Old State Capitol (Kentucky)

Old State House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
The Old State Capitol of Kentucky in Frankfort
Location	On Broadway, bounded by Madison, Clinton, and Lewis Sts., Frankfort, Kentucky
Coordinates	38°12′1.09″N 84°52′35.59″W
Area	3.5 acres (1.4 ha)
Built	1837
Architect	Gideon Shryock
Architectural style	Greek Revival
Part of	Frankfort Commercial Historic District (ID79000986)
NRHP reference No.	71000346
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	March 11, 1971
Designated NHL	March 11, 1971
Designated CP	May 10, 1979

The Old State Capitol in Kentucky, also known as Old Statehouse, was the third capitol of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The building is located in the Kentucky capital city of Frankfort and served as home of the Kentucky General Assembly from 1830 to 1910. The current Kentucky State Capitol was built in 1910. The Old State Capitol has served as a museum and the home of the Kentucky Historical Society since 1920. It has been restored to its American Civil War era appearance and was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1971 for its exceptional Greek Revival architecture, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Kentucky legislature voted for its construction in 1827. The building was designed in the Greek Revival style by Gideon Shryock, an early Lexington, Kentucky architect. The Old State Capitol was his first building and he was only twenty-five years old. Shryock chose the Greek Revival style to symbolically link Kentucky, a young republic, with ancient Greece, the prototype of popular democratic government. He wanted the front of the building to duplicate the Temple of Minerva Polias at Priene. Greek temples had no windows, therefore the front of the capitol is devoid of fenestration. Other architectural features include a self-supporting stone stairway and a domed lantern above it to bring in sunlight.

A bitterly contested 1899 state governor election came to a climax when Democratic claimant William Goebel of Covington, Kentucky was assassinated at the capitol on his way to be inaugurated. A plaque reading "William Goebel fell here, Jan. 30th, 1900" exists near the front entrance of the building.

Gallery

fountain of the Old State Capitol, Frankfort, Kentucky, USA.

Sketch depicting the aftermath of the shooting of Kentucky Governor William Goebel

A plaque set in front of the building marks where Goebel fell after being shot.

Keystone to Prison Entrance - Old State Capitol, Frankfort, Kentucky

The Loyal West in the Times of the Rebellion; also, Before and Since: Being an Encyclopedia and Panorama of the Western States, Pacific States and Territories of the Union, Historical, Geographical, and Pictorial, Illustrated by more than two hundred Engravings, presenting views of all the Cities and Principal Towns Public Buildings and Monuments Battle-fields — Historic localities natural curiosities, and scenes, Illustrating the times of the Rebellion, etc., Principally from Drawings taken on the spot by the Authors; John Barber, and Henry Howe; Cincinnati, Ohio; P. A. Howe, Successor of Henry Howe; CE.1865; pg 764.

See also

• List of National Historic Landmarks in Kentucky
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Franklin County, Kentucky

References

• Kentucky Historical Society, Old State Capitol

External links

Media related to Kentucky Old State Capitol at Wikimedia Commons

• Kentucky Historical Society page on the Old State Capitol