- Attraction: Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
- Location: 212 N 6th St, Springfield, IL 62701
- Industry: Museum
- Website: https://presidentlincoln.illinois.gov/
History comes alive in ways you never imagined at this extraordinary museum complex that revolutionized how presidential stories are told.
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum opened in 2005 and immediately set itself apart by combining traditional scholarship with 21st-century showmanship techniques, creating what many consider the first major Experience Museum.
You’ll discover not just artifacts behind glass, but immersive experiences that transport you directly into Lincoln’s world.
Five million visitors have walked through these doors since the ALPLM opened, and the museum consistently ranks as one of the most visited presidential libraries.
What draws people here isn’t just the world’s largest collection of Lincoln materials, but the groundbreaking way they’re presented through life-size dioramas, special effects theaters, and interactive exhibits that make you feel like you’re witnessing history unfold.
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Keep Exploring →Spectacular Shows & Interactive Experiences
Lincoln’s Eyes Theater: This multi-sensory spectacle takes you through Lincoln’s life story with moving screens, shaking seats, and incredible special effects. The film includes cannon firings, real smoke rings floating into the auditorium, and John Wilkes Booth walking above the audience along a catwalk on his way to assassinate Lincoln.
You’ll experience Civil War battles and pivotal moments with startling realism that brings the emotional weight of Lincoln’s presidency to life.
Ghosts of the Library: This show includes a live actor who describes the wonders that this Presidential Library has in store from the artifacts. It uses much of the same Pepper’s Ghost technology that is used in the Haunted Mansion.
As the program closes, the actor reveals that he is a ghost of a Civil War soldier killed in battle as the library turns into a battlefield through holographic projections. The transparent images of Lincoln and other historical figures seem to appear and disappear around you.
Journey One – Pre-Presidential Years: You’ll walk through a full-scale replica of Lincoln’s boyhood Indiana cabin, seeing the cramped quarters where he grew up.
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Discover MoreLater, you’ll see his family with son Tad and Willie playing a rousing game of baseball with their father’s inkwell in the law office. The journey includes interactive exhibits featuring debate programs, Mary Todd’s Fan, and Lincoln’s shaving kit.
Journey Two – The White House Years: This section recreates areas of the White House as they looked in 1861, including the Cabinet Room and kitchen.
Other scenes from Lincoln’s presidential years portray Lincoln and his wife, Mary Todd, at the deathbed of their son, Willie, who died in 1862 at the age of 12.
You’ll witness Lincoln’s internal struggle over the Emancipation Proclamation through powerful audiovisual presentations.
Campaign of 1860 Exhibit: This permanent exhibit includes modern-style television updates on the campaign’s progress from the late Meet the Press anchor Tim Russert, making the 1860 election feel as immediate as today’s news coverage.
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Keep Exploring →The Civil War in Four Minutes: This exhibit displays a large animated map which displays the changing battle lines of the Civil War in four minutes, giving you a comprehensive visual understanding of the war’s progression.
Treasures Gallery & Authentic Artifacts
Original Gettysburg Address: Items from the institution’s world-class Lincoln Collection, numbering in the tens of thousands, are exhibited on a rotating basis in the Museum’s Treasures Gallery, including an original hand-written copy of the Gettysburg Address.
You’ll also see the evening gloves in President Lincoln’s pocket the night of his assassination.
Lincoln’s Personal Items: The museum displays Lincoln’s actual hat, with a 360-degree online view of his hat (the actual hat is, as of May 2013, also on display at the museum).
The collection includes personal letters, manuscripts, photographs, and everyday items that belonged to the Lincoln family.
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Discover MoreMrs. Lincoln’s Attic: A children’s area called Mrs. Lincoln’s Attic that features a large model of the Lincoln Home where kids can explore and learn through hands-on activities.
At the reception they took two sheets from the “History detective” programs and were filling as they explored the museum. In the end they delivered and received a button of “Junior Park Ranger”.
Life-Size Historical Figures: They can also have their photos take with life-size models of Abraham Lincoln as a boy and an adult, as well as with Mary Todd and the Lincoln children. Throughout the museum, a visitor comes in contact with a series of “Lincolns,” full-scale life-like representations of Lincoln as a boy in Indiana or as president sitting at Ford’s Theatre on that fateful April night.
Architecture & Design Excellence
Impressive Scale: The 200,000 square foot complex, which includes an Archive, Library, Museum, public experiences, galleries and theater presentations that are more than 50% larger than any other presidential library.
More than 40,000 square feet of galleries, theaters, and historic displays that combine scholarship with showmanship create an experience unlike any other presidential museum.
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Keep Exploring →Connected Buildings: The buildings which now house the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum are in three separate structures.
Each structure encompasses one city block. Two of the buildings, the museum and the library, are separated by a street and connected above the street level by an enclosed walkway.
Rotunda Design: The entrance of each building features a rotunda, reflective of the dome on the Old State Capitol in Springfield, where Lincoln served four terms as a legislator.
This 4,500 square foot rotunda bracketed by a full-scale reproduction of Lincoln’s boyhood Indiana log cabin and, on the other side, a replica of the White House provides a spectacular backdrop.
Historic Union Station: The third building, the former Springfield Union Station, had originally been adapted to serve as the museum’s visitor center.
However, since early 2014, the station has, instead, housed an exhibit called “Lincoln: History to Hollywood”, which displays two sets, as well as several props and costumes, from the 2012 film Lincoln, directed by Steven Spielberg.
Other Considerations
Reasonable Pricing: Adults $15 Seniors (62+) $12 Military (ID required) $10 Children (5-15) $6 4 and under, no charge Student (ID required) $12.
The pricing represents excellent value considering the scope and quality of what you’ll experience – most visitors agree the extensive exhibits and cutting-edge presentations justify the cost.
Family-Friendly Experience: The museum excels at engaging visitors of all ages. This is truly an experience that anyone from kids to elderly can enjoy and learn from.
The interactive elements and special effects keep children captivated while the historical depth satisfies adult learners and history enthusiasts.
Plan Extra Time: We spent two and a half hours browsing, and didn’t even get to see it all. Most visitors recommend allowing at least half a day to fully appreciate everything the museum offers, especially if you want to see both theatrical presentations.
Downtown Location: The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is located in Springfield, Illinois, in the historic downtown section, near many other Lincoln cultural sites. You’ll find convenient access to other Lincoln-related attractions within walking distance.
Research Library Access: The Presidential Library is home to the world’s largest collection of Lincoln-related documents, artifacts and books, including more than 12 million items from the Illinois State Historical Library.
A reading room, named the “Steve Neal Reading Room” in honor of Illinois historical journalist Steve Neal, is open to the public.
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
📍 212 N 6th St, Springfield, IL 62701
