Illinois would be better off spending its money on public schools. Here in
Springfield, however, the controversy is not about money but about
history--specifically, the architect's proposal to create a sweeping vista in
front of the museum by knocking down three ornate brick buildings that date to
the 1850s.
That's a hot topic because Springfield long has marketed itself as an authentic
Lincoln experience.
The National Park Service has preserved an entire block of old buildings
surrounding the Lincoln family home here, so tourists can see the views the
president saw when he sat on his front steps--or ducked out to his three-seater
outhouse in the yard. A billboard on the edge of town features a sketch of the
bearded president and the invitation: "Walk where he walked."
But now the town is considering razing buildings that Lincoln strode past
regularly, for the sake of improving a view. Preservationists find the notion
outrageous.
"It's extremely ironic that we're [proposing] tearing down Lincoln-era buildings
for Lincoln's library," said Carolyn Oxtoby, a businesswoman who refurbishes old
properties, including one of the buildings that may face demolition. She and a
loose coalition of preservationists have collected 1,300 signatures in support
of saving the buildings. "People are extremely bent out of shape about this."
To help defuse the tension, Mayor Karen Hasara has invited a team of urban
designers to visit Springfield this fall. She hopes they will assess various
options for downtown and present their findings at public forums.
In the meantime, the presidential project chugs ahead.
Exhibit designers for the museum already have put together a poster pointing out
every quirk of Lincoln's craggy features--from the mole at his left temple to
the asymmetry of his ears--to make sure they get him exactly right. Scholars
working on the library collection, meanwhile, have launched a project (which
likely will take decades) to match the letters Lincoln wrote with the replies he
received so that his correspondence can be viewed in proper order.
And, Illinois First Lady Lura Lynn Ryan said, state officials "have already
received calls from all over world, from people asking when it will be built and
what can they do to help."
There are skeptics, of course, who suggest the world hardly needs another
Lincoln site. Old Abe is the most-written-about president in history; there are
more than 16,000 books about him. Tourists can visit Lincoln's boyhood home in
Indiana, his birthplace cabin in Kentucky, his home and law office in Illinois,
even the theater where he was killed and the bed in which he died in Washington,
D.C. There's a Lincoln museum at an insurance company headquarters in Indiana,
another at a college in Tennessee.
Boosters of the Springfield project say they will offer something different by,
for the first time, pulling together the story of Lincoln's entire career.
"You get a piece of the Lincoln story everywhere, but nowhere do you get the
full legacy," said Susan Mogerman, director of the Illinois Historic
Preservation Agency.
The museum will trace Lincoln's life through interactive exhibits, including