INTRODUCTION

Springfield, Illinois, is a city of contrasts. Nowhere is that more evident than in its history. Abraham Lincoln, “the Great Emancipator,” spent 24 years of his life in the city. Yet in 1908, race riots killed seven people, ruined 40 homes, and destroyed 24 businesses within 48 hours. Susan Lawrence Dana, a local socialite, provided an open check book to Frank Lloyd Wright in 1902–1904 to design and build an opulent home for entertaining. Just a few blocks south of Dana’s home was the Home for the Friendless. Founded in 1863, the orphanage cared for thousands of homeless and needy children. These contrasts and much more are documented in the city’s plaques and artworks.

This book uses contrasting elements to tell Springfield’s diverse story. The collection reveals well-known facts and lesser-known details, notable events and mundane incidents, famous historic figures and Springfield’s ordinary citizens. The depicted works themselves encompass styles ranging from classical monuments found in Oak Ridge Cemetery to contemporary sculptures installed on university campuses. They have been created by world-renowned sculptors as well as emerging artists.

The vision of the authors is that this collection will serve three functions: a record of history, a guide for exploring Springfield, and a springboard for future research. Because Lincoln dominates the Springfield historic scene, many of the images relate to our 16th president. However, a wide range of other themes and individuals are also included. For example, Oak Ridge Cemetery, best known as Lincoln’s final resting place, also has monuments honoring soldiers from the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War II, the Vietnam War, and the Korean War. Springfield-native Vachel Lindsay, famed poet and singing troubadour of the early 20th century, is honored with a gravestone in Oak Ridge Cemetery and a plaque on his home. A plaque on the Elijah Iles House, Springfield’s oldest house, memorializes Iles, who was one of the city’s earliest settlers. Relatively new monuments to those who died on September 11, 2001, stand on the capitol lawn and the Capital Area Career Center.

To aid the reader who chooses to seek out a statue, monument, or plaque, most captions describe the location of the image they accompany. Springfield’s Sculptures, Monuments, and Plaques is written so that the armchair historian and the city explorer can discover the rich and varied record of Springfield through the eyes of those who have chosen to preserve history through artworks and plaques.

Just to the left of the entry door of the Maid-Rite restaurant at Jefferson and Pasfield Streets is a plaque that reads: “This property has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the U.S. Department of the Interior Circa 1924.” Opened in August 1924, the diner still provides in the original building drive-thru service (an innovation in 1924), trademark Maid-Rite sandwiches of loose ground beef with spices, and homemade root beer. In 1926, the Springfield Maid-Rite evolved into one of the first restaurants in the country to become a franchise. The franchise currently operates more than 70 restaurants nationwide. Except for the addition of a larger dining room space, the building, menu, and service are much the same as they were in 1924 in the shadow of the Illinois State Capitol.