Capital weekends

I sense a pattern here. Which is good, because that’s why I’ve come
here–by train–to see the Lincoln stuff.

A trapdoor education

Bill Sherer paints an intriguing picture of Abraham Lincoln (not Abe–a
name he detested) as he stands on the third floor of the restored
Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices, at the corner of Adams and 6th Streets downtown.
Lincoln, whose formal education was practically non-existent, had arrived in
the state’s new capital in 1837 after having studied law on his own for three
years to pass the exams required to become an attorney. By 1843, he and
partner Stephen Trigg Logan were doing well enough to move to this third-floor
space, for which they paid $100 a year, a substantial rent for the time.

Sherer, who works for the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, which
administers this site and several others in this town of 111,000, points out a
trapdoor on the floor that was placed there when the building was originally
constructed as a warehouse. (Some believe 95 percent of the flooring in this
office is from the Lincoln years, so visitors are literally walking in
Lincoln’s footsteps.) Below the trapdoor was the federal courtroom.

Sherer tells how Lincoln, always looking to improve his knowledge of the
law and his courtroom tactics, would prop open the trapdoor with a book, then
stretch out his 6-foot 4-inch frame on the floor and observe the courtroom
theatrics through the sliver of space.

In 1844, Lincoln formed a partnership with William Herndon that flourished,
though it moved into a smaller space at the rear of the building when Lincoln
was elected to Congress and moved to Washington from 1847 to 1849.

Lincoln in the Old Capitol

Besides having easy access to the federal courts in the building that
housed his office, Lincoln had to walk only across the street to the Old State
Capitol, which, from 1839 to 1876, housed all three branches of state
government.

The building, which was dismantled and rebuilt in 1966, is rich in Lincoln
lore. Like the law offices, most of the furnishings visitors see here weren’t
in the building originally, but they’re from that same time period.

John Kjellquist, a computer consultant with a love for history, volunteers
as a guide at the Old Capitol “because I get to go beyond the ropes” that keep
visitors from getting too close to history. He notes that period pieces had to
be used to furnish the restored building because “when the state moved out,
they auctioned off most of the things. Also, you have to remember that in the
early days, the state didn’t have much money, so people who worked here
brought their own furniture.”

Perhaps the most authentic room in the building is the Governor’s Reception
Room, which Lincoln used as his headquarters during the 1860 presidential
campaign. Kjellquist points out a woodcut made of the room during that time,
which allowed historians to accurately restore this room.

Keeping with campaign practices of the day, in which the people came to the
candidate rather than as is done today, it was here that Lincoln sat for long
hours talking one-on-one with any citizen, no matter how humble, who had made
the journey to hear his views.

On the top floor of the Old Capitol is Representatives Hall, the part of
the building that may feel Lincoln’s imprint most heavily. In 1858, Lincoln
began his Senate campaign against Stephen Douglas in which he addressed the
slavery issue and its effect on the country, declaring, “A house divided
against itself cannot stand.” Though Lincoln lost that election, it gave him a
national presence and ultimately led him to the White House.

When Lincoln returned from the White House, a little more than four years
after he left Springfield and less than a month after the Civil War ended, it
was to Representatives Hall, where his body lay in an open casket for two
days, while an estimated 75,000 of his fellow citizens somberly filed past.

Touching history

A few blocks from the Old Capitol, visitors queue up, holding time-stamped
tickets, awaiting their designated time to walk through the house that Abraham
and Mary Todd Lincoln called home from May 1844 until 17 years later when they
departed for the White House and Lincoln said prophetically, “I now leave, not
knowing when, or whether ever, I may return.”

In this house, three of the Lincolns’ four sons would be born, and one
would die. Reflecting the hardships of the time, only their firstborn, Robert,
lived to adulthood, and it was he who eventually donated the home to the state
of Illinois, which in 1972 turned it over to the federal government to be
administered by the National Park Service.

Perhaps it’s the structured timing of the 15-minute tours due to the
thousands who visit each year, or the admonitions to “stay on the gray carpet
and please don’t touch anything,” but the home, to me, has a sterile air to
it.

Not that guide Liz Goodman, a young Britisher doing a stint here as a
volunteer in preparation for a career wrapped in history, doesn’t try to
breathe life into the house. She tells us that the parlor, far from a huge
room, was once the site of a party to which Mary invited 500, putting arrival
and departure times on the invitations. (Fortunately, only 300 showed up.)

