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Kentucky Capitol Renovation Underway

LRC Public Information
Kentucky Capitol House and Senate chambers

If you’re thinking about a sight-seeing trip to Frankfort to visit the Kentucky Capitol building, you might hold off on those plans.

The chambers that play home to lawmakers during General Assembly sessions are barely recognizable at the moment, now hollowed out as workers apply a fresh coat of paint, lay new carpet, and update the wiring in the 105-year-old building as part of an $800,000 renovation. But the final result won’t be a dramatic departure from the chambers of years past.

"Even though we're modernizing the electronics and things, it will look very much as it has since 1910," David Buchta, curator for the Kentucky Historic Properties Division, tells WDRB-TV.

He says if you’re looking for design elements that date back to the first incarnation of the Capitol, look no further than the lawmakers’ desks.

"We could have bought new desks or something like that, but we didn't want to because we wanted to preserve the integrity of the Capitol and those are one of the few things that are still here that do say they are the original pieces," Buchta explains.

Work on the Frankfort facelift is scheduled to wrap up in November before senators and representatives return in January.

Josh James fell in love with college radio at Western Kentucky University's student station, New Rock 92 (now Revolution 91.7). After working as a DJ and program director, he knew he wanted to come home to Lexington and try his hand in public radio.