Day-20 .. Springfield, Illinois

After a night of rain, the day dawned clear and bright.   Here's looking out at the pond from the 2nd floor deck  from Tom and Charlotte's home :

The wind was howling as we finished breakfast and prepared to spend the day in Springfield, the Illinois state capital.   We first visited Abraham Lincoln's home where he lived and worked from 1844 to 1861.

Would you believe it? .. The DC and Norfolk Zoo field trip kids followed me to Springfield.  We encountered buses of kids at all of the sites we visited today.  😁

because of mobs of field trip kids in front, I used a Wikipedia pic -

We next headed over to the Springfield Union Station.   It was primarily used by the Illinois Central Railroad.

Catty-corner to the station was the Lincoln Museum and Presidential Library buildings.  Like at Mt.Rushmore, it appears that they should add another .. :

When I visited last October on my return from Florida, we had only toured Lincoln's early years.   Today, we finished with the Presidential years.    Excellent presentation of materials and dioramas.  I noticed a picture wall very similar to one I showed you from the Holocaust Museum that shows the human side to the Civil War.

On to Springfield's old state capitol building, finished in 1840 and used from 1840-76.   It was the site of candidacy announcements of Abraham Lincoln in 1858 and Barack Obama in 2007. 

House of Representatives chamber in old capitol building

On to the Governor's Manson, continuously used from 1855 to present !  Very elegant inside, designed in the Italianate-style, with a grand spiral staircase.

photos inside were not allowed, so I used a Wikipedia pic -

A fun day discovering more details about Abraham Lincoln and the state capital.   Tomorrow will be all about Decatur.