Kentucky State Capitol#People who have lain in state in the Rotunda

{{See also|Old State Capitol (Kentucky)}}

Image:Kentucky capitol staircase.jpg

From 1792 to 1830, two buildings were used as the capitol, both of which burned completely.{{cite book |author=Buchta, David L. |title=Kentucky's State Capitol |year=2010 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |location=United States |isbn=9780738585789}} Retrieved on 2013-08-08

In 1830, another capitol was built and was used until 1910. During a bitterly contested 1899 state governor election, Democratic Party claimant William Goebel was assassinated at the capitol on his way to be inaugurated. The need for a larger building for a growing state government resulted in the replacement of that capitol building, which is now a museum operated by the Kentucky Historical Society.[http://capitol.ky.gov/Pages/timeline.aspx Kentucky State Capitol Timeline] Retrieved 2013-08-08

In 1904, the Kentucky General Assembly chose Frankfort (rather than Lexington or Louisville) as the location for the state capital and appropriated $1 million for the construction of a permanent state capitol building, to be located in southern Frankfort. The official ground-breaking was August 14, 1905 and construction was completed in 1909 at a cost of $1,180,434.80. The building was dedicated on June 2, 1910.[http://historicproperties.ky.gov/hp/capitol/ Kentucky State Capitol: The Commonwealth's {{sic|nolink=y|Magnificient|expected=Magnificent}} Edifice] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004232324/http://historicproperties.ky.gov/hp/capitol/ |date=2013-10-04 }} Kentucky Division of Historic Properties. Retrieved 2013-08-08

The capitol was designed by Frank Mills Andrews, a distinguished and award-winning architect. He used the Beaux-Arts style and included many classical French interior designs. The staircases, for example, are replicas of those of the Opéra Garnier in Paris.[http://www.frankfort.ky.gov/general-information/architecture Architecture of Frankfort] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130508062843/http://www.frankfort.ky.gov/general-information/architecture |date=2013-05-08 }} City of Frankfort. Retrieved 2013-08-08

File:The south-east facade of the Kentucky State Capitol building located in Frankfort, Kentucky. Photographed by Tedd Liggett on September 15, 2018.jpg

Between 1912 and 1963, five statues of historical figures from Kentucky were erected in the rotunda of the capitol.{{Cite web| title= Stop #14 State Capitol Pediment, Statuary & Murals |work = Frankfort Public Art |url = http://www.frankfortpublicart.com/sites/state-capitol-building |year = 2012|access-date = 4 June 2020}} The first was a bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln, which was donated in 1912. Statues of Henry Clay and Ephraim McDowell were added in 1930. Both of these are the bronzed plaster models used for the bronze statues that represent Kentucky in the National Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.{{Cite web|title = Capitol Rotunda Statuary | work = Historic Properties|year=2020 |url = https://historicproperties.ky.gov/hp/ncs/Pages/crs.aspx |access-date = 4 June 2020}} In 1936, a marble statue of Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States of America, was placed in the rotunda. The statue of Davis was paid for by both donations and public funds, and erected under the auspices of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The Kentucky General Assembly voted to fund a bronze statue of Alben Barkley, former Vice President of the United States, and it was added to the rotunda in 1963.

In 2018, a plaque in front of the statue of Jefferson Davis, which referred to Davis as a "patriot" and a "hero", was removed by the Kentucky Historic Properties Commission.{{Cite web|title= A plaque calling Jefferson Davis a 'patriot' was removed from his Kentucky Capitol statue |author= Novelly, Thomas |work = The Courier-Journal |date = March 29, 2018|url = https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2018/03/29/kentucky-capitol-jefferson-davis-plaque-removed/469331002/ |access-date = 4 June 2020}} On June 4, 2020, Governor Andy Beshear stated that he believed the statue of Davis should be removed.{{Cite web|title = Jefferson Davis statue needs to be removed from Kentucky Capitol, Andy Beshear says |author = Aulbach, Lucas |work = The Courier-Journal|date = June 4, 2020| url = https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2020/06/04/amid-breonna-taylor-protests-andy-beshears-against-jefferson-davis-statue/3147665001/ |access-date= 4 June 2020}} On June 13, 2020, the Kentucky Historic Properties Commission voted 11–1 to remove the statue from the Capitol. The Davis statue was to be moved to the Jefferson Davis Monument State Historic Site situated in Fairview, Kentucky, the birthplace of Davis.{{Cite web|url=https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/2020/06/13/confederate-statues-jefferson-davis-removed-kentucky-capitol/3179569001/|title='Sins of our past': After 84 years, Jefferson Davis statue removed from Kentucky Capitol|first=Phillip M.|last=Bailey|website=The Courier-Journal}}

