Capitol Tour

Open: Monday - Friday 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.; Saturday 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.; Sunday 1 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

On-Site Parking: Yes (Bus parking is no longer available in the lots surrounding the Capitol. Large groups and school tours are asked to call 502-564-3449 to make arrangements and get information about providing identification.)

Wheelchair Access: Yes

Built: 1905-1909

Style of Architecture: Beaux Arts style with elements of classical architecture; A combination of Greek architecture with highly ornate elegance of French styling.

Kentucky's New State Capitol is the fourth state house used in the commonwealth since statehood in 1792. The first two were destroyed by fire and the third is the Old State Capitol located in downtown Frankfort. Ground was broken in 1904 and the building was completed in time for the 1910 session of the General Assembly to be held in the new capitol. Dedication ceremonies were held the following June amidst great pomp and circumstance. Designed by the distinguished architect Frank Mills Andrews, the total cost of Kentucky's new capitol was $1.8 million.


The first or executive floor, includes the offices of the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and the attorney general. The imposing dome above the rotunda, which houses sculptures of famous Kentuckians, was modeled after the one over Napoleon's tomb in Paris, France. At the center it rises seven stories. A statue of Abraham Lincoln in the center of the rotunda stands above others of Jefferson Davis, Henry Clay, Alben Barkley and Ephraim McDowell.


Massive marble stairways modeled after the Paris Grand Opera House rise to the second floor--or the judicial floor. This is where the Supreme Court, the state law library and the state reception room, which was recently restored, are located. Portraits of past state supreme court justices line the grand halls which provide an expansive view of other areas of the building. The Supreme Court chambers, the most expensive room in the capitol, cost $25,000 when built. It is noted for its solid Honduras mahogany paneling and the elegant coffered ceiling covered in "Old Dutch" metal leafing.


The newly restored State Reception Room was designed in the Louis XIV period and includes a handwoven Austrian rug which designed expressly for the room in 1910. It has French style furniture and elegant wall murals and decorative finishes.


The leadership of the Kentucky House of Representatives and Senate are on located the third floor. The chambers, used when the legislature is in session, are at opposite ends of the great hall; the house on the east and the senate on the west. The entrances are highlighted by decorative lunettes of frontier scenes with Daniel Boone, painted in oil by T. Gilbert White. Both chambers continue the classical styles of the building and are furnished with mahogany desks and upholstered leather chairs.

For tour schedules or additional information about the New State Capitol, contact the tour guide's desk at (502) 564-3449.