The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum documents the life of the 16th
U.S. president
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
,
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
, and the course of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
. Combining traditional scholarship with 21st-century showmanship techniques, the museum ranks as one of the most visited
presidential libraries
A presidential library, presidential center, or presidential museum is a facility either created in honor of a former president and containing their papers, or affiliated with a country's presidency.
In the United States
* The presidential libr ...
. Its library, in addition to housing an extensive collection on Lincoln, also houses the collection of the Illinois State Historical Library, founded by the state in 1889. The library and museum is located in the state capital of
Springfield, Illinois, and is overseen as an agency of state government. It is not affiliated with the
U.S. National Archives
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...
and its system of libraries.
Collection
Museum exhibits
![2013-08-04 AbrahamLincoln PresidentialLibrary and Museum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/2013-08-04_AbrahamLincoln_PresidentialLibrary_and_Museum.JPG)
The museum contains life-size dioramas of Lincoln's boyhood home, areas of the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
, the presidential box at
Ford's Theatre
Ford's Theatre is a theater located in Washington, D.C., which opened in August 1863. The theater is infamous for being the site of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. On the night of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth entered the theater bo ...
, and the settings of key events in Lincoln's life, as well as pictures, artifacts and other memorabilia. Original artifacts are changed from time to time, but the collection usually includes items like the original hand written
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is a speech that U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivered during the American Civil War at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery, now known as Gettysburg National Cemetery, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on the ...
, a signed
Emancipation Proclamation, his glasses and shaving mirror,
Mary Todd Lincoln
Mary Ann Todd Lincoln (December 13, 1818July 16, 1882) served as First Lady of the United States from 1861 until the assassination of her husband, President Abraham Lincoln in 1865.
Mary Lincoln was a member of a large and wealthy, slave-owning ...
's music box, items from her
White House china, her wedding dress, and more. The permanent exhibits are divided into two stages of the president's life, called "Journey One: The Pre-Presidential Years", and "Journey Two: The Presidential Years", and a third, the "Treasures Gallery". Temporary exhibits rotate periodically. Past exhibits have dealt with the Civil War and
Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. A senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party for president in the 1860 presidential election, which wa ...
. , a collection of
Annie Leibovitz
Anna-Lou Leibovitz ( ; born October 2, 1949) is an American portrait photographer best known for her engaging portraits, particularly of celebrities, which often feature subjects in intimate settings and poses. Leibovitz's Polaroid photo of Jo ...
's photography, including photos of Lincoln's items, is on display.
One of the museum's permanent exhibits, "Campaign of 1860", includes modern-style television updates on the campaign's progress from the late ''
Meet the Press
''Meet the Press'' is a weekly American television news/interview program broadcast on NBC. It is the longest-running program on American television, though the current format bears little resemblance to the debut episode on November 6, 1947. ' ...
'' anchor
Tim Russert
Timothy John Russert (May 7, 1950 – June 13, 2008) was an American television journalist and lawyer who appeared for more than 16 years as the longest-serving moderator of NBC's ''Meet the Press''. He was a senior vice president at NBC News, Wa ...
. Another of the permanent exhibits, "The Civil War in Four Minutes,"
displays a large animated map which displays the changing battle lines of the Civil War in four minutes. In addition to its exhibits, the Lincoln Museum runs two special effects theater shows, ''Lincoln's Eyes''
and ''Ghosts of the Library''.
The "Under His Hat: Discovering Lincoln's Story From Primary Sources", is the home of the Lincoln Collection Digitization Project, a thematic online resource that features a 360-degree online view of his hat (the actual hat is, , also on display at the museum).
Burbank, California-based
BRC Imagination Arts, led by
Bob Rogers,
was responsible for all of the permanent exhibits and presentations, music, theaters, lifelike figures and full-immersion historical settings.
Library collection
The Lincoln Presidential Library is a research library which houses books, papers and artifacts related to Lincoln's life and the American Civil War. In addition to the works associated with Lincoln and his era, the library houses the collection of the Illinois State Historical Library (founded by the state in 1889) and serves as a premier repository of books, pamphlets, manuscripts, and other materials of historical interest pertaining to the history of the state of Illinois. While the library is open to the public, its rare collection is non-circulating. A reading room, named the "Steve Neal Reading Room" in honor of Illinois historical journalist
Steve Neal, is open to the public.
