Frankfort Landmarks and Monuments

(Frankfort, Kentucky - KY, USA)

The various buildings and landmarks of Frankfort are both old and new, with some of the more historic tending to hold the most interest for sightseers. These include the Old State Capitol (West Broadway Street) and the current Kentucky State Capitol (Capital Avenue) buildings, the latter of which was built between the years 1905 and 1909, and boasts beautiful Beaux Arts architecture topped with a giant dome.

Established in the year 1786 and officially incorporated several decades later, in 1835, Kentucky's riverside capital is a relatively modest city. Due to its capital status, many of Frankfort's most impressive buildings and landmarks tend to be owned or maintained by the state government. As well as the two capital buildings, the Old Governor's Mansion (High Street) and the replacement Kentucky Governor's Mansion (Capital Avenue) are also both very much of note in the city, built in 1798 and 1912 respectively.

In total there are more than 70 different historic sites within Frankfort, with those based in the downtown district being best explored as part of a guided city tour. These intimate guided walking tours do need to be arranged in advance and depart from the Capital City Museum on Ann Street.


The Capital Plaza is an important part of Frankfort and is made up of a number of noteworthy modern landmarks. Amongst the most obvious are the Capital Plaza Hotel and also the Capital Plaza Office Tower, the latter of which is actually the highest skyscraper in the city, being over 103 meters / 338 feet high and completed in 1972.

Rather older is Liberty Hall on Wilkinson Street, which was constructed in the middle of the 1790s and became a US National Historic Landmark almost two centuries later, in 1971. Once the home of one John Brown, Kentucky's very first senator, Liberty Hall is an imposing Georgian-style mansion that is now open to the public between March and December, whilst also playing host to a variety of seasonal events, such as evening ghost tours, cooking demonstrations and open-air movie screenings in the hall's landscaped gardens.

Berry Hill Mansion

Address: 700 Louisville Road, Frankfort, Kentucky (KY), 40601, USA
Tel: +1 502 564 3000

Capital Plaza

Address: 405 Wilkinson Boulevard, Frankfort, Kentucky (KY), 40601, USA
Tel: +1 502 227 5100

Kentucky Governor's Mansion

Address: 704 Capital Avenue, Frankfort, Kentucky (KY), 40601, USA
Tel: +1 502 564 8004

Kentucky State Capitol Building

Address: 700 Capital Avenue, Frankfort, Kentucky (KY), 40601, USA
Tel: +1 502 564 3449

Kentucky State University

Address: 400 East Main Street, Frankfort, Kentucky (KY), 40601, USA
Tel: +1 502 597 6000

Kentucky Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Address: 365 Vernon Cooper Lane, Frankfort, Kentucky (KY), 40601, USA

Liberty Hall Historic Site

Address: 218 Wilkinson Street, Frankfort, Kentucky (KY), 40601, USA
Tel: +1 502 227 2560

Old Governor's Mansion

Address: 420 High Street, Frankfort, Kentucky (KY), 40601, USA
Tel: +1 502 564 3449

Old State Capitol

Address: 300 West Broadway Street, Frankfort, Kentucky (KY), 40601, USA
Tel: +1 502 564 2301

Orlando Brown House

Address: 202 Wilkinson Street, Frankfort, Kentucky (KY), 40601, USA
Tel: +1 502 227 2560

Reverend Jesse R. Ziegler House

Address: 509 Shelby Street, Frankfort, Kentucky (KY), 40601, USA
Tel: private residence

Switzer Covered Bridge

Address: Jones Lane, Frankfort, Kentucky (KY), 40601, USA