Tag Archive: Beaux-Arts

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park 4 – Hodgenville – Kentucky

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park  - Hodgenville - Kentucky

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park – Hodgenville – Kentucky

The memorial that would eventually become the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park was established in 1909 by the Lincoln Farm Association, with the laying of the cornerstone by President Theodore Roosevelt. The building was completed in 1911, and dedicated on November 9th by President William Taft. The memorial was formally made a national park in 1916.

The memorial was built on farm land owned by Lincoln’s family, and where Lincoln was raised until the age of 2. Within the memorial resides a cabin of similar size and design to the Lincoln cabin built on the site, not the original cabin itself. And exactly 54 steps, the age at which Lincoln died, lead up to the memorial.

In November 2001, the park was expanded to include Knob Creek, the site where Lincoln lived from age 2 to age 7. The site contains a 19th century log cabin, and a historic 20th century tavern, and is approximately 10 miles to the northeast on Highway 31E.

The main memorial was built in the Beaux-Arts neo-classical architectural style.

Kentucky Capitol Interior Dome with Lincoln Statue – Frankfort

Kentucky Capitol Interior Dome with Lincoln Statue – Frankfort

Kentucky Capitol Interior Dome with Lincoln Statue - Frankfort

Google Maps | Purchase Print

The Kentucky State Capitol was built between 1905 and 1909 for a cost $1 million dollars. Located in Frankfort Kentucky, it is the fourth permanent capitol building, built in Kentucky. Two burned down, and the third stands not far from the current capitol building. The Kentucky capitol holds all three branches of state government, including the legislature, the supreme court and the executive branch. It includes offices for the governor, lieutenant governor, the attorney general, and the secretary of state.

The building was constructed in the Beaux-Arts style and features a number of French architectural elements. The designer Frank Mills Andrews was a distinguished and award-winning architect. The interior of the building includes a number of bronze statues – Abraham Lincoln (pictured), Henry Clay, Dr. Ephraim McDowell and Alben Barkley (a farmer vice president). Until recently Jefferson Davis, the only president of the Confederacy, was included among them. His statue was removed in 2020, and placed in Fairview, Kentucky, his birth place and the location of a monument built in his memory, in 1973.

On a side note, the Kentucky State Capitol reminds me quite a bit of the Utah state capitol inside, and was built around the same time period (1912-1916). Even though they consider the Utah building Neoclassical revival, Corinthian style architecture

Kentucky Government: State Capitol Building
Explore Kentucky: Old State House