Administration
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum was administered by the
Illinois Historic Preservation Agency
The Illinois Historic Preservation Division, formerly Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Illinois, and is a division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. It is tasked with the duty of m ...
, until the Library and Museum was made into an independent state agency in 2017. Historian and former director of several presidential libraries,
Richard Norton Smith
Richard Norton Smith (born October 2, 1953) is an American historian and author, specializing in U.S. presidents and other political figures. In the past, he worked as a freelance writer for '' The Washington Post'', and worked with U.S. Senato ...
, served as the museum and library's founding executive director. Smith was succeeded by Rick Beard, who was fired in 2008 after being arrested for shoplifting. Jan Grimes served as interim director following Beard's dismissal.
In 2010,
Eileen R. Mackevich,
MBE Mbe may refer to:
* Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo
* Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria
* Mbe language, a language of Nigeria
* Mbe' language, language of Cameroon
* ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language
Molal ...
, was appointed director by Illinois Governor
Pat Quinn.
Mackevich formerly served as the executive director of the national
Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. She was also active as a broadcast journalist and talk show host on Chicago public radio, and was the co-founder of the
Chicago Humanities Festival
The Chicago Humanities Festival is a non-profit organization which hosts an annual series of lectures, concerts, and films in Chicago. There are two seasons each year, including a spring festival from April through May, and a longer fall festival ...
. Mackevich's objectives were to raise money, and attract more international interest. She served until in 2015.
In 2016, Governor
Bruce Rauner appointed Alan Lowe as director of the museum and library. He served as director of the
George W. Bush Presidential Center
The George W. Bush Presidential Center, which opened on April 25, 2013, is a complex that includes former United States President George W. Bush's presidential library and museum, the George W. Bush Policy Institute, and the offices of the Geor ...
in Dallas, Texas, before accepting his position at the ALPLM. Lowe was fired in September 2019 for improperly loaning out ALPLM's original copy of the Gettysburg Address to
Glenn Beck's non-profit group Mercury One.
In March 2021, Christina Shutt was appointed as ALPLM's fifth executive director. She is the first person of color to serve in the position. Before coming to the ALPLM, she headed the
Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, the
State of Arkansas's African-American culture and history museum.
As first lady of Illinois,
Lura Lynn Ryan
Lura Lynn Ryan (July 5, 1934 – June 27, 2011) was the First Lady of the U.S. state of Illinois from 1999 to 2003. She was the wife of former Illinois Governor George Ryan.
Biography Early life
Ryan was born Lura Lynn Lowe on July 5, 1934, in Ar ...
became a major fundraiser and the library's first chairwoman. She launched the fundraising for the library by raising $250,000. Ryan also organized a program in which Illinois schoolchildren collected pennies for the construction of the presidential library, which raised $47,000 dollars. Ryan was appointed to the 14-member Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission by the speaker of the United States House of Representatives to commemorate the 200th birthday of former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln in 2009. She served on the commission from 2001 to 2010.
Architecture
![Illinoisoldcapitol](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Illinoisoldcapitol.jpg)
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is located in Springfield, Illinois, in the historic downtown section, near many other Lincoln cultural sites. The presidential library opened on October 14, 2004, and the museum opened on April 19, 2005. Until 1970,
Ford's Theatre
Ford's Theatre is a theater located in Washington, D.C., which opened in August 1863. The theater is infamous for being the site of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. On the night of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth entered the theater bo ...
in Washington, D.C. was designated as the "Lincoln Museum".
The buildings which now house the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum are in three separate structures. Each structure encompasses one city block.
Two of the buildings, the museum and the library, are separated by a street and connected above the street level by an enclosed walkway. The entrance of each building features a
rotunda, reflective of the
dome on the
Old State Capitol in Springfield, where Lincoln served four terms as a
legislator
A legislator (also known as a deputy or lawmaker) is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people of the state. Legislatures may be supra-national (for ex ...
. Both structures were designed by the architectural firm
HOK.
The third building, the former
Springfield Union Station, had originally been adapted to serve as the museum's visitor center. However, since early 2014, the station has, instead, housed an exhibit called "Lincoln: History to Hollywood", which displays two
sets, as well as several props and costumes, from the 2012 film ''
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
'', directed by
Steven Spielberg. The sets, props, and costumes are on loan to the museum directly from Spielberg himself, and will remain on display (with costumes rotating in and out) through December 2019.
