The Main Hall
As you enter the Governor's Mansion you are immediately drawn into the historic home by large, open hallways and wide classic arches. The very first thing you'll notice is the Mansion's Grand Stairway that leads to the Governor's private residence. Just before the stairway, the hallway splits to cross the center of the house and lead you into its various rooms. The Main Hallway contains several interesting and important items from the Mansion collection.
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1. The Grand Stairway leads to the Governor's residence on the second and third floors of the Mansion.
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2. When construction on the Mansion was begun in 1912, Governor McCreary purchased a grandfather clock and placed it at the far south end of the main cross hall. It is still in that spot today.
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3. Hundreds of thousands of visitors have passed through the front doors of the Governor's Mansion.
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4. The Mansion's two hallways intersect at the foot of the Grand Stairway.
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5. Governor McCreary's grandfather clock is one of the few pieces original to the Mansion still in the house.
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6. Prominently on display in the main hallway is a bronze figure of a serving maiden by Claude Henry, cast by the Schumacher foundry in France early in the 20th century.
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7. In the south cross hall is a two-tiered tea table with Wedgewood medallions from the Linke cabinet shop. Above the tea table is a rare oil landscape by Kentucky artist Paul Sawyier who is better known for his watercolors.
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8. Hanging above the Empire console cabinet in the center cross hall is a watercolor by Robert Burns Wilson, a Frankfort painter noted for his landscapes and poetry.
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9. The two pier mirrors on the stair landing are among the very few items that came into this house from the Old Governor's Mansion.
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