Built in 1855, the hotel was located near the final railway link that connected New York to the Mississippi River. Functionally, the building served incoming politicians and visitors to the Illinois State Capitol for more than a century. Presidents visited, deals were made and a shoebox filled with huge sums of money in politician's room uncovered a scandal -- many went to jail.
From 1898 to the mid-twentieth century, the ornate Union Station served as the town's central railroad hub, connecting St. Louis and Chicago, as well as a few other main cities in the Eastern U.S., to the Illinois capital. The Richardsonian Romanesque Revival style building cost $75,000 to build (around $2.8 million in today's money) and was designed by Francis T. Bacon. Its 110-foot clock tower (removed in 1946) was the prominent feature in downtown Springfield, greeting visitors immediately upon arrival. The train station was abandoned in the 1970s and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. It was rehabbed and turned into a shopping mall in 1985. The building underwent a major renovation that was completed in 2007, including restoration of the clock tower. Union Station is part of the multi-building Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum; the former train station has served as the visitors' center but is currently closed to the public (as of December 2023).
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois has a campus consisting of three buildings: the museum, the presidential library, located across the street from the museum, and the old Union Station building, which houses a visitor center and some exhibits. In addition to housing documents pertaining to the sixteenth president, his family, and administration, the Illinois State Historical Library collection also resides there. The Library and Museum is not affiliated with the National Archives and Records Administration as other presidential libraries are, instead, it operates as an independent state agency. Located in the heart of Illinois’s state capital, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is one of the most visited presidential libraries in the country.
Constructed prior to the Civil War, these two commercial buildings are now connected internally. Records suggest that the building was completed in 1856, making this block one of the oldest in the city. These two buildings would have been one of the largest commercial buildings at the time of their completion and located near the railway during a period of Springfield's growth. The brick structures note a civic, and national, architectural response to fires that had previously damaged wooded structures. The automobile's arrival in the twentieth century fostered change in Springfield, as some businesses left the commercial center.
The Old State Capitol in Springfield was once the seat of government for the entire state of Illinois. Now it is a National Historic Landmark, and an enormous tribute to two political giants of the mid-nineteenth century; Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas. The historic building is centered right in downtown Springfield and is only a few blocks away from both the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum and the Lincoln Home Historic Site. The site is for architecture buffs as well history ones, since the building is a classic example of the Greek Revival Style.
Constructed in 1839 for the family of Springfield businessman Virgil Hickox, this historic house later became the location of a speakeasy. Hickox helped bring the railway to Springfield and chaired the Illinois Democratic Committee for twenty years, including aiding in the successful 1858 senate campaign of fellow railway investor, Stephen A. Douglas. After serving as an underground speakeasy, the former home later served as a legal tavern where politicians regularly gathered to discuss state politics.
Congressman James M. Graham resided in this two-story Italianate house from 1896 until his death in 1945. Graham served in the House from 1909 to 1915 during the Taft and Wilson Administrations. He played an integral part in several Congressional investigations. including the Pinchot–Ballinger controversy and an investigation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which led to the resignation of its Commissioner, Robert G. Valentine.
The Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield preserves the home where Abraham Lincoln lived with his wife and four children lived from 1844 to 1861-the year when Lincoln family moved to the White House. The historic site includes numerous exhibits and sponsors events throughout the year. Thanks to preservationists and support from the state and federal government, many of the original homes surrounding the Lincoln home have also been preserved and maintained to match their mid-19th century appearance. s a result, visitors to this historic site can gain a sense of what life was like for Springfield residents prior to the Civil War as if time stood still. The complex includes a visitor's center as well as a gift shop.
The Price/Wheeler, named for its two owners -- a local businessman and a U.S. Senator, is the city's first fully-developed classical revival house, inspired by Chicago's 1892 World's Columbian Exposition. It stands as a reminder of that architectural transition and provides insight into the lives of those who lived in Springfield during the early twentieth century, especially its first two residents.
The first American poet to speak at Oxford, Vachel Lindsay not only composed numerous volumes of poetry but was an outspoken opponent of racial injustice and an advocate for civic beauty. Lindsay's 1918 poem "The Jazz Birds," praised the efforts of African Americans during WWI. Though he had a successful career and enjoyed family life and his two children, the privations of being a poet and thoughtful observer of humanity during the Great Depression, along with his failing health, pushed Lindsay towards depression. The poet committed suicide in his home where he lived with his wife and children.
Springfield, IL became the state capital in 1839, two years after a young Abraham Lincoln proposed a bill that moved the government to the city from Vandelia, Il. Though it took nearly twenty years to construct the building, it was home to one of the Lincoln-Douglass debates, was visited by numerous Presidents and is one of three historic governor's mansions to have run, continuously since the mid-nineteenth century. Of course, along the way, more than a handful of Illinois Governor's have committed crimes and served time in prison -- not all history is good.
The Dana-Thomas house is a Frank Lloyd Wright designed home in Springfield, Illinois. It was built between 1902-1904 (an attached library was completed in 1906) and is the best preserved and most complete of Wright's early Prairie Style homes. The house is named after heiress Susan Lawrence Dana and Charles Thomas, who was the second owner. It contains the largest collection of Wright-designed glass artwork and furniture. Today, it is operated by the Dana-Thomas Foundation and owned by the State of Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and is also a National Landmark (1976) and a State of Illinois Landmark.
This historic apartment building was completed in 1909 and its architectural significance as one of the first "luxury" apartment buildings led to its being placed on the National Register of Historic Places. During the late nineteenth century, Victorian Era values guided the Middle Class, making apartment living unappealing; privacy and virtues made home ownership a necessity (for most). As such, apartments were built with few amenities and were populated mostly by the lower class and transients. Bell Miller represented a shift during the twentieth century when America increasingly urbanized and accepted apartment living, but only because apartments reacted by becoming more luxurious. The building is now home to the Inn at 835.
The H.P. Boult House is a Victorian home built in 1889 at 1123 South Second Street in the Queen Anne style with Eastlake elements. The two-story wood frame building sits on a brick foundation; the original paint color was a dark yellow. A tower and pointed dormers are distinguishing features, as are the carved panels projecting across the facade and the carved front porch pediment. A curved cherry wooden staircase is near the front entrance and a fireplace in a room in the front of the house features painted slate decoration. The H.P. Boult House was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 for its architectural significance. The home is a private residence in the Vinegar Hill neighborhood.
This Tour is a Walking Tour.
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This walking tour begins at the city's railroad depot and includes many of the well-known sites associated with Abraham Lincoln. The tour also incorporates historic buildings and landmarks related to the history of Springfield and its role in Illinois history beyond its most famous resident. Enjoy!
