Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum, Springfield, Illinois
Image by myoldpostcards
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is located in the heart of Springfield, Illinois. The institution is divided into two sections—a library portion, for the study and safekeeping of historical artifacts and documents, including the collection of the Illinois State Historical Library; and a museum portion, where those historical items could be publicly displayed and tell a compelling story. Directly across from the museum is Springfield Union Station, the third component of the complex of buildings that together form the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.
This photograph shows the museum portion of the complex. The building was dedicated on April 19, 2005, in a ceremony attended by President George W. Bush, First Lady Laura Bush, future President and then U.S. Senator Barack Obama, and about 25,000 guests from around the world who crowded Springfield’s downtown for the occasion.
The Museum and Library buildings were designed by the architectural firm Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum (now known as HOK), with exhibit space designed by BRC Imagination Arts. The library and museum is supported by the State of Illinois and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, and is not affiliated with the U.S. National Archives and its systems of libraries.
Standing next to the 31-foot-tall, 19-ton painted bronze sculpture of Abraham Lincoln is a sculpture representing modern-day man holding Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address . The sculptures, which arrived at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in 2019, have previously stood in front of Chicago’s Tribune Tower, and the Peoria Riverfront Museum.
The sculptures were created by Seward Johnson, whose other work includes sculptures of Marilyn Monroe and of a couple standing with a pitchfork in homage to the famous Grant Wood painting. They will remain in front of the museum entrance until September 2020.
