What to See in Frankfort - Top Sights and Attractions

Building in Frankfort, Kentucky. The Kentucky Governor's Mansion is a historic residence in Frankfort, Kentucky. It is located at the East lawn of the Capitol, at the end of Capital Avenue. On February 1, 1972, it was added to the United States National Register of Historic Places.

It was built in 1912–14 for use as the governor's mansion, according to designs submitted by Weber, Werner & Adkins of Cincinnati, Ohio. The politically connected Weber Brothers, Edward Addison Weber and Christian C. Weber received and handled the commission officially. However, because neither appears to have any architectural or design training, "the actual designer appears to have been John Scudder Adkins (1872-1931), a well-trained and talented St. Louis-born architect who moved to Cincinnati in 1893." Adkins designed several notable commercial and institutional buildings as well as residences throughout the mid-west. John Adkins and G.S. Werner were partners in a firm prior to merging with as the Weber brothers' firm. The firm was selected from among four firms invited to submit plans.

The new mansion replaced the Old Governor's Mansion, built in 1798, which still stands, at 420 High Street, Frankfort. The Act specified that the new mansion should be "constructed, trimmed and finished with native stone produced from quarries in Kentucky." The Beaux-Arts design owed a great deal to the Petit Trianon at Versailles' interiors were in neoclassical French taste. The landscaping design for the mansion was developed and implemented by William Speed of Louisville.

In 1980, Kentucky's First Lady, Phyllis George Brown, began a fundraising effort called Save the Mansion, designed to fund the restoration of the interior and furnish the building. The restoration project was completed in the spring of 1983. The Governor's Mansion Preservation Foundation is a charitable trust that is charged with conservation of the historic structure. The Governor's Mansion is regularly open for tours.^[1]

Museum in Frankfort, Kentucky. The Old State Capitol, 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.^[3]

Historical landmark in Frankfort, Kentucky. The Old Governor's Mansion, also known as Lieutenant Governor's Mansion, is located at 420 High Street, Frankfort, Kentucky. It is reputed to be the oldest official executive residence officially still in use in the United States, as the mansion is the official residence of the lieutenant governor of Kentucky.

In 1796, the Kentucky General Assembly appropriated funds to provide a house to accommodate the governor. Construction was completed in 1798. The home barely survived fires and neglect through the years. It has undergone several style changes as evidenced by some Victorian design elements that were added.

The Mansion was often referred to as the "Palace" in its early days. Dignitaries including Theodore Roosevelt, Andrew Jackson, Louis-Philippe of France, Henry Clay, William Jennings Bryan and the Marquis de Lafayette have been guests of the Mansion. The last occupants of the mansion were Lieutenant Governor Steve Henry and his wife Heather French Henry. Since Henry, Lieutenant Governors have chosen not to live in the mansion but to maintain residences in their hometowns and travel to Frankfort as needed. Because of this, the mansion has been turned over to the Kentucky Historical Society.

Both a bricklayer and stonemason who helped build the house, Robert P. Letcher and Thomas Metcalf, later became governors and lived there.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.^[4]

Truss bridge in Frankfort, Kentucky. The Singing Bridge is a two-lane vehicle and pedestrian bridge in Frankfort, Kentucky that is so named because of the humming sound it makes when driven over. As of 2019, the bridge carries over 5,000 vehicles per day across the Kentucky River along St. Clair Street to Bridge Street, joining Downtown Frankfort with South Frankfort. It is a contributing structure to the Frankfort Commercial Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

The over-400 foot long bridge is a Pennsylvania truss bridge built in 1893 by King Bridge Company, and was rehabilitated in 1956 and in 2010. The bridge originally carried U.S. Route 60 (US 60) until that highway was rerouted over the nearby War Mothers Memorial Bridge.

In 2019, the 125 year old bridge's load rating was reduced from 9 tons (1988) to 3 tons, then it was closed to vehicle traffic in late 2020 when an accident caused damage to a truss and rail. Repairs were started in March 2021 to repair the damage and to inspect for further damage caused when an unmoored floating marina's roof hit the bottom of the bridge on March 3, 2021 during high river levels.

The bridge gets its name from the humming noise it makes as vehicles travel across its open-grate steel deck, which replaced a solid flooring in 1937.^[8]

The Kentucky War Memorial is a memorial to Kentuckians who have died in all wars. On a high-point called the "State Mound" in Frankfort Cemetery in Frankfort, Kentucky, the memorial consists of a 65-foot-tall monument erected in 1850, nine low stone monuments built in a semi-circle, and two low straight monuments. The 1850 monument honors men who died up until 1850 and it lists the battles and the officers who fell. The semi-circular area to the south of the tall monument lists the wars, and the straight monuments list the names of all of Kentucky's fallen. The wars mentioned include: War of Independence, War of 1812, the Texas War of Independence, the Mexican War, Civil War, Spanish–American War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, and Persian Gulf War.

In 1848, an act passed by the state legislature appropriated $15,000 for its construction. The 65-foot-tall granite monument, topped by a statue of Victory, was unveiled in 1850.

The monument was erected to stand over the graves of 17 Kentucky soldiers who had fallen at the Battle of Buena Vista. Their interment in Frankfort Cemetery on July 20, 1847 was marked by a eulogy from John C. Breckinridge, a supporter of the war. According to a popular story, this mass funeral inspired Mexican-War veteran, Theordore O'Hara, to pen his famed poem, "Bivouac of the Dead". However, O'Hara was still with the army in Mexico in July 1848.^[10]