The Old State Capitol is a reconstruction of Illinois' statehouse from 1840 to 1876. During the 20th century's civil rights movement, its restorers faithfully recreated the building in which John Jones & Frances Gage worked to expand the meaning of freedom. Lincoln served his final term as a state lawmaker in 1840-41. As a lawyer, he pleaded cases before the state supreme court in this building (1841-1860). In the Illinois House chamber, Lincoln made his House Divided speech in June 1858, announcing his candidacy for the U.S. Senate. It was to the same chamber, in May 1865, that his body was returned to lie in state, arriving from Washington, D.C., prior to final burial in Springfield's Oak Ridge Cemetery. read more

Old State Capitol - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Springfield, Illinois

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We had a great time here at the old Capitol. We enjoyed the self guided tour and listening to the Lincoln Troubadours sing in the rotunda area and in the old house chamber. This statehouse was not used very long, but Lincoln was in here when he was alive. It was also the last place he lay in state before they closed the coffin and buried him and his son Willie in the Springfield cemetery. We enjoyed the Underground Railroad display and stories in the old Supreme Court Chambers. This place is kind of big and you can schedule at least an hour to see everything. As of June 2025 it's open Thursday through Saturday. read more

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Review Visit: April 11th, 2012 No no, Springfield is still the capital of Illinois. This is just the old capitol building The confusion between capital and capitol is one that confuses many people. Truth be told, I had to double-check to make sure I was using the right one while typing this post. I will remember it for awhile until the proper spelling fades to the unused parts of my memory and I will inevitable use the wrong spelling in the future. Then I will be back to looking up the proper spelling again and I can go through all this over again. Do you forget which spelling is which for this? Matt and I hit up a bunch of the big things to do in Springfield over a few different visits. It's only natural to visit the old capitol building if you are exploring the capital. As with most kids who grew up in Illinois, the Old Capitol Building was probably one of your destinations during a trip to see the capital. I know it was a tradition for my school to come here during our grade school (3rd-5th grade) days. It was only fitting to return here as an adult during my traveling days. We had to park a bit away and hoof it to the building. Despite this place being a tourist attraction in this day and age, the area surrounding it is still busy with businesses and other government facilities. . We were able to explore the building at our own leisure. There is staff on hand if you have any questions, but Matt and I were comfortable with exploring the place at our own pace. You don't need to be a government history buff to enjoy this place. It's cool to walk past rooms to see where history was made and see how things operated in the past. I'm sure if these walls could take, they would have a ton of stories to tell. That's about it. This is one of those places that is better to visit yourself or see a video of. Words just don't really do it justice. It's an experience that is more visual than anything and one you should experience if you visit Springfield. It won't take up your entire afternoon. A simple stroll through it is more than enough. For fun, here is a link that talks about the difference between capital and capitol: https://www.dictionary.com/e/capital-vs-capitol/ read more

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Serving as both a museum and a fully functional government building, the Old State Capitol has plenty of history behind it in a beautiful building that's worth a trip for anyone visiting Springfield. It doesn't take too long to go around the building, but in that space you can quickly get an appreciation of how government functioned in the mid 19th century in Illinois. In particular, I enjoyed the beautiful domes, staircases, art, and massive chambers for the house and senate that are available. The exterior of the building is also beautiful as well, especially with the historic columns and windows which give it a distinct look. read more

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A must-see for history lovers. This the building where Abraham Lincoln served as a state representative and the location where Barack Obama launched his presidential campaign. You can see where the former General Assemblies, state Supreme Court, and state officers worked. This building is in remarkably good condition for being over 175 years old. This building will be under renovation for the next two years and will be closed during that time. You enter the building on the fourth floor. Floors one through three are used for parking, research, and bathrooms. On the fourth floor you can find the offices of the state library, state treasurer, secretary of state, and state supreme court. You can take the elevator or staircase in the middle to get to the top floor. On this floor you can see the chambers of the state house of representatives, state senate, committee rooms, governor's office, and the office of public instruction. These rooms are well-maintained because they are used to swear in the General Assembly, host receptions, and host naturalization ceremonies. The Old State Capitol is a must-see on any trip to Springfield. read more

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"Within these walls Abraham Lincoln rose to prominence to become the 16th president of the United States. It was here Lincoln spoke the immortal words "A house divided against itself cannot stand..." - as the threat of a Civil War loomed." read more

