budget,  historic,  travel

Frankfort, KY: the State Capitol

May 12, 2021 /

My husband travels the Southeast of the United States and Kentucky used to me one of the states he traveled to regularly for work. When we decided to spend a day in Frankfort, visiting the state capitol was on top of our list. Unfortunately because of Covid, we couldn’t go inside (it looks really grandiose in pictures) but we were still able to walk the grounds which are very impressive too.

The current building is the 4th permanent build since Kentucky became a state in 1792. The earlier state capitol building (1830) is still in downtown Frankfort. Because of the size of the new state capitol it could not be place downtown so it is located in south Frankfort. The capitol building was dedicated in June 1910.

Visiting in the spring means you get to see the beautiful tulips in bloom. We really enjoyed looking at these and taking pictures. They make a beautiful path leading to the capitol.

I love beautiful buildings. Having traveled to different countries in Europe, it is hard to find anything that will impress me more than medieval castles, impressive churches and even farmhouses in the country. But this definitely impressed me.

I always wonder how many groundskeeper and time it takes to take care of this much property. It was truly beautiful. Just this hanging basket made me want to become a gardener. Alas, I do not have a green thumb nor the patience to water plants!

The boys really enjoyed walking around. It was still cold that first week of April and we had to pull my jacket and layers I usually keep in the car for emergency. We actually ended up leaving my husband’s jacket and keys at the nearby Salato Wildlife Preserve. They were very gracious and sent it to us (we didn’t notice till we got home, a 6 hour drive away).

The floral clock behind the capitol building was dedicated in 1961 and was a joint project between the garden club of Kentucky and the state government. At the time of our visit, there were not plants in it but just green lights which are in remembrance of lives lost to Covid.

At the time of our visit, the blooms in Georgia had already come and gone so we enjoyed the trees in full bloom in Kentucky. Of course, it triggered by 7 year old’s allergies again!

I definitely recommend stopping by the capitol and dedicating 30-45 minutes to walking around the grounds if you visit Frankfort, Kentucky. It is worth your time and drive! And it is free!

A bientôt!

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26 Comments

  • Joanne

    May 12, 2021 at 6:22 am

    Those grounds are definitely impressive and seeing fiels of tulips like that or the hanging basket of flowers makes me wish I did enjoy gardening.

  • Amy Scott

    May 13, 2021 at 6:17 am

    The green lights are in remembrance of lives lost to Covid. Our governor asked us to put green lights up if possible and a surprising number of homes changed their porch lights to green.
    I am ashamed I haven’t taken my kids to the grounds but they did go on a field trip that I couldn’t chaperone.

  • Ellie

    May 13, 2021 at 9:24 am

    Such beautiful grounds! I’d love walking around here! I agree with you about all the beautiful structures in Europe that it’s hard to find many impressive buildings in the States, but always enjoy the state capitols. Biltmore Estates in Asheville, NC is another impressive one, but you’ve probably visited there already since you probably aren’t too far away from there.
    Ellie
    Ellibelle’s Corner

    • mimifce

      May 13, 2021 at 10:46 am

      Yes, I have been there once or twice but I think that was either before kids or with only one so a good 10 to 15 years ago. We need to go back. Maybe this summer!

  • Carrie @ Curly Crafty Momc

    May 13, 2021 at 1:06 pm

    The flowers and grounds are so beautiful! At least you could explore everything outside. I have never been to Kentucky before. Looks like you had a fun visit and I’m glad your husband got his things back.

    Carrie
    curlycraftymom.com

    • mimifce

      May 13, 2021 at 6:50 pm

      It was a pretty place: I will have to remember to search up capitol buildings in the future to see if they are worth a stop.

  • Grace

    May 13, 2021 at 2:06 pm

    So true, the buildings here just don’t compare to Europe! Although I love touring Capitol buildings, too. I live in two capitol cities, Denver while at school and Boise at home, and I love taking holiday photos inside the marble capitol building in Boise. The tulips are so beauitful!

    Miles of smiles,
    Grace

    gracefulrags.com

    • mimifce

      May 13, 2021 at 6:52 pm

      Very cool! I actually haven’t been to the one in Atlanta but my son went on a field trip and looked really pretty inside.

  • Mica

    May 13, 2021 at 11:34 pm

    The flowers are lovely! It’s nice you had a good time there and were able to enjoy walking around even if you didn’t get to see inside the building 🙂

    Hope you are having a good day 🙂

    • mimifce

      May 17, 2021 at 9:10 am

      Yes, Frankfort was really all closed up and just started reopening stores and restaurants.

  • Shelbee on the Edge

    May 25, 2021 at 8:37 am

    Mireille, it really is a beautiful building and the grounds look like a lovely place to walk around. That hanging basket is really pretty and makes me wish I could garden as well. But no green thumb here either! And oh, the allergies. Ralphie and I are both suffering a lot this season. It seems worse than usual! Thanks for linking with me!

    Shelbee
    http://www.shelbeeontheedge.com

    • mimifce

      May 25, 2021 at 11:36 am

      Allergies really have been a pain! At least sunflowers and lavender survive under my watch, lol!