Sheet Size: 13 1/2" x 21"; Image Size: 11" x 18"

The most lavish commercial structure erected in Frankfort during the middle years of the 1800’s was the Capital Hotel. There recently had been some agitation in other quarters about moving the capital to another city, and local civic leaders felt it necessary to take tangible measures to quell suck talk. One means was to provide first class accommodations for legislators and others coming to the city on business. The logical name for the new hostelry, given its location and purpose, was the Capital Hotel.

Located at the Northeast corner of  Main and Ann Streets, on the site of the Old Weisiger Tavern, the new hotel was designed by the distinguished architect Isaiah Rogers and his young associate Henry Whitestone. Construction began in 1852 and the cornerstone was laid in 1853. The contractor was John Haly. Covering a full half block, the main portion of the structure measured 200 feet by 250 feet. The external walls were finished with Kentucky River limestone. Including it’s elevated basement, the hotel rose to three stories. The front was dominated by a massive classical portico supported by six columns and topped by a sleek pediment. Upon completion in December 1854, the place could accommodate from 200 to 250 overnight guests. Entertainment facilities included a dining room and a ball room, each measuring forty feet by seventy feet. Since gas illumination was introduced to Frankfort in 1848 the gas lamp posts were installed and early records indicated that the street lamps were not uses on moonlit nights.

This particular Paul Sawyier water-color is believed to have been a scene during the winter of 1906, which was just eleven years prior to when it was gutted by fire on

April 5, 1917. The structure sat empty and unattended until the completion of the new Capital Hotel in November of 1923. Although completed at a cost of 450,000.00, the new house had twenty more rooms than originally announced, as well as a huge lobby, a ball room, and roof garden. The Capital Hotel finally closed its doors for the last time in May 1962. State National Bank, the present owner, moved its headquarters into the building in the late part of 1963.