceremonial events. The walls are decorated with pilasters finished in scagliola (called faux marble, a form of plaster that imitates decorative stone) and murals, hand painted to resemble tapestries from the Gobelin Tapestry Guild. (The historic French tapestry factory still produces tapestries.) The hand-carved Circassian walnut furniture, original to the room, was crafted to resemble 17th-century French Baroque pieces. 

State Reception Room, Kentucky State Capitol

The building used to be completely open during normal business hours, and local residents often used the marble hallways for exercise (Frankfort's equivalent of "mall walking"). That's no longer possible as all visitors without state credentials must go through a metal detector and are issued a badge returnable on exit. 

Directly across the street from the Kentucky Capitol is the Governor's Mansion, which is both a private home and a public building. Twenty-six Kentucky governors have lived here since 1914.The mansion has a front portico with four pairs of Ionic columns. The exterior was modeled after the Petit Trianon, Queen Marie Antoinette's villa on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles. 

In the mid-1980s, the mansion was renovated to its original Beaux-Arts style, and a front formal garden was planted based on the original 1913 drawings of the mansion grounds. The building is listed on the National Register of the Historic Places.

It's one of only a handful of U.S. executive residences in to be open to the public for tours on Tuesday and Thursday mornings; but it was closed on the Thursday we visited the state capitol.