It was here, too, that a committee came from Chicago in 1860 to notify
Lincoln of his presidential nomination by the Republican Party.

Prior to going upstairs, Goodman delivers a treat to her tour group: “When
we go upstairs, be sure to hold on to the handrail. There are two reasons:
One, so you don’t fall, and two, because it’s the only thing in the house I’m
going to let you touch that Mr. Lincoln touched.”

A few blocks from the Lincoln Home Visitor Center on South 7th Street,
visitors can get closer to history at the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial
Museum, which Old Capitol guide John Kjellquist listed among “a lot of neat
little places in this town.”

The last member of the GAR, made up of Union veterans of the Civil War,
died in 1956 at the age of 109. The keeper of this modest museum these days is
the National Woman’s Relief Corps, and more specifically Mary Phelps,
volunteer curator who, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, March
through November, stands ready to answer questions and point visitors to
interesting bits of history they may have overlooked.

Most notable is a somewhat faded, though in remarkably good condition,
folded flag that hangs in a modest frame. The flag was taken from the
President’s Box at Ford Theatre the night of the assassination. One edge of
the flag is ripped. . . . . by John Wilkes Booth’s spur as he leaped to the
stage after firing the fatal shot.

And finally, there is the Lincoln Tomb, about a mile and a half from
downtown in Oak Ridge Cemetery. On an unseasonably warm Saturday in early
April, it’s impossible to keep a lump from forming in my throat as I look
upward, taking in the tomb entrance, the single name “Lincoln” chiseled deep
into the stone, the sculpture of the man they called the Great Emancipator and
finally the granite obelisk that soars 117 feet into a bright blue sky. High
atop an adjacent pole, the American flag snaps in heavy wind gusts, making a
sound almost like . . . gunshots.

Inside the marble-lined halls of the tomb, small talk fades, and voices are
muted, respectful. Subdued lighting gives an otherwordly glow to bronze
statues by the likes of Augustus Saint-Gaudens and Lorado Taft that note
important periods in Lincoln’s life.

Then, standing before the large, but simple granite marker, bathed in soft
light, you wonder, was there some master plan at work here? Here was a man who
many thought was a bumpkin, and, in some ways, he was. But he educated himself
and achieved things someone of his meager beginnings had no reason to even
dream of. In the process, he made his country look at itself, fight with
itself. Nearly destroy itself.

Then, when it seemed the worst was over, and it was time for the local boy
who made good to help with the healing, his life ended violently.

In 1836, in a letter to a newspaper editor, the then-27-year-old Lincoln
wrote: “Every man is said to have his peculiar ambition. . . . I have no other
so great as that of being truly esteemed of my fellow men,by rendering myself
worthy of their esteem.”

Behind Lincoln’s resting place, the words of his secretary of war, Edwin M.
Stanton, measure that esteem: “Now he belongs to the ages.”

THE BOTTOM LINE

Weekend expenses for one

Amtrak ……………………… $62

Lodging (two nights) ………… $284

Food ……………………….. $93

Cab to tomb, tip ……………… $8

Admission fees, donations ……… $8

Total ……………………… $455

IF YOU GO

GETTINING THERE

Springfield is about 200 miles southwest of Chicago on Interstate Highway
55, but I left my car behind and took Amtrak since I was concentrating on just
the Lincoln sites, most of which are within a six-block area downtown. My
round-trip fare, including a AAA discount, was $61.70, which included Business
Class seating from Chicago and a standard Coach seat on the return trip.
Without the discount, the cost would have been $73. For the extra $14 that the
Business Class seat cost, I got early pre-boarding in a car just for Business
Class, a copy of the Tribune, free soft drinks and coffee and a coupon good
for $4.50 in the cafe/bar area. Scheduled time to Springfield was about 3
hours and, inexplicably, about 4 hours on the return. There are three trains a
day to Springfield from Chicago. For reservations, call 800-USRAIL;
www.amtrak.com.

GETTING AROUND

Bring your walking shoes and get a little exercise. After all, Lincoln did
lots of walking in his lifetime. If walking isn’t your thing, though, from now
until Labor Day, a trolley ($10 adults, $9 seniors, $5 ages 5-12 for all day)
runs in the downtown and also out to the Lincoln Tomb at Oak Ridge Cemetery
seven days a week. (After Labor Day the schedule is abbreviated; call
217-528-4100 for details.) The cemetery is probably a mile and a half from
downtown. Because I didn’t have a car, I took a taxi (what else but Lincoln
Yellow Cab, 217-522-7766) to the cemetery, then walked back. There are also
city buses, but on weekends the one to the cemetery runs only about once an
hour.

