Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum

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The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum was built in Springfield, Illinois in the historic downtown section, near many other Lincoln sites. Ground was broken on February 12, 2001. The Presidential Library opened on October 14, 2004, and the Museum opened on April 19, 2005. Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. was designated the "Lincoln Museum" until 1970.

The presidential library houses books, papers, and artifacts related to the 16th President's life and the American Civil War, including the "Everett Copy" of the Gettysburg Address, which is on public display in its Treasures Gallery.

The museum contains replicas of Lincoln's boyhood home, areas of the White House, and the presidential box at Ford's Theatre, as well as pictures, artifacts and other memorabilia. Two shows, Lincoln's Eyes and Ghosts of the Library, run several times an hour.

The first Director of the ALPM was Richard Norton Smith.

One of the museum's permanent exhibits, Campaign 1860, features Meet the Press anchor Tim Russert.

The architecture of the rotunda of both the library and the museum reflect the dome of Illinois' Old State Capitol Building in Springfield, in which Lincoln served four terms as a legislator.

Many in the museum field disapprove of the way in which the museum is structured. Most notably, the reliance on immense amounts of technology and flashy displays that do not reveal the many intricacies of Lincoln's life and presidency. Also, the museum has been criticized for its comparatively small display of actual Lincoln artifacts and their absence throughout the exhibits.

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U.S. Presidential Libraries
Lincoln • Hayes • Wilson • Coolidge • Hoover • Franklin Roosevelt • Truman • Eisenhower • Kennedy • Johnson • Nixon • Ford Museum • Ford Library • Carter • Reagan • George H.W. Bush • Clinton