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"More than two years ago,
I asked Richard Norton Smith to come to Springfield and help us
introduce Illinois' favorite son to the world," Blagojevich said.
"That's exactly what he did. He led the opening of the Abraham
Lincoln Presidential Museum that tells the Lincoln story like it's
never been told before. Richard poured his heart, energy and
creativity into the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
complex, and in a very real sense, he made it what it is today. I
thank him for his service and wish him all the best as he takes on
new challenges."
"It hardly seems possible that nearly three years have passed
since the day in May 2003 when we met for the first time and you
shared with me your vision for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential
Library and Museum," Richard Norton Smith wrote in a letter to the
governor. "Notwithstanding