The Kentucky State Capitol

Being afforded many opportunities to travel, I’ve actually seen more than the 20 states crossed off aforementioned list.  But because I haven’t yet toured their statehouse, places like California, Nevada, South Dakota, Florida, New York and New Jersey haven’t scored a checkmark.  My list, my rules!  Since that notion is what prompted a trip to the Bluegrass State, its Capitol was the site to which we first headed upon arriving there.

Completed in 1910, Kentucky’s current Capitol is the fourth permanent statehouse constructed since the Commonwealth’s statehood in 1792.  It was built to replace the earlier 1830 capitol building, still standing in downtown Frankfort, which had become inadequate to accommodate the growing state government.  Designed by Frank Mills Andrews, it is considered to be one of the most beautiful capitols in the country.  His Beaux Arts design is a pleasant departure from the many classical Greek and Roman structures I’ve seen in other capital cities.

The exterior of the Capitol is faced in Indiana limestone and Vermont granite.  The pediment above the entrance was designed by Charles Henry Niehaus and carved by Australian sculptor Peter Rossack.  The central figure represents Kentucky, with Progress, History, Plenty, Law, Art and Labor as her attendants.  The animals symbolize agriculture.

The building’s interior is open to visitors and guided tours are available on the hour. We instead grabbed a map and opted to explore on our own.

The capitol rotunda features sculptures of prominent Kentuckians, including Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Henry Clay, Ephraim McDowell and Alben Berkley. 

The dome rises more than seven stories in height (180 feet) and was patterned after the dome of Napoleon’s tomb in Paris. 

My favorite feature of any capitol building is the murals which depict its history.  The four hand-painted murals in the Capitol’s pendentives (the triangular areas beneath the dome) did not disappoint.  Though it took nearly 100 years for their design to be realized, the story of how they came to be is an interesting one.

 Civitas: The Light of Progress

When the Capitol was originally built, plans were made for muralist Frank Millet—a former Harvard classmate of Kentucky’s then governor August E. William—to design and paint murals in the Capitol rotunda.  Tragically, he died on the ill-fated maiden voyage of the Titanic on April 14, 1912 and the idea was put on hold.

Nature: The Bounty of the Land

When EverGreene Architectural Arts conducted a restoration of the State Reception Room in 1991, Capitol officials were presented with a sketch of how the rotunda could look with painted pendentive murals.  That, however, was tucked away in the attic and forgotten until serendipitously discovered again in 2005. 

Culture: The Fruits of Knowledge

Planning and funding ensued over the next several years.  It proved challenging until Marion Forcht, a member of the Historic Properties Advisory Commission, stepped forward to underwrite the entire project.  Her donation is the largest in the history of the Capitol.  Through her generosity, pendentive murals were finally designed for the rotunda.  They were completed in June 2010, aptly timed with the Capitol’s centennial. 

Industry: The Strength of Commerce

The four themes represented in the murals are agriculture, industry, civilization and culture.  Each is representative of various history and landmarks found throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Andrews’ penchant for French design can also be seen in other interior features of the building.  The massive marble stairways in the Great Hall resemble those in the Paris Opera and the State Reception Room is a replica of Marie Antoinette’s drawing room at Versailles.  The grand corridors feature 36 columns of Vermont granite and art glass skylights. 

Lunettes painted by Gilbert T. White are featured above each staircase and highlight the entrances to the legislative chambers.  In the east wing above the House is a representation of Daniel Boone’s first view of the Bluegrass Region in 1769.  

To the west above the Senate Boone and Richard Henderson conclude the Treaty of Watauga in 1775, which allowed for the purchase of much of the land that is Kentucky from the Cherokee Indians.

With amazing architecture steeped in rich history, this Capitol building was well worth the visit.  A final photo outside the front doors proved we had actually seen the Kentucky statehouse and made my 20th tour official!