The show-stopping tap-dancing abolition-loving certifiably Presidential finale!
Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:
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…
…and it all comes down to this: last call for Lincoln! Two entries’ worth of Abe-centric attractions combined into one double-sized finale!
During our walk around the concurrent street fairs we stopped inside the Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices State Historic Site, where Lincoln’s law practice was headquartered from 1843 to 1852. His previous partner Stephen Logan moved on after a year to be replaced by William Herndon. The junior partner held down the fort whenever the rather busy Lincoln had to go try cases in other counties, and during his term as a U.S. Congressman from 1847 to 1849. The original 1841 building remains intact, though some of the adjacent block underwent heavy restoration to simulate its contemporaneous state. Today it’s mostly a visitor center with a few exhibit pieces. Admission was free, but the upper floors appeared off-limits, either for renovation or for locals who know the secret handshake.
Have you been injured in a tractor accident? Contracted consumption from a quack’s snake oil? Need to write eight of your twelve surviving kids out of your will? Telegraph Lincoln Herndon TODAY!
The requisite historical marker certifying its historicity.
The front bears a few anachronisms.
Honest Abe Wrote and Rewrote Here.
Welcome to the land of Lincoln! Not to be confused with Land of Lincoln Credit Union, which is a real yet different thing!
Their law office furniture from way back when.
A style guide for drawing your own Lincoln comics, animated films or memes.
Exterior features include a statue of Lincoln the eager schoolboy.
During the art fair, Lincoln family statues were surrounded inside a hands-on kiddie-art booth. They graciously let us childless tourists come inside for a moment.
The top of a Lincoln-themed city trashcan.
Across the street near the Old State Capitol is another historical marker for the day U.S. Senator Barack announced his candidacy for the Presidency.
A bit farther down the other direction, a large-scale Lincoln quote admonishes those who shoot their fool mouths off online.
A few blocks southeast of the Law Office was the Lincoln Home National Historic Site — i.e., the house where the Lincoln family lived from 1844 until their big move to D.C. in 1861. It’s the core of a complex that also comprises a visitor center (Springfield has so many of those) and some houses within the same neighborhood that have been era-preserved as well. Admission for home tours was free — a condition that Robert Todd Lincoln stipulated before donating it to the State of Illinois in 1887 — but we’re finicky about which historical homes we tour. We also skipped the complimentary introductory film. We were content to walk the grounds where Lincoln walked and peruse the gift shop where Lincoln got merchandised.
The official sign outside the visitor center.
Possibly our 1,000th Lincoln statue? I’ve lost count.
Much tinier Lincolns, carved in 1858.
A 1990 maquette by Lily Toplo of Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, a bespoke Oompa-Loompa who was his frequent opponent.
Lincoln: The Pop Machine!
Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin: the original woke ticket.
A proud reminder that the once-mighty Route 66 ran through town.
That time they held a rally outside the Lincoln Home in 1860.
That same home today.
Just down the street was Mr. Lincoln’s Souvenirs, a gift shop that was not a visitor center, where Anne found the Lincoln hat in our lead photo.
Exiting downtown proved a chore. The combined Saturday morning might of the Farmers’ Market, the Art Fair, and Pridefest necessitated a lot of street closures. Eventually we stumbled our way around the signage and barricades.
We made two more stops before we left town: (1) we went back to Oak Ridge Cemetery because Anne wanted some photo retakes. I already mixed those in with our first two chapters. (2) Yet another gift shop! Yes, another one! It wasn’t my idea, but I was happy to accommodate the birthday guy’s wife.
Lincoln Souvenir & Gift Shop, a stone’s throw from the cemetery.
At last Anne tracked down her primary quarry: a smashed penny machine!
Sample Lincoln art.
While Anne enjoyed her smashed pennies and other items, I picked up two issues of an old Marvel miniseries called Epic Battles of the Civil War that were published in the late ’90s specifically for these sorts of gift shops. I bought the other two issues so long ago, the only other time I’ve ever seen them, that I don’t even remember where that occasion was. So now I have the complete set. I think. Unless I bought the wrong issue twice.
We’d also considered visiting the Ace Sign Museum before we left, but we were surprised and disappointed to learn they were closed Saturdays. Whoops.
Thus we took our leave of Springfield and returned to Indianapolis…only to get home and find the plumber who’d replaced all our sinks right before we left apparently used defective parts in our bedroom’s bathroom sink. The cabinet underneath was flooded, the carpet all around was drenched, and it took several days and multiple methods to dry it out and alleviate the stench. Much, much bigger whoops. But hey, the weekend up to that point was a fun time.
The End. Thanks for reading! Lord willing, we’ll see you next road trip.
Other chapters in this special MCC miniseries:
Part 1: The Tomb of Honest Abe
Part 2: More Wars, More Memorials
Part 3: The Illinois State Capitol
Part 4: Around the Capitol Complex
Part 5: Generation X Belongs in a Museum
Part 6: Misc. Museum
Part 7: His Presidential Library & Museum
Part 8: The Lincoln Museum Minus Lincoln
Part 9: ‘Round Springfield
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