The Lincoln Birthday Weekend, Part 3: The Illinois State Capitol

Looking up inside a capitol dome. Brown and tan stained glass middle ring, green center circle, circular silvery frieze in the outer circle. Around the perimeter are archways to various halls.

In 9 out of 10 capitol buildings, looking up into the dome is the coolest part.

In addition to our annual road trips, my wife Anne and I have a twice-yearly tradition of spending our birthdays together on some new experience. On past trips we’d visited the graves, tombs, mausoleums and virtual posthumous palaces of 24 American Presidents in varying accommodations and budgets. One of the biggest names ever to grace the White House kept eluding us: Abraham Lincoln, planted a mere three hours away in Springfield, Illinois. In May 2023 I figured: let’s make his tomb a trip headliner of its very own, not a warm-up act on the road to Branson or whatever. History is technically more Anne’s fervent interest than mine, but we found plenty to do beyond reading wordy educational placards…

Case in point: after Lincoln’s tomb we wandered into downtown Springfield for some local flavor and sightseeing, only some of which was Lincoln-cenetered. Naturally we had to add the Illinois State Capitol to our state capitol collection, since we were already adding Springfield itself to our state capital collection anyway. We just really like collecting stuff.

Domed state capitol building with trees on either side and a thin Lincoln statue in front.

Welcome to the Illinois State Capitol, Mark VI, completed in 1888. At 361 feet it’s taller than the U.S. Capitol.

Thin Lincoln statue on a staircase landing in front of a capitol building. Lincoln is young, beardless, and wearing a long coat with his arms down at his sides.

Yes, of course there’s a Lincoln statue outside.

Closeup of top half of same Lincoln statue. Daytime outside, light blue sky.

How young he would’ve been while he was living and working in Illinois.

Statue of Everett Dirksen. One hand clasps a jacket button. At his feet are a tiny cartoon elephant and bull.

Other politicians in statuary on the premises include Everett Dirksen — a U.S. senator/congressman and co-writer of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968.

Statue of Richard Yates standing in front of a nice chair.

Richard Yates, another U.S. senator/congressman and their War Governor during the Civil War.

Statue of John M. Palmer on a pedestal, standing in front of another pedestal with a wrapped flag on it?

John M. Palmer, a Civil War General, governor and state senator.

Small bronze Liberty Bell replica on a pedestal. Far behind are rows of fountains.

A modest Liberty Bell replica.

Rows of small fountains on a concrete platform raised a few feet above ground level.

Welcoming fountains.

Sidewalks in front of the capitol covered in chalk messages such as "Make Some Illinoise", "Help Keep Our Kids Safe", and the Moms Demand Action hashtag.

Sidewalk art from a Moms Demand Action firearm-legislation rally we’d just missed.

Inside the Capitol, the state legislature was in session. Dozens of folks in smart business attire were all over the place, especially concentrated in one of the upper floors at one point for what I presume was a break. We avoided that congested area for a bit and mostly shot around them, enjoying our role as harmless out-of-towners who can’t vote for them and didn’t recognize a single one of them. If Illinois’ next Obama mingled among those leaders, we totally missed out.

Interior architecture, lots of tan and brown stonework leading to the rotunda. Chandeliers, white wainscotting, white marble floor with gray geometric patterns. In the distance is a statue and a staircase.

Inside the Capitol, visitors were more than welcome.

Bronze statue of a robed woman holding out her arms, elbows bent.

Their rotunda centerpiece is Julia M. Bracken’s 1895 Illinois Welcoming the World, based on a statue she’d done for the 1893 Columbian Exposition.

45-degree view from the rotunda floor up to the arched hallways on the second and third floors.

Transitional view as we turn our gaze from her statue up to the dome’s interior in our lead photo.

Misspelled sign "In Case of Fir" with a tiny staircase symbol. Hung above elevator buttons and a hand sanitizer dispenser.

To save energy for later, we availed ourselves of the elevator. Fortunately no live Christmas trees were attacking.

Viewpoint from the third floor of the rotunda, looking down on the first two floors. Other tourists and politicians mill about.

The view down from the third floor.

Upper floor with vaulted columns, arches, and a half-wall bearing a brown frieze of 19th-century pioneers and/or cowboys.

A frieze of frontiersmen.

Large painting with arched top. One white guy speaks in the middle of a large Native tribe. Other white folks in his party hang back. Sunny outdoors, river and woods in the distance.

Up on the third floor, the largest painting in the building is Gustav Fuchs’ 1886 depiction of the explorer George Rogers Clark negotiating with the locals.