In November 2022, a bronze statue of Nettie Depp by Amanda Matthews, Depp's great-great niece, was unveiled inside that capitol. It is the first permanent large-scale monument of a woman inside the state capitol. While Nettie's influence was not statewide, the Historic Properties Advisory Commission considered her a representative example of Kentucky women who achieved professional and personal success. The statue's unveiling occurred in November 2022.{{cite news|last1=Brammer|first1=Jack|title=In 2018, Kentucky's Capitol will finally get a life-size statue of a woman|url=http://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article191206714.html|access-date=27 December 2017|work=Lexington Herald-Leader|date=22 December 2017}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/10/us/kentucky-first-woman-statue-state-capitol/index.html|title=Kentucky unveils statue of Nettie Depp, the first woman to have a permanent large-scale monument inside the state Capitol|first=Aya Elamroussi, Amy|last=Simonson|date=November 11, 2022|website=CNN}}

File:The_Kentucky_State_Capitol_Building.png

File:The Capitol Dome of the Kentucky State Capitol building located in Frankfort, Kentucky. Photographed by Tedd Liggett on September 15, 2018 (looking towards the south-east).jpg

The main part of the Capitol has three floors. The first floor contains the offices of the governor (and his or her staff), lieutenant governor, secretary of state, and attorney general. It also features a rotunda with statues of famous Kentuckians and other exhibits, including Kentucky Women Remembered.

The rotunda contains four statues of notable historical figures from Kentucky. In the center of the rotunda stands a bronze statue of President Abraham Lincoln. Three more statues line the walls of the rotunda: bronze statues of Henry Clay, Vice President Alben Barkley, and Ephraim McDowell.

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. The State Reception Room is also located on the second floor.

The chambers of the House of Representatives and Senate face each other on opposite ends of the third floor. Some high-level legislative offices (such as for the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate) are also located there.

The Capitol also has a partial fourth floor which houses the galleries of the House and Senate, as well as a few offices for legislative committee staffers.

In addition, there is a partially buried basement level with mostly offices for clerks and maintenance personnel. However, it also contains a small gift shop and lunch counter as well as a tunnel to the neighboring Capitol Annex building. The Annex houses General Assembly committee rooms, General Assembly members offices and a cafeteria.

• Rebecca Boone, wife of Daniel Boone, 1845
• Daniel Boone, explorer, 1845
• Joseph Clay Stiles Blackburn, United States Senator, 1918
• Augustus Owsley Stanley, Governor, 1958
• Tom Garrett, state senator, 1979
• Col. Harland Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, 1980
• A.B. "Happy" Chandler, Governor and United States Senator, 1991
• Bert T. Combs, Governor, 1991
• Thelma Stovall, Lt. Governor, 1994
• Lawrence W. Wetherby, Governor, 1994
• Wilson W. Wyatt, Lt. Governor, 1996
• Vic Hellard Jr., Executive Director of the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, 1996
• Mary Louise Foust, State Auditor, 1999.
• Wendell P. Butler, Superintendent of Public Instruction, 2000
• Robert F. Stephens, Chief Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court, 2002
• Kenny Rapier, State Senator, 2002
• Edward T. "Ned" Breathitt, Governor, 2003
• Louie B. Nunn, Governor, 2004
• William E. McAnulty Jr., Justice on the Kentucky Supreme Court, 2008
• Mike Haydon, Governor's Chief of Staff, 2012
• Wendell Ford, Governor and United States Senator, 2015
• Georgia Davis Powers, State Senator, 2016{{cite news |last=Gerth |first=Joseph |date=February 4, 2016 |title=22 have lain in state in Kentucky's Capitol |url=https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/history/2016/02/04/twenty-two-who-have-lain-state-kentuckys-capitol/79839572/|newspaper=Louisville Courier-Journal |location= Louisville, Kentucky |access-date=February 4, 2022}}
• John Y. Brown Jr., Governor and business mogul, 2022{{cite news|url=https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2022/11/29/former-kentucky-gov-john-y-brown-jr-lies-state-capitol/69683171007/|title=Former Gov. John Y. Brown lies in state at Kentucky Capitol|first=Morgan|last=Watkins|publisher=Louisville Courier Journal|date=November 29, 2022|accessdate=November 29, 2022}}
• Julian Carroll, Governor, 2023{{Cite web |last=Bertucci |first=Leo |title=Former Kentucky Gov. Julian Carroll to lie in state in Frankfort Friday |url=https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2023/12/13/former-kentucky-gov-julian-carroll-to-lie-in-frankfort/71903898007/ |access-date=2024-09-25 |website=The Courier-Journal |language=en-US}}

