I arrived in Springfield to see my first State Fair, but first I did a walkaround of the city's compact downtown.
When made a state in 1818, the Mississippi River town of Kaskaskia was the first state capitol, but persistent flooding resulted in a move north to Vandalia in 1820. The rapid growth of the state created a push to move even further north, and in 1833 State Rep. Abraham Lincoln and a cadre of similarly over-heighted comrades known as the Long Nine led the successful push to have voters make Springfield the victorious choice, against four other alternatives, to become the next Illinois capitol, in 1839.
The building pictured here, was completed by architect John Francis Rague in 1840, using yellow limestone from nearby Crow's Mill. It originally held the whole of state government - legislative, executive, judicial - which sufficed only until 1876, when the structure became the Sangamon County Courthouse, undergoing massively transformative renovations for almost a century.
In the late 1960's, in a project championed by then governor Otto Kerner, the entire building was disassembled "piece by piece" to make way for an underground parking garage,,,
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| photograph: Sangamon Valley Collection |
...and then re-assembled in for the form we see today, interiors recreated, after a massive research effort, to mirror as much as possible their original state, when Lincoln argued cases before the Illinois Supreme Court and delivered his "House Divided" speech as a legislator. You can read a fascinating account of the story here.
Meanwhile, across the street, Mary adjusts Abe's coat.
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| Springfield's Lincoln sculpture, Larry Anderson, 2004 |
5 comments:
It is a beautiful old building! Fascinating to learn it was taken apart to build the parking garage!
Did you see the Donner party plaque nearby too? That bookstore right there is peak too!
Does the R2D2 mailbox still stand opposite its northwest corner?
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It’s interesting to see how Springfield developed into such an important part of Illinois history. The story of the state capitol moving from Kaskaskia to Vandalia and eventually Springfield shows how quickly the state was growing during that period. The Old State Capitol is especially fascinating because it originally housed all three branches of government. I also like how places such as casino 770 can offer a completely different kind of modern entertainment compared with these historic landmarks. It must be a great experience to walk around downtown and see these buildings in person.
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