Historical Sites in Springfield

Below are pictures from our trip to some Springfield's historical site on December 20th with David's parents. David was supposed to post this, but he did not, so I am taking over where he left off. Since the pictures were already uploaded, I decided not to mess with them. They are pretty much in reverse order.



Abraham Lincoln did not have a library card to use in the library at the old state capitol building when it opened because you had to have a government position, so as history tells it, he checked out the first book from the library under his law partner's name which is at the top of the list.

This is the old state capitol building which until a couple years ago was known for being where Abraham Lincoln laid in state in Illinois prior to his burial and also where he gave his face house divided speech. Also, in 1899, an additional story was added beneath the building by using jacks to lift the entire building up in order to preserve the top stories. Now the building has become known as the spot where Obama announced his run for presidency and also his vice presidential candidate.

Tax Dollars at Work.

Senate President Dueber. (David and his dad took pictures of themselves in this seat while his mom and I were talking with the tour guide in another room.)

A statue of Everett Dirksen is outside of the new state capitol building. He apparently is known for uniting the two parties, hence why he has a donkey and an elephant at his feet. According to wikipedia, he also had a fondness for the marigold and whenever political discussions became tense he would try to campaign to get the marigold as the national flower. Pekin now has an annual marigold festival in his honor. He also appeared in a sci-fi film, won a grammy award, and recorded 4 albums, one of which made it to #29 on the billboard list.

Lincoln's Back Yard

This is a replica of Lincoln's bed in his house. I think that his house was in definite need of a home makeover because that wallpaper, bedspread, and carpet need to go. I think that I would have nightmares in a room like that.

The traditional Christmas meal and decorations. Everyone likes a good ham.

This is the Lincoln table which is at the Executive Mansion in Springfield. The table was made by a guy in Wisconsin out of over 20,000 pieces of wood. Unfortunately, you cannot take pictures inside the mansion anymore, so this is a picture that we found on the web which is at a very poor angle. According to our tour guide Abraham Lincoln received this a week or so before his death, but according to a website I saw that was dedicated to the maker of the table, Abraham Lincoln never received it, because it was on display in Milwaukee at the time of his death, but instead it was sent to Robert Lincoln.

And finally the prison bars outside of the executive mansion. Although, most know that Blagojevich rarely stays here. I did read an article about his lawyer planned on staying here when he was in town. Also, on the tour, which is not of the private quarters, we learned that the governor not only has this mansion, but there is also a mansion in southern Illinois and a condo in Chicago for the governor.