Lincoln Tomb
|
Lincoln Tomb and War Memorials State Historic Site
|
|
Abraham Lincoln's tomb at Oak Ridge Cemetery in July 2005.
|
|
| Location | Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, Illinois, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Built | 1868-74 |
| Architect | Larkin Goldsmith Mead |
| NRHP Reference # | 66000330 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NHL | December 19, 1960 |
The Lincoln Tomb is the final resting place of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, and three of their four sons. It is located in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois. At the close of the events marking Lincoln's death, his body was placed in a nearby receiving tomb and later in the state tomb. The mausoleum is owned and administered by the State of Illinois as Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site. It was designated one of the first National Historic Landmarks in 1960, and thus became one of the first sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966, when that designation was created.
Constructed of granite, the tomb has a rectangular base surmounted by a 117-foot (36 m)-high obelisk and a semicircular entrance way. A bronze reproduction of sculptor Gutzon Borglum's head of Lincoln in the U.S. Capitol rests on a pedestal in front of the entrance way. Four flights of balustraded stairs—two flanking the entrance at the front and two at the rear—lead to a level terrace. The balustrade extends around the terrace to form a parapet where several statues are displayed.
On April 15, 1865, the day President Lincoln died, a group of Springfield citizens formed the National Lincoln Monument Association and spearheaded a drive for funds to construct a memorial or tomb. Upon arrival of the funeral train on May 3, Lincoln lay in state in the Illinois State Capitol for one night. After funeral and burial services the next day, his coffin was placed in a receiving vault at Oak Ridge Cemetery, the site Mrs. Lincoln requested for burial. In December, her husband's remains were removed to a temporary vault not far from the proposed memorial site. The location of the temporary vault is today marked with a small granite marker on the hill behind the current tomb. In 1871, three years after laborers had begun constructing the tomb, the body of Lincoln and those of the three youngest of his sons were placed in crypts in the unfinished structure.
...
Wikipedia