Debate over exhibit design and education of history
The museum has sparked debate within the field of museum design and among historians for its use of theatrics and inaccurate reproductions to tell the Lincoln story. Public response has been positive, delivering larger than expected attendance, enthusiastic visitors and a boost to the regional economy, including increased attendance at surrounding historical attractions.
However, museum traditionalists have disapproved of this departure from the display and interpretation of real artifacts.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Southern Illinois University (SIU or SIUC) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois. Founded in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. The university enrolls students from all 50 st ...
historian
John Y. Simon
John Younker Simon (June 25, 1933 – July 8, 2008) was an American Civil War scholar known for editing the papers of Ulysses S. Grant.
Biography
Born in Highland Park, Illinois, to Jane Younker and Jay Simon, he was on the history faculty of ...
have said the museum's approach, which borrows presentation technologies from entertainment, trivializes the subject matter.
Suggesting that it is more like a theme park than a museum, Simon called the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum a "Six Flags Over Lincoln" and architecture critic
Blair Kamin
Blair Kamin was the architecture critic of the ''Chicago Tribune'', for 28 years from 1992 to 2021. Kamin has held other jobs at the Tribune and previously worked for ''The Des Moines Register''. He also serves as a contributing editor of ''Archit ...
referred to it as "Lincoln Land".
Other academics applaud the Lincoln Museum's approach. John R. Decker wrote in the ''
Journal of American History
''The Journal of American History'' is the official academic journal of the Organization of American Historians. It covers the field of American history and was established in 1914 as the ''Mississippi Valley Historical Review'', the official j ...
'':
Like any other modern collection he Lincoln Presidential Museumhas an audience base that extends far beyond specialists and academics. Rather than merely pandering to the public or dumbing down history, the ALPLM intelligently and compellingly uses visual culture to meet its mission as a public pedagogical institution. The museum addresses complex historical material and opens the historical discourse to a wider audience than would be possible through more conventional means.
The scholarship behind the content and design for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum was a collaboration between international exhibit designers, BRC Imagination Arts, the
Illinois Historic Preservation Agency
The Illinois Historic Preservation Division, formerly Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Illinois, and is a division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. It is tasked with the duty of m ...
(IHPA), and a content team assembled by State Historian Dr. Thomas H. Schwartz. This content team included the world's leading Lincoln scholars,
Pulitzer Prize winning historians, and Illinois school teachers representing the fourth, seventh and eleventh grades. A key goal of this collective was that exhibits promote a greater level of personal interest in Abraham Lincoln. The museum's gift shop has seen record sales of history books. Overall sales in the gift shop hit $1 million within three months of the museum's opening to the public.
Record attendance
Since its opening in April 2005, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum has ranked as America's most visited state-controlled presidential museum. In about six months the museum generated about $1 million. In less than twenty-one months, the museum received its one millionth visitor. In August 2012, the museum received its three millionth visitor, with the steady attendance continuing. Museum officials credited the
Steven Spielberg movie ''
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
'' for an increase in visitors in 2013, as the museum displayed artifacts from the film.
Awards
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum has been recognized with two awards: a
Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement from the
Themed Entertainment Association
The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) is an international non-profit association that represents creators, developers, designers and producers of themed entertainment. It is also noted for its THEA Awards, which were founded in 1995 and ar ...
, and an award from The Lincoln Group of New York, which every year honors "the individual or organization that has done the most to encourage the study and appreciation of Abraham Lincoln".
See also
*
Abraham Lincoln Association
The Abraham Lincoln Association (ALA) is an American association advancing studies on Abraham Lincoln and disseminating scholarship about Lincoln. The ALA was founded in 1908 to lead a national celebration of Lincoln's 100th birthday and continues ...
*
Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park
Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park is a designated U.S. historic park preserving two separate farm sites in LaRue County, Kentucky, where Abraham Lincoln was born and lived early in his childhood. He was born at the Sinking Sprin ...
*
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial is a United States presidential memorial and a National Historic Landmark District in Lincoln City, Indiana. It preserves the farm site where Abraham Lincoln lived with his family from 1816 to 1830. During that ...
*
Lincoln Home National Historic Site
Lincoln Home National Historic Site preserves the Springfield, Illinois home and related historic district where Abraham Lincoln lived from 1844 to 1861, before becoming the 16th president of the United States. The presidential memorial inclu ...