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The Old State Capitol State Historic Site, is the fifth capitol building built for the U.S. state of Illinois. It was built in the Greek Revival style in 1837-1840, and served as the state house from 1840 to 1876. It is open daily for tours and is very educational. read more

Old State Capitol - Side View - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Springfield, Illinois

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The old State Capitol is definitely worth a stop if you find yourself in Springfield. Today it stands as a National Historic Landmark and the building itself served as the state government from the mid 1800s. Plenty of history behind it and of course where Abraham Lincoln visited frequently as a lawyer & politician. They're open daily from 9am to 5pm and it doesn't cost anything to see and explore. I know they do offer guided tours but plenty of different rooms to explore at your own pace and they have some descriptions of history in each. Expect to spend 30min to 1 hour here. Anyways, not much else I got for you on this one, but it's worth a visit to see for yourself. 'Til next time, cheers! 236/365 read more

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This place was a surprise! The exterior is undergoing a update and we didn't realize it was open until we walked up to it. Amazing bit of Illinois and President Lincoln history. It is awesome to understand the important parts of our US history that occurred in this building. The things that have been kept/restored were impressive. read more

Old State Capitol - Where Lincoln worked before he became President - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Springfield, Illinois

Cool pics from the outside to take. I don't think it's ever open inside though

This is a very well preserved and well maintained swath of Illinois history. The Old State Capitol (this was the Capitol building) prior to the current one) is extremely clean, has many artifacts from the time period, and is restored to life in the mid-1800s. One can just "see" Lincoln giving a landmark speech. One gets to see the about 7 or 8 separate rooms. The tour guides are knowledgeable, patient, and happy to answer questions. It is probably only a 30 minute effort - I'd recommend you make reservations. Great for adults and older kids. Younger kids wouldn't value it - nothing really interactive for them. read more

Old State Capitol - View from the outside - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Springfield, Illinois

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This is a free site to visit - what more do you need! We just walked around and did our own "self-guided" tour. There is enough signage to help you identify rooms, their significance, and some of the items throughout the old capitol building. It's very cool to see the original State House in all its glory. You can sit in the chambers of the House or Senate, see the governor's original office, and check out the original state law library. We happened upon a presentation by a "period player" in the house of reps and sat down to listen for a bit. He was playing a former rep from state history and talking about his time in the House which was interesting. You can take your time and just wander around. It was basically empty when we stopped in on a weekday afternoon around 4 p.m. so we had the place to ourselves. There's a few volunteers around to answer questions if you want anything explained further. All in all, a great piece of Illinois State history. read more

While the visit began inauspiciously it turned out great! We were a party of three and entered the capitol just before 10:00am on a summer Thursday. There was a volunteer seated at the door who told us that we could enjoy the cool air and feel free to look around. There was no literature around to aide us in a self guided tour and there did seem to be lots to see that need some explanation. So we inquired about the tour times. She had no idea but started asking other employees what they knew. Turns out, I think, cause nobody was ever very clear that the first tour was scheduled for 10:30. But that said, one of the employees, a young woman dressed in 1860's clothing, volunteered to give us a private tour (no charge) right away. As other tourists entered the building they were invited to tag along, which was great! Our tour guide, a college student, was remarkably knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Lots of interesting details were provided and delivered in an attention getting manner. Highly recommend taking the time to have a look around! read more

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The Old State Capitol was rebuilt in the 60s (I think) in the assumed image of the original, based largely upon narratives describing the original structure. The room that at one time served as a reception room for the Governor may be the most accurate; when Abraham Lincoln was running for President, the Governor allowed him to use the room as a campaign headquarters. Lincoln was visited by someone from the newspaper, who sketched the room to include in the story; the room now has been redesigned based upon that drawing, down to the carpet design, placement of wall decorations and the shape of the clock in the room! Unfortunately, there was a wedding taking place in the chamber, so we were unable to visit those rooms; I suppose that is for another trip. read more

We had a "self guided" tour. Lots of history here, unfortunately not much information on the items that are there. read more

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You can walk around on your own or join a guided group. We recommend joining a tour. The guide gives historical information so you better understand how the rooms were used. It is interesting to see an historic building and the way they have preserved the furnishings to let you go back in time to learn more about the early days of the Illinois legislature (Although most of the furnishings are period pieces rather than the actual furniture). However you can close your eyes and imagine Abraham Lincoln walking up and down the creaky stairs and greeting people in the historic rooms. We saw where Lincoln sat as a representative in the state legislature. Impressive! It's full of history. Worth the time and you can't beat the price. Free. read more

