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# Frankfurt, Kentucky
By admin | November 28, 2010
Frankfurt is an easy drive west and north of Lexington, Kentucky. The easiest way to get there from downtown Lexington is to go west on Main Street until it turns into Leestown and take it about 20 miles.
The drive itself is beautiful. You will pass the Federal Prison on the right hand side about 3 miles outside of the downtown. This federal prison is interesting in that it was the site of one of the first prisons that treated narcotic addiction as a disease and not a moral failing.
Once you get closer to Frankfurt, you will see signs directing you to the state capitol complex which includes the (new) state capitol building and the governor’s mansionand also to the historic downtown. Do try to see both.
I did the capitol first. As you come into town, you make a left and travel across the Kentucky river and onto Capitol drive. The building itself is quite impressive as you drive up the hill.
I was there on a Saturday and the grounds were deserted. The capitol was closed because of construction, but after a few minutes of pleasantries with the guard at the side entrance of the building, I was told I could scamper about inside side for ten minutes. Built in the 1920’s the inside of the building is beautiful with marble hallways and staircases and old wood doorframes.
If you head back across the Kentucky river you will hit the historic downtown a couple of blocks away. I headed for the main building of the Kentucky Historical Society on Main Street (the other two buildings controlled by the Society are the Arsenal and the ???).
The Society was sponsoring a short, one-man museum play about the Vietnam War when I was there rather late on a Saturday afternoon. Afterwards, I had a nice chat with the theatre director about all things Kentucky.
I headed across the street to a used bookstore and had a sparkling fruit drink at the ???? bookstore before heading up the hill past the Arsenal to the Kentucky cemetery to visit the grave of Daniel Boone and his wife. His remains were moved there from Missouri some years after his death and his cliffside plot overlooks a stunning view of the Kentucky River and the new state capitol.
On my way back to Lexington, I stopped to visit the campus of the historically black Kentucky State University. The buildings seemed fairly shabby and rundown.
Topics: Kentucky towns | 1 Comment »
April 3rd, 2019 at 4:59 am
in Kentucky ; the population was 25,527 at the 2010 census. Located along the Kentucky River, Frankfort is the principal city of the Frankfort, Kentucky Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Franklin and Anderson counties.