Gov. Blagojevich announces several Lincoln sites to resume seven day per week operation

SPRINGFIELD - Gov. Rod Blagojevich today announced several of the state's most-visited Abraham Lincoln sites administered by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (IHPA) will return to seven-day-per-week operations to coincide with the opening of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum.

 

"Thousands of people will soon come to Springfield to visit the new Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum, opening in April," said Gov. Blagojevich.  "This new museum will demonstrate the importance of our state's rich heritage, and resuming daily operations at nearby Lincoln sites will allow visitors to further explore Lincoln's life and times all week long."  

 

Lincoln's New Salem, a restored 1830's village near Petersburg where Lincoln lived for six years, and the Old State Capitol and Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices in Springfield will be open seven days a week beginning April 16 and running through Labor Day, September 5, 2005.  The expanded days of operation are made possible by visitor donations collected at many of the IHPA's 61 historic sites and memorials across the state.  Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site in Springfield will maintain its current seven-day-per-week schedule. 

 

Lincoln's New Salem is currently closed on Monday and Tuesday, and the Old State Capitol and Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices are closed on Sunday and Monday.   

 

Most historic sites operated by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency were reduced from seven-day to a five-day per week schedules in September 2002 due to state budget reductions.  The rest of the Agency's historic sites and memorials will remain on the reduced schedule put into effect in 2002.  

 

"This is an important step to reopen historic sites to a full schedule, thanks to the generous donations of concerned citizens," said IHPA Director Robert Coomer.