Old State Capitol - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Springfield, Illinois

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We loved our visit to the old state capitol. We had an excellent tour guide. She mentioned many interesting historical details. Afterwards, we attended a reenactment by Grant, Sherman, and Rollins. I love this type of activity. We spent the entire day in the "Land of Lincoln", Springfield, IL. We visited the current capitol building, library, and Lincoln's tomb. We enjoyed it all and learned a few new things. read more

If you stop and listen you can almost hear the history of the building. Very grand stairway in the middle of the building. The ceilings were high, but yet the building was very quiet. read more

The Old State Capitol State Historic Site, in Springfield, Illinois, is the fifth capitol building built for the U.S. state of Illinois. It was built in the Greek Revival style in 1837-40, and served as the state house in 1840-1876. It is the site of candidacy announcements by Abraham Lincoln in 1858 and Barack Obama in 2007. We stepped into the Old Capital thinking we'd just pass through to warm up, but we were greeted by the friendly staff and decided to go ahead and explore a bit. It's an interesting look at government life in Lincoln's time. The museum is very well kept and worth a visit. read more

This place is pretty cool. For those of you who study state politics, you can see how state politics worked in the 19th century! For example, you can see the state house room, the state senate room, the committee room, the state supreme court room, the state auditor, the state treasurer (actually you don't see much in there, it's a gift shop!), and other exciting rooms of state government. Again, STATE GOVERNMENT!!! But 19th century style!!! read more

Spent the day in Springfield with my daughter's class.. I thought I knew al lot when it came to Springfield history, but our guide, I believe Janie, rocked it! Learned so much more and will definitely go back.. read more

History! And it's open on the weekend! Docents are very very excited to help you and give you information. Sneak out the other door if you need to escape! Lots of parts to take a look at. If you stopped at the Lincoln memorial library, then you can see the actual room that his body was laid out for viewing. Kinda nice to match history info to real places! Very amazing that this location was kept and kept up. read more

Right in the middle of Down town Springfield is the Old State Capital while it serves no government purpose anymore it is free to visit and you have two options a self guided tour (but you do not get access to the all the rooms or the guided tour. We arrived just after a guided tour started and the greeter told us if we hurried we could catch up to them and not miss more than the introduction. The tour starts off in the House chamber and goes through to the all the main rooms up to the senate chamber. Every room is loaded with stories and not just state history but national history which kept it exciting start to finish. Why four stars you might ask well they leave out a few things, such as the civilian viewing balcony above both chambers and they hold Lincoln in two high of esteem to say any neutral or negative comments about him the election or anything else for that matter so it leave out a lot of facts that I feel should be included. You can park on the street for the price of about $0.50 and have enough time on the meter for the full tour make sure you pay the meter or it is a $10 fine ( I know from experience) right across the street is the old train station which has been converted to a visitors center and it is kiddy corner from the Lincoln Museum and Library. read more

I love art and history. I never seem to get enough of the two in my busy busy life. The building has been rebuilt but has many of the original interior furnishings and is genuine to the period. The nostalgia and importance of this building can be felt as one tours the building. read more

Everyone was nice. It's free. Definitely worth checking out if you're in Springfield. Took us an hour tops to explore the building

This is a beautiful old building, and the visit here won't cost you one red cent. The tour was free, also. It just gives one a better appreciation for history--where we've been and where we're going. I loved the statue of Douglas. It is amazing how they retrofitted the building to its original form by removing an entire floor. read more

This is a nice place to visit. The exterior of the building is original, however the interior has been gutted and replaced to look like it was when Lincoln was serving in the IL House. It is in walking distance to the current IL Capital building, the IL Supreme Court, Governor's Mansion, and Lincoln's Law Offices. While we write there, General Grant and his staff were giving a speech on the house floor. Complete with uniform and all. We were able to sit in the seats of the representatives. It was nice to see what the conditions were like for members of congress I the 1800s. read more

What a wonderful historic tour. The volunteers were so friendly and helpful. It's like stepping back in time when you walk through those doors. A must see when in Springfield. read more

I didn't have much time to look around whilst in Springfield, and only saw the capital building in passing. It's a very beautiful building, and the architecture is superb. Will update my review if I make it down there and get to fully tour the site. read more

This is good to see before the current Capitol building. This is a great reference to basic government functions on a smaller scale. The building was simple on the inside, but definitely worth a visit. read more