The Capitol used to be completely open during normal business hours, and local residents often used the marble hallways for exercise (the Frankfort equivalent of "mall walking"). Currently, anyone without proper state credentials must go through a metal detector. Security for the complex is provided by officers from the Facilities Security Branch of the Kentucky State Police along with specifically assigned state troopers.

• List of Kentucky General Assemblies
• Floral clock (Frankfort, Kentucky)
• List of state and territorial capitols in the United States

File:Kentucky State Capitol Lookout.jpg|Kentucky State Capitol Dome seen from the US 60 lookout

File:Kentucky State Capitol Frankfort Cemetery.jpg|Kentucky State Capitol seen from the Daniel Boone grave site

File:Frankfory KY Capitol Building at night.JPG|Capitol dome illuminated at night

File:Kentucky Capitol Dome 01.JPG|Capitol Dome, seen from outside main entrance

File:Plaza, Kentucky State Capitol - DSC09139.JPG|Main Entrance to the Capitol

File:Dome - Kentucky State Capitol - DSC09207.JPG|The rotunda

File:Kentucky State Capitol - DSC09164.JPG|One of the marble staircases

File:Kentucky State Capitol - DSC09202.JPG|The main corridor

File:Gov of ky office.jpg|Office of the Governor of Kentucky

File:Senate Chamber - Kentucky State Capitol - DSC09173.JPG|Senate Chamber

File:House of Representatives Chamber - Kentucky State Capitol -DSC09197.JPG|House of Representatives

File:Kentucky Supreme Court Chamber.jpg|Supreme Court Chamber

File:Supreme Court Chamber - Kentucky State Capitol - DSC09183.JPG|Supreme Court Chamber

File:State Reception Room - Kentucky State Capitol - DSC09159.JPG|State Reception Room

File:KY Capitol Library.JPG|Kentucky Capitol Law Library

File:Abraham Lincoln by Adolph Alexander Weinman - Kentucky State Capitol - DSC09243.JPG|Statue of Abraham Lincoln

File:Henry Clay by Charles Henry Niehaus - Kentucky State Capitol - DSC09232.JPG|Statue of Henry Clay

File:John Sherman Cooper bust.jpg|A bust of Kentucky Senator John Sherman Cooper, located in the Kentucky State Capitol

File:Lamp - Kentucky State Capitol - DSC09249.JPG|Lamp - Kentucky State Capitol

File:President William H. Taft addressing crowd at Kentucky State Capitol Building Rotunda.jpg|President William H. Taft addressing crowd at Kentucky State Capitol Building Rotunda

File:Kentucky State Capitol - 9-3-23.jpg|The Kentucky State Capitol on September 3, 2023.

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• [http://capitol.ky.gov/Pages/default.aspx Official website of the Kentucky State Capitol]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060813184609/http://www.kdla.ky.gov/resources/KYCapitol.htm Kentucky's State Capitols] Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070827133601/http://history.ky.gov/sub.php?pageid=23§ionid=8 Kentucky Historical Society page on the Old State Capitol]
• [http://sos.ky.gov Kentucky Secretary of State]

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{{Frankfort, Kentucky}}

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Category:Government of Kentucky

Category:State capitols in the United States

Category:Government buildings in Kentucky

Category:Government buildings with domes

Category:Tourist attractions in Franklin County, Kentucky

Category:Government buildings completed in 1905

Category:Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky

Category:1905 establishments in Kentucky

Category:National Register of Historic Places in Frankfort, Kentucky

Category:Beaux-Arts architecture in Kentucky

Category:Buildings and structures in Frankfort, Kentucky

Category:Central Frankfort Historic District