*
Lincoln Memorial
*
Lincoln's New Salem
Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site is a reconstruction of the former village of New Salem in Menard County, Illinois, where Abraham Lincoln lived from 1831 to 1837. While in his twenties, the future U.S. President made his living in this ...
*
Lincoln's Tomb
The Lincoln Tomb is the final resting place of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States; his wife Mary Todd Lincoln; and three of their four sons: Edward, William, and Thomas. It is located in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, ...
*
Mount Rushmore National Memorial
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is a national memorial centered on a colossal sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore (Lakota: ''Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe'', or Six Grandfathers) in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dakota ...
*
Ford's Theatre National Historic Site
Ford's Theatre is a theater located in Washington, D.C., which opened in August 1863. The theater is infamous for being the site of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. On the night of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth entered the theater box ...
, where Lincoln was shot by Booth, and the nearby
Petersen House
The Petersen House is a 19th-century federal style row house located at 516 10th Street NW in Washington, D.C. On April 15, 1865, United States President Abraham Lincoln died there after being shot the previous evening at Ford's Theatre, locat ...
, where he died
*
United States Presidential Memorial
References
Further reading
* Antonacci, Sarah (April 17, 2005). "First Impressions: Museum Visitors Virtually Unanimous: It's a Hit", ''State Journal Register'' (Illinois).
*
* Clark, Jayne (April 15, 2005). Lincoln's Spirit Lives in New Museum: High Tech Mingles with U.S. History", ''USA Today''.
* Engel, Janne (March 10, 2006). "History with Special Effects: Is it Museum or Haunted Mansion?", ''Los Angeles Times''.
* Ewers, Justine / LaGesse, David. (February 21, 2005). "The Real Lincoln - Special Report", ''U.S. News & World Report''.
* Andrew Ferguson. (July 4, 2007).
How To Design a Lincoln Museum, ''Slate''
* Hold, Douglas (November 1, 1999). "Library to Unlock Lincoln Collections", ''Chicago Tribune''.
* Landis, Tim (October 15, 2005). "Honest, Abe: Museum Gift Shop Sales Have Topped $2 Million mark", ''State Journal Register'' (Illinois).
* Mannweiler, David (April 3, 2005). "Living in Lincoln's World: Museum's High-tech Displays Let Visitors Experience the Life of the 16th President", ''State Journal Register'' (Illinois).
* Morris, Natalie. (June 15, 2005). "Museum is Jewel for Tourism", ''State Journal Register'' (Illinois).
* Reardon, Patrick T. (April 12, 2005). "A New Focus on Lincoln's Story", ''Chicago Tribune''.
* Reavy, Amanda (November 17, 2005). "U.S., World Honors for Presidential Museum: Scholarly, Entertainment Groups Give Recognition", ''State Journal Register'' (Illinois).
* Reynolds, John (November 16, 2005). "Museum Sets One-Day Record: 3,825 People Visited the Site Friday", ''State Journal Register'' (Illinois).
* Rothstein, Edward (April 19, 2005). "Museum Review: Strumming The Mystic Chords of Memory", ''New York Times''.
* Sherman, Pete (October 24, 2005). "Museum's Success Above Expectations, Smith Says", ''State Journal Register'' (Illinois).
* Sherman, Pete (April 20, 2005). "A Vision Realized: Dedication Gives Thousands a Day They'll Remember., ''State Journal Register'' (Illinois).
* Thompson, Bob (February 15, 2005). "Histronics and History", ''Washington Post''.
* Thornburgh, Nathan (September 18, 2006). "History Goes Hollywood", ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
''.
* Willis, Christopher (April 17, 2005). "With Smoke and Cannons, Museum Brings Lincoln to Life", ''Boston Globe''.
* Zoroya, Gregg (February 1, 2001). "Springfield Finally Getting Lincoln Library/Museum", ''USA Today''.
External links
Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial CommissionALPLM Web CameraIllinois Historic Preservation AgencyThe Lincoln Group of New York* [http://speakingofhistory.blogspot.com/2007/06/podcast-91-interview-with-erin-bishop.html Speaking of History Podcast interview with Erin Bishop - Director of Education for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum]
{{Authority control
Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area
Museums established in 2005
Library buildings completed in 2004
Libraries in Illinois
Museums in Springfield, Illinois
Presidential libraries
Presidential museums in Illinois
2005 establishments in Illinois