Old State Capitol

Greek Revival masterpiece with a self-supporting stone staircase and a century of Kentucky history

Built between 1827 and 1830, Kentucky's Old State Capitol is one of the finest Greek Revival public buildings in America. The young architect Gideon Shryock — just 25 years old — modelled the front colonnade on the Temple of Minerva Polias at Priene, deliberately omitting windows from the facade as authentic Greek temples lacked them. The building served as Kentucky's seat of government for eighty years, until the current Beaux-Arts capitol was completed in 1910.

The interior's most celebrated feature is the cantilevered stone staircase, which rises to the upper floor without any central support — a feat of early 19th-century engineering that still impresses. The building now houses the Kentucky Historical Society's museum, with exhibits on the state's history from frontier days through the Civil War and into the 20th century.

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On 30 January 1900, Kentucky's governor-elect William Goebel was shot just outside this building in a political assassination so brazen it still shocks — he had won a disputed election that his opponents refused to accept, and a gunman fired from the nearby executive building. Goebel was carried inside, sworn in as governor while dying, and died four days later. A plaque marks the spot.

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