Kentucky’s Capitol Building…A Tour (2)

…continuing with our tour of Kentucky’s Capitol Building in Frankfort Kentucky.  Laurie and I were visiting the areas around Lexington with her sister Bonnie and Bonnie’s husband Bill.

I was just mind-blown as I viewed the complex and striking architecture at one end of the capitol building.  It is spectacular! 

The second photo is a close up of the decorative lunette above the entrance to the chambers of Kentucky’s House of Representatives.  This mural is an oil painting by T. Gilbert White and it depicts Daniel Boone and his party catching their first glimpse of the Bluegrass Region from as seen from Pilot Knob in 1769.

FYI, a lunette is the term used for a half-moon shaped architectural space.  These spaces can be void, filled with sculpture, painted, glazed or contain recessed masonry.

Pilot Knob is a 730 foot high outcrop that is now part of the 1,258 acre Pilot Knob State Nature Preserve.  From this vantage point, you can view the Knobs and Bluegrass regions as well as the Cumberland Plateau.

This photo shows the chamber for Kentucky House of Representatives.  There are spectator galleries overlooking the Representative’s desks.  With 100 members, the House has features that the Kentucky Senate doesn’t have.  Votes are recorded electronically and they’re displayed on either side of the Speaker’s desk.  All members in this chamber have desktop computers.

This second lunette, located above the entrance to the Kentucky Senate, is home to another oil painting by T. Gilbert White.  In this case, the mural depicts negotiations for the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals.  This treaty led to the purchase of Cherokee land that became a large part of Kentucky and part of Tennessee.

Richard Henderson, who was an American jurist, land speculator and politician was friends with Daniel Boone.  Boone told him that the Cherokee were interested in selling part of their land along the Appalachian frontier.  Henderson, Boone and others met with several Cherokee leaders.  The treaty was signed on March 17, 1775.  The legality of the ‘treaty’ has been disputed but this agreement took place before the creation of the United States itself...

Thomas Gilbert White (1877 – 1939) was an American painter who is best known for his murals.  His works are on display in two other state capitols, Oklahoma and Utah.  In addition to several prominent county courthouses, another of his murals is on display in the Pan American Union Building in Washington D.C. 

This is Kentucky’s Senate chamber.  It seems much more elegant than the General Assembly’s chamber.  Certainly the raised galleries allow a better view of the Senate’s deliberations.  There are desks for 38 Senators and they also have individual offices in the nearby Capitol Annex.

Both the Legislative/General Assembly and Senate Chambers continue with the classical motifs of the building itself.  This includes the use of scagliola for their decorative architectural features.  Scagliola is a type of fine plaster that can be used to produce columns, sculptures and other architectural elements the resemble inlays in marble.  This technique came into fashion in Italy during the 1600s as an effective substitute for costly marble inlays

The Kentucky State Capitol has a display of miniature dolls that represent each first lady of Kentucky with a fashionable dress from the historical period.  Usually the doll of a new Kentucky first lady is placed in public display along with the others within a few months after taking office. Each doll is adorned in fabric matching the first lady’s Inaugural Ball gown. Four large, background-lighted, glass-enclosed cabinets just east of the Rotunda on the first floor of the Capitol house the dolls that thousands of tourists view each year.  Some visitors think that this display is a little spooky…

This display shows a series of different ‘patches’, one representing each of the State’s 120 counties.  This was just one of several ongoing displays that we saw during our tour.

There are 4 display cases near the Capitol Rotunda on the west side of the building.  These cases are offered to museums, artists, educational, governmental and other types of non-profit organizations.  The goal of these displays is primarily to promote tourism as well as the arts and culture of Kentucky.

We were happy to see this Medal of Honor Plaque near the front door of the capitol and next to the rotunda.  It honors the 59 men and 1 woman from Kentucky who have received the U.S. Medal of Honor for bravery on the battlefield.  Most of them made the ultimate sacrifice.  The plaque was installed in 2012 with 3 Kentucky Medal of Honor recipients in attendance.

The POW/MIA flag flies permanently at the Capitol.  In addition, this “Chair of Honor” is on display on the first floor.  Prisoner of War/Missing in Action chairs are found all across the United States.  They may be found in sports arenas, stadiums, courthouses and town halls.  The chairs represent those service members who are unable to fill them due to their personal sacrifices.  They are also a reminder of the men and women who continue to serve the country every day.

This is the State Reception Room in the Capitol building.  It was designed to impress and is used as a place for ceremonial events.  The walls are decorated with pilasters finished in scagliola and murals, all hand painted to resemble tapestries from Paris’s Gobelin Tapestry Guild.  The original hand carved Circassian walnut furniture was crafted to resemble French Baroque pieces from the 1600s. 

FYI, Circassian walnut comes directly from the Circassian mountains in Russia.  This variety of walnut often has wild color variations.

This striking room or chamber serves as the seat of the judicial branch of state government…Kentucky’s Supreme Court.  The space is noted for its solid Honduras mahogany paneling and the elegant coffered ceiling.  The ceiling is covered in Old Dutch Metal leafing, hammered to imitate old bronze.

I was puzzled… What is “Old Dutch Metal”?  It is actually a form of brass with a mix of about 85% cooper with zinc as the remainder.  It is very malleable and ductile and can be beaten into very thin sheets.  These sheets are sold to be used as metal leaf or imitation gold leaf.

I’ve included another look at Kentucky’s Capitol building.  It is very large, measuring about 403 feet long and 180 feet across.  The exterior base is made with Vermont granite but most of the exterior is Bedford limestone.  A total of 70 columns surround the building.  The dome is covered with terra cotta and the top of the lantern is 215 feet above the terrace.  I'll never forget all of those stairs...

The grounds of Kentucky’s State Capitol are almost as impressive as the building itself.  Famed landscape architect John Olmstead of the Olmstead firm developed the plan in 1905.  The company was founded by Fredrick Law Olmstead, John’s father.  Unfortunately, due to mounting costs, much of the plan for the promenade were never fully completed.   

Even with that financial limitation, the promenade, with its view, the area it encompasses, as well as the gardens and plantings, is still very impressive.  The area provides space for demonstrations and public events, to include the inaugural ceremonies for Kentucky’s governors.

One final note… Why is Kentucky referred to as a “Commonwealth”?  In the USA, ‘commonwealth’ is just another word for ‘state’.  The term implies a commitment to the common good of the people.  Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia also refer to themselves as commonwealths.  Since Kentucky was actually formed from Virginia, the state’s founders decided to use the same term…

To learn more about Kentucky’s State Capitol and tours of the building, go to https://capitol.ky.gov/Pages/visitorinfo.aspx.  

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them.

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave