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Museum | Library | Union Station | Exterior | Online Exhibits | Upcoming Exhibits
Museum
The plaza, shown above, is where your visit begins and concludes –it is the hub of the Museum. The Plaza allows our visitors to explore and return to reflect. Lifelike figures of the Lincoln family greet visitors in the Plaza with the White House as a backdrop for a great photo op before taking your own journey through the life and times of Abraham Lincoln.
Journey 1
Explore Abraham Lincoln’s early life from his boyhood in a Kentucky cabin through his 1860 campaign for President of the United States.
Learn more about Journey 1
Journey 2
Abraham Lincoln achieved what many men only dreamed of when he won the presidency in 1860. But the country was in crisis—the Civil War would begin just weeks after his inauguration, and Lincoln would wrestle with the human toll of battle and of slavery. Family tragedy struck as well, with the death of son Willie in 1862. Cruel personal and political attacks that greeted the Lincolns when they arrived in Washington, D.C., gave way to an outpouring of grief following his assassination on April 14, 1865. Somber scenes of mourning give way to consideration of Lincoln’s powerful hold on Americans.
Learn more about Journey 2
Citizen City (in development)
We are developing a unique children’s exhibit space which will be a wonderful immersive experience for our young patrons. Citizen City is a place where kids have fun while learning what it means to be a “good citizen.” Citizen City has neighborhoods, parks, city center and other dynamic spaces to get a “hands-on” experience for children and their families.
Learn more about Citizen City (in development)
Library
While researchers could spend a lifetime working here to discover more about Lincoln’s life and legacy, many of our Museum guests find they spend only a small portion of their time in the Library. However, you will not want to miss these exhibits housed in the Library!
Lincoln’s Life in Letters
At its heart, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is a showcase for the millions of items housed in its collection devoted to Illinois history and Abraham Lincoln. On any given day, at least 100 of those items are on display. Included in the collection are more than 1,600 documents in Lincoln’s hand. We invite you to explore Lincoln’s life through some of the documents that shaped our museum exhibits and the stories they tell.
Learn more about Lincoln’s Life in Letters
The Stevenson Room
The Stevenson family have prominently served their state and country as Illinois representative, Illinois treasurer, Illinois secretary of state, congressman, governor, U.S. senator, vice president, and ambassador to the United Nations. Funded by a grant from the Illinois secretary of state, The Stevenson Room is an experience that illuminates the Stevenson family’s story using objects, like buttons and hats, from their many campaigns. This cutting-edge exhibit boasts interactive digital kiosks that allow you to explore the Stevenson family tree, listen to speeches, create political campaign buttons and more!
Learn more about The Stevenson Room
Union Station
Historic building across the street from the library.
Union Station
Union Station was opened in 1898 by the Illinois Central Railroad and the last passenger train left Union Station on April 30, 1971. The station is designed in the Romanesque Revival style, which is evident in its decorative stone and brickwork, strong geometric form, and soaring clock tower. This building is not currently open to the public, but it provides a beautiful backdrop for pictures and a picnic lunch.
Learn more about Union Station
Exterior
Lincoln Bench
This life-size reproduction of Lincoln was donated to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in honor of the Siciliano Construction Company workers who built the museum and library.
Learn more about Lincoln Bench
Online Exhibits
The State of Sound: A World of Music from Illinois
Experience the on-line version of the critically-acclaimed, award-winning original ALPLM exhibit which was featured in Springfield and in Chicago. The exhibit tells the story of the “Sonic History” of Illinois through mini documentaries, images and artifacts. Written by Dave Hoekstra.
Learn more about The State of Sound: A World of Music from Illinois
The Gettysburg Address Up Close
Get a detailed look at the ALPLM’s copy of Lincoln’s most famous speech through this interactive exhibit. Pop-up boxes will explain key ideas, tell the document’s history, and link to other sources of information. The page also includes a photo gallery and educational resources for teachers and parents.
Learn more about The Gettysburg Address Up Close
Emancipation Proclamation
On the day Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, he reportedly told abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner that it was “the great event of the nineteenth century” and “that the name which is connected with this matter will never be forgotten.” Lincoln was correct that the Emancipation Proclamation would become the focal point of his life and legacy, and it continues to be one of the seminal texts of American History.
Learn more about Emancipation Proclamation
Here I Have Lived: Home In Illinois
Winner of the American Association of State and Local History for Leadership in History.
For centuries the land that has become Illinois has been home. Here our region’s earliest indigenous residents built powerful, lasting communities. And for generations afterward, though immigration, migration, and settler colonialism, Illinoisans have changed the world…by starting at home.
Through their stories and objects, we invite you to explore our shared roots and what it means to truly find a place of belonging.
Learn more about Here I Have Lived: Home In Illinois
Upcoming Exhibits
Freedom in Form: Richard Hunt
Freedom in Form: Richard Hunt – at LUMA in Chicago, IL
Exhibit Dates: July 11, 2025 – November 15, 2025
Curator: Ross Stanton Jordan
ALPLM’s popular exhibit to be hosted in Chicago.
Freedom in Form will allow visitors to view Hunt’s work informed by a Black historical perspective. The presence of voice and struggle through figures such as Frederick Douglass, Emmett Till, and Ida B. Wells will permeate and frame the experience – freedom takes many forms. For most of his career, Richard Hunt literally lived with his work at his studio - converting a City of Chicago utility building in 1971 in the Wrightwood Neighbors area near Chicago’s Lincoln Park. Freedom in Form will utilize the concept of place to situate the viewer to feel his presence through his personal effects, tools, materials and works. Media features with Hunt’s contemporaries will provide voices of tribute and perspective, coupling the lived experiences of the man with the wonders that are his creations.
Exhibit opens July 11, 2025 at the Loyola University Museum of Art in Chicago (LUMA)
Exhibit created by ALPLM
https://www.luc.edu/luma/exhibitions/exhibition_current.html
Order a catalog:
https://shopabelincoln.com/
Learn more about Freedom in Form: Richard Hunt
Lincoln: Sight, Sound & Touch
Run dates: May 23, 2025 – August 24, 2025
Experience a new way of exploring Abraham Lincoln and his role in shaping American identity. Images from Lincoln’s life are transformed into three-dimensional objects that visitors can touch. When they do, their fingers trigger audio presentations explaining his accomplishments and enduring legacy. Everyone can enjoy the unique touch tables, but they offer an especially powerful experience for visitors with impaired vision.
Learn more about Lincoln: Sight, Sound & Touch