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Illinois Unveils Plans for
Lincoln Presidential Library

Amid actors in period dress and a bust of Abraham Lincoln, Illinois Governor George Ryan unveiled plans November 16 for a $115-million library and museum honoring the 16th president. The facility, to be built in downtown Springfield, will house the state’s 46,000 Lincoln artifacts, including a signed copy of the Emancipation Proclamation and a version of the Gettysburg Address written in the president’s own hand. It will also contain an IMAX theatre, a live theatre, and diorama exhibits.

The November 17 Chicago Sun-Times reported that St. Louis architect Gyo Obata will design the facility, and BRC Imagination Arts of Burbank, California, which developed attractions for Epcot Center, will create its exhibits.

The state will contribute $50 million to the project, the federal government $30 million, and the city of Springfield $10 million, according to the November 17 Chicago Tribune. The state hopes to complete the project with private donations. The complex is expected to be the nation’s largest presidential library when it opens in 2003.

Posted November 22, 1999.

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Illinois Unveils Plans for
Lincoln Presidential Library