Lincoln Museum and Library

When the Lincoln Museum and Library opened in 2002, all the articles raved about how excellent the exhibits were. Well, they were so right. The first thing visitors start with is an outstanding holographic movie “Ghosts of the Museum,” telling of Lincoln and others who have stories to tell 150 later. Next there is the story of Lincoln’s Eyes, telling of his humor and sorrow and of how he changed in office.
We walked through his cabin then, seeing the first family posing in front of the White House, we entered.



Inside, we watched Tim Russert introduce the candidates for the presidency of 1860, heard scathing attacks by critics, heard a docent describe the Civil War in four minutes, visited a cabinet session, and saw Lincoln laid to rest in the capitol. The entire experience was poignant and educational, a good blend for a museum.

Jerry was not interested in joining the Lincoln Herndon Law firm when he saw its limited space on the third floor above the post office and a dry goods store.







The Old State Capitol still has the seats of the legislature awaiting occupants. In a corner office near the Governor’s Office, Lincoln prepared for going to Washington as president.


He received many office seekers and many gifts, one of which was a large wooden chain carved from a single log by a man in Wisconsin.




Restaurant review time. We dined out in Springfield. The capital of Illinois has 111,000 residents and is old in appearance. It does have a few nice restaurants. The two we enjoyed would fit in at home. Augie’s Front Burner made up in flavor and presentation what it lacked in skilled service. Our seafood dishes were very good. The 125-year-old Maldaner’s has better service and still good food. The onion soup and goat cheese salad were excellent.