LODGING

I stayed at the Inn at 835 (835 S. 2nd St., Springfield, IL 62704;
888-217-4835; www.innat835.com). The inn was originally built as an apartment
building during the Arts and Crafts period, and rooms are very nicely done. My
room, which was $129 a night plus tax, wasn’t huge, but was worth the price.
Period furnishings were well done, and the bathroom included a large whirlpool
bath. The bedroom opens out onto a second-floor veranda where you can sit and
enjoy the evening breezes. The inn is within walking distance of the Lincoln
sites.

There are 10 rooms and suites at the inn, ranging from $109 to $189, which
includes a full breakfast.

There are other bed-and-breakfasts in the downtown area, along with hotels.
Information is available from the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau,
listed at the bottom.

DINING

Cafe Brio (524 E. Monroe; 217-544-0574) serves lunch and dinner in a
relaxed atmosphere, with the menu having Latin and Caribbean influences. I had
a terrific Caribbean chicken lunch that included a chicken breast marinated in
Jamaican spices, with a tamale pie (like a pancake with corn and chiles),
topped by a chipotle cream sauce and with smoky black-eyed peas on the side.
Food and an exotic margarita was about $15.

Maldaner’s (222 S. 6th St.; 217-522-4313) looks like the place where
lobbyists must take legislators to twist their arms in style. This is a
white-tablecloth kind of place, with red meat, poultry and seafood on the menu
at Springfield–not Chicago–prices. My huge prime rib, which was quite good,
was under $20.

The Original Coney Island (210 S. 5th St.) boasts it was “ESTB. 1919” and
its sign advertises “Plate Lunches” and “Chilli.” A genuine Coney Island dog,
onion rings and a soda set me back $4 and some change.

Saputo’s (801 E. Monroe; 217-544-2523) is an old-fashioned Italian kind of
place that seems to be popular with the locals. I walked in about 8:15 on a
Saturday night, and had to wait about 45 minutes for a table. If you’re into
traditional, heavy Italian meals (think lots of pasta, cheese and meats), this
is your kind of place. My baked ravioli was priced at less than $10.

THE SITES

To tour the Lincoln Home National Historic Site you first have to pick up
free tickets, which specify the time of your tour, at the visitor center (426
S. 7th St.; 217-492-4241; www.nps.gov/liho). The site is open 8:30 a.m. to 5
p.m. year-round, except from now until September when hours are 8 a.m. to 6
p.m. Free.

Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices State Historic Site (Adams and 6th Streets;
217-785-7960) is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from March through October and 9 a.m.
to 4 p.m. from November through February. Visitors are advised to contact the
site in advance for hours of operation. Handicapped accessible. Donation
suggested.

Old State Capitol State Historic Site (Washington and 6th Streets) has the
same phone and hours as the law offices, both of which are administered by the
Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Donation suggested.

Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site (located on the grounds of Oak Ridge
Cemetery with entrances on Illinois Highway 29 and Monument Avenue;
217-782-2717) has hours as above. Tomb interior handicapped accessible. Free.

Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Museum (629 S. 7th St.; 217-522-4373)
is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, March through November.
Free

Lincoln Depot (10th and Monroe Streets) is where Lincoln gave his farewell
address when he left Springfield for the White House. It’s open from 10 a.m.
to 4 p.m. April through August. Free.

Museum of Funeral Customs (entrance to Oak Ridge Cemetery; 217-544-3480) is
an interesting, albeit unusual, museum operated by the Illinois Funeral
Directors Association that traces the history of embalming and, as the name
suggests, funeral customs from the 19th Century. The exhibits are well done,
but the squeamish might not enjoy viewing the embalming tables, instruments,
pumps and chemicals that are part of the trade. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Tuesday through Saturday and 1-4 p.m. Sunday. $3 adults, $2 age 62 and over,
$1.50 for students 6-17, free ages 5 and under.

INFORMATION

There are other Lincoln sites, as well as the Illinois State Museum,
Executive Mansion and related sites to visit. For information, request an
information packet from the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau, 109 N.
7th St., Springfield, IL 62701; 800-545-7300;
www.visit-springfieldillinois.com.

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Phil Marty’s e-mail address is pamarty@tribune.com.