To make way for the lawn of a new presidential library and museum, Springfield may demolish a Lincoln-era block

Story by Suzanne Feigelson / August 22, 2001

 Printer-friendly version


Artist's rendering of Springfield's new library and museum
(Illinois Historic Preservation Society)

"Here at midnight, in our little town
A mourning figure walks, and will not rest,
Near the old court-house pacing up and down."

So wrote the Springfield, Ill., poet Vachel Lindsay in his early-20th-century poem "Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight," which describes the ghost of the 16th president pacing through his hometown, wary of impending war. Almost a hundred years later, the poem still resonates for Springfield's citizens, who might soon be mourning a piece of their city's history.

Plans to build an Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in downtown Springfield call for the demolition of three Lincoln-era structures. To showcase the new buildings on the Old Capitol Square and accentuate their beauty, the city wants to create a potentially vast green space in front of them.

The block, called "Chicken Row" after a market located there before the Civil War, includes three historic commercial buildings. Two, the 1856 Fisher and Latham buildings, share a common wall; both were listed last year on the National Register of Historic Places. The third building, also pre-Civil War, remains in excellent condition and is currently for sale. Carolyn Oxtoby, a local developer, is renovating the Fisher-Latham structure, which she says was a "gorgeous building in very bad shape." Now the renovation is almost finished, and the complex will house a law office, grocery store, restaurant, and gift shop—if the building is left standing.

In June, the minority leader of the state assembly, Lee Daniels, spearheaded legislation that appropriated $20 million of the state's budget for the development of the Old Capitol Square. His wife, Pam, sits on the board of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, the group designing the new library and museum.

But like Lincoln's pacing specter, local preservationists will not rest. "People are outraged," says Oxtoby, who has acquired more than 2,000 signatures on a petition against the green space.

Despite the budget approval, the city is not sure if it will demolish the three historic buildings. An architectural consulting group will first survey the property and make a recommendation in early November. According to several city officials, the group could very well suggest that the buildings be preserved.

Still, said Jerry Jacobson of Save Old Springfield, demolition "should not be an option, plain and simple. I can't believe I'm saying no to trees and grass, but in this case there has to be a sense of place, a sense of history."

Artist's rendering of the proposed plaza (Illinois Historic Preservation Society)

Springfield, population 110,000, boasts the only house Lincoln ever owned, his law office, and his tomb. In the state legislature the president delivered his famous "house divided" speech, and when Lincoln died in 1865, thousands of mourners paid their last respects on the Old Capitol Square.

The town draws over a million tourists a year, as well as researchers from all over the world. According to Susan Mogerman, director of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, more books have been written about Lincoln than about any other American—a trend that has not abated in recent years, with 94 new Lincoln publications in 1999 alone. "There is a richness here that you can't find anywhere else," Mogerman said.

Springfield residents disagree on how the proposed project will affect tourism in the up-and-coming downtown area. Those in favor of creating green space say it will make the city more appealing to pedestrians. "We don't want people to see the museum, get back in the car, and leave, but to tour the museum and then see the town," says Norm Sims, director of the city's office of economic development. "We're hoping to make what is a back door more of a front door."

But Oxtoby says Springfield's tourism relies on its unique historic streetscape. "You need buildings. This would just make the town more boring."

To compromise, the city is considering moving the buildings to another location—a costly endeavor. "If we have the ability to save them, that should certainly take precedence [over demolition]," says Jeremy Lochirco of Springfield's economic development office.

But to residents like Oxtoby, moving the buildings is hardly better than tearing them down. "It's ridiculous," Oxtoby says, arguing that tourists need places to shop and eat, which is what the Fisher and Latham buildings would supply. "They talk about moving and say, 'Well, doesn't that make you happy?' and I say 'No, it doesn't.'"

Jacobson objects to relocation because he says it would destroy the Old Capitol Square. "Under other circumstances, moving is a last resort," he says. "But in this case it would have the same effect on the square as demolition."

Those both for and against the green space say they want to do what is best for the president's memory. "I think it's important for us to be neutral at this point," Mogerman said. "At least until the experts come in and the community has spoken." After all, the purpose of the new library and museum is to celebrate Lincoln and his connection to Springfield, she says. "This is, as he called it, the city he loved."