The Land of Lincoln

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About a month ago, when I flew to St. Louis to visit family in Illinois, we drove up to Springfield. It's the state capital, we visited Springfield 40 years ago. 

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Here's the railroad station in downtown Springfield. I believe this is the one Abraham Lincoln departed from when he won election in 1860 and journeyed to Washington.

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The Abraham Lincoln National Museum is impressive. It gives you a fascinating look at Abe Lincoln's life. The picture here is the White House facade replicated in the museum. The museum gives visitors an excellent feel for the nature of the times in which Lincoln lived, his difficult life, and his contributions to the United States -keeping the United States from falling apart, for starters. Easily worth another visit, and there's also the presidential library across the street. 

Given the election tomorrow, it's interesting that one of the museum exhibits is a video control room similar to what you'd see at a news station -lots of televisions. It recreates the coverage of the 1860 election as if it were taking place today, and it's anchored by the late Tim Russert. 

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The state capitol building is massive. It was desolate inside, though. Somebody said they had been in session recently, but after lots of work, were in recess. I loved recess.

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You're looking at the old state capitol building. This is where Senator Obama announced his candidacy for President. The old capitol was closed for the event, so nobody probably got the chance to visit. Too bad, it's rich in history and well-maintained.

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This is the assembly of the old state capitol. There's a stovepipe hat, upside-down, on a desk in the center of the photo. That's where Abraham Lincoln served when he was a member of the Illinois Assembly. 

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The office of the state governor as it appeared around 1860.