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Looking for Lincoln: An Eyewitness Account of the Dedication and
Opening of the Abraham Lincoln Mueseum in Springfield
April 19, 2005
As olive-green helicopters buzzed overhead, a crowd of approximately
10,000 spectators listened to the Army’s 312th Regimental
band for an hour on a sunny spring morning. Shuttle buses ran
continually from the parking lots at the State Fairgrounds to
the event at Sixth and Jefferson Streets, discharging passengers
into a series of airport-style security gates. The band played
from ten to eleven a.m., when the dignitaries arrived on the raised
platform, including former Governor Jim Edgar, present Governor
Rod Blagojevich, Senator Richard Durbin (who is from Springfield),
Sen Barack Obama (who gave a powerful short speech on Lincoln’s
life), and President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush. President
Bush linked himself to the sixteenth president by noting humorously
that they both experienced problems with the The New York Times.
Miss Mihan Lee read her prize-winning essay on Lincoln, from a
contest sponsored by CNN. By 12:15 the audience had sung the “Battle
Hymn of the Republic” and slowly dispersed through the security
gates in search of lunch at one of the downtown eateries, which
had lines protruding from their doorways. Lincoln impersonators
roamed the area in black hats and suits, as if Lincoln had cloned
himself many times over and was exploring his favorite streets
in old Springfield.
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum opened at 1:00 p.m.,
with a line about two blocks long. The Museum is a state-of-the-art
building designed on a circular plan so that the visitors enter
a grand, circular chamber and behold exhibits arranged on all
the curving walls. There are twelve main rooms or sites in the
Museum, although some of these are sub-divided into corridors
with additional rooms or attractions.
1. Lincoln Family—the visitor is first greeted by life-sized
latex mannequins of the Lincoln family in period dress. Tad, Willie,
Robert, Mary, and Abe are standing directly in the walkway, inviting
visitors to pose for a group picture with the Lincoln family.
The Lincolns are attired in meticulously accurate costumes of
the mid-nineteenth century, and Mary is sporting her best bonnet.
2. Lincoln’s Eyes—this short video with stunning special
effects, including rumbling floors, booming cannons, and actual
smoke rings is the logical starting-point of any tour. In less
than half an hour, the visitor will learn about Lincoln’s
bipolar temperament, his physical appearance, and his place in
American history, particularly in terms of the Civil War.
3. The Illinois Gallery—this room features traveling exhibits,
and the present one entitled Blood on the Moon sets a very high
standard, indeed. On opening day, this room was the most crowded,
with visitors lingering over each exhibited artifact as they followed
a two-track log of the events in the lives of John Wilkes Booth
and Abraham Lincoln on the day of the assassination . On display
are Booth’s silk scarf, a remnant of Lincoln’s blood-soaked
shirt, Mary’s fan, and the actual carriage in which Mary
and Abraham took their final ride together on April 14, 1865.
Lincoln’s death-bed, on which he had to be laid diagonally,
is also on display.
4. “Ask Mr. Lincoln”—outside this small room is
a touch-screen computer where children or adults can ask questions
and receive answers. Inside, a small movie theater, projects the
questions, which are succinctly answered by Dr. Tom Schwartz,
Illinois State Historian, and his comments are then followed by
a photograph of Lincoln and quotations from his writings. This
exhibit was beautifully researched and very entertaining. The
best question was, “Are you related to the actor Tom Hanks?”
The answer was Yes.
5. Treasures Gallery—this room is dimly-lit to preserve
the integrity of the historical artifacts on display, including
a cake plate from the Lincoln home, Tad’s toy cannon, an
invitation to Willie’s birthday party, Lincoln’s glasses
and kid gloves, copies of the Gettysburg Address and the Emancipation
Proclamation, Lincoln’s trademark “plug” or stovepipe
hat, the Lincoln’s marriage license, Mary’s wedding
dress, and a rare letter from Mary to her husband. This room alone
would justify the price of admission.
6. Mrs. Lincoln’s Attic—a playroom designed just for
the kids, taking the form of a nineteenth-century living room
with hearth, period toys, and cooking utensils, all of which can
be handled and played with. It was a noisy and joyful place all
afternoon, a good example of “hands-on” history.
7. The Café—a Spartan but spacious and well-lit snack
bar with sandwiches and hot and cold drinks, reasonably priced.
Doors open onto an outdoor terrace and tables. Perhaps a prairie
or Lincoln mural might provide a decorative motif.
8. Restrooms are next to the café, also Spartan, but adequate
for the museum traffic.
9. Lincoln Cabin, “Journey One”—this is one of
the two primary exhibits, beginning with a perfect replica of
the 1816 Indiana boyhood home of Abraham Lincoln, complete with
beds, blankets, kitchen utensils, candles, and hams hanging from
the ceiling. The path leads on to a painfully realistic slave
market, the Lincoln-Berry store in New Salem with bolts of cloth
and a barrel of beans, then onto a sofa in the Ninian Edwards
home in Springfield where Abe is shyly courting Mary. Visitors
can then see the actual tombstone of Eddie Lincoln, who died on
February 1, 1850. Next to appear are the Lincoln Home nameplate,
doorknob, tea set, and mantle clock, followed by the Lincoln-Herndon
Law Office in full disarray with Willie and Tad misbehaving. Next,
one encounters a diorama of the Lincoln-Douglas debate in Galesburg,
Illinois. A display of Lincoln campaign posters and ribbons from
the 1860 campaign leads directly into a contemporary TV newsroom
studio with a wall of monitors and Tim Russet commenting, while
mock ads for John Breckinridge and John Bell flash on the screens.
This tour ends with Lincoln’s poignant “Farewell Address,”
delivered on the rainy morning of Feb. 11, 1861, at the Great
Western Railroad Depot in Springfield.
10. The White House—this is the other primary exhibit, which
chronicles the Lincoln years as President. It begins with a spectacular
display of period formal gowns, including Mary’s famous evening
dress and that of Mrs. Stephen Douglas. These dresses are modern
reproductions, but they are historically accurate down to the
last stitch. Next is a display of vicious political cartoons attacking
Lincoln, then a re-creation of Willie’s bedroom with Mary
attending Willie, who died on Feb. 20,1862. The White House kitchen
appears next with realistic pies, cheeses, and a cast-iron stove,
the President’s Office and Cabinet Room, filled with the
famous cabinet members listening to the first reading of the Emancipation
Proclamation, to which holographic “talking heads” respond
in the next exhibit. Then the visitor sees a heart-stopping four-minute
video map of the Civil War battles, complete with a little running
counter of the fatalities, over one million by the end of the
war. The video screen is flanked by four Southern and four Northern
uniforms, very accurate reproductions. The visitor next sees a
huge curved mural of Lincoln delivering the Gettysburg Address
and a “Play Dixie” exhibit to dramatize the end of the
war. Lincoln next appears in his box at Ford’s Theater, followed
by a rare photo of Lincoln lying in state with the coffin open,
then a re-creation of the Lincoln casket, covered with wreaths
in a darkened room. The effect is profoundly moving.
11. The Ghosts of the Library—Richard Norton Smith, the
executive who oversaw the design of the museum and the adjoining
library [which opened last fall], speaks from a number of overhead
video monitors to inform the guests about the functions of the
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. Then the doors swing open
onto another room with low benches and a holographic set, showing
the library, a talkative Civil War soldier, and a holographic
“ghost” of Lincoln emerging from the Gettysburg Address.
The intent is to communicate the excitement and mystery of historical
research.
12. The Gift Shop--like most museum gift shops, this one purveys
T-shirts, magnets, postcards, books, coffee mugs, and videos.
But items for sale also include a replica of the Lincoln bed for
$8,000, Lincoln puzzles and walking sticks, “Lincoln Breakfast
Blend Coffee,” and even Lincoln shot glasses, which are amusing
because Lincoln didn’t drink. The place was packed on opening
day.
A museum can be treated as a church, a video game, a library,
or a classroom. To some extent the new Abraham Lincoln Presidential
Museum is modeled on all of these. It is an interesting and intriguing
blend of real artifacts, re-creations, and interactive digital
technology. In about four hours a visitor can learn a great deal
about Lincoln’s life while pondering important issues in
American culture, including slavery, racism, and constitutional
rights. Perhaps it is impossible to capture all of Lincoln’s
life in one museum, and there is an understandable tendency to
stress Lincoln as President and to underplay Lincoln the son (who
hated his father), Lincoln the lover (who courted Anne Rutledge
and Mary Owen before he met Mary Todd), Lincoln the father (who
spoiled and indulged his children), and, importantly, Lincoln
the lawyer-legislator, who spent most of his working life in the
Illinois legal and political arena. Nevertheless, this new museum
offers a world-class cultural experience to the residents of Central
Illinois—and to the rest of the world.
The admission price ($7.50 for adults, $3.50 for children) is
well worth it, considering the price of tickets for athletic events
or the cost of a new DVD. The museum is meant to be a starting-point,
a catalyst for more personal pilgrimages into the life of Lincoln,
as, for example, the Looking for Lincoln initiative which already
boasts dozens of wayside exhibits in downtown Springfield. Eventually
Springfield, Decatur, Charleston, and Taylorville, among other
sites, will become part of a Looking for Lincoln network. Perhaps
then the Lincoln Homestead near Harristown and the site of the
Wigwam in downtown Decatur will receive proper attention. We are
blessed to live in the midst of such historical abundance, and
we have a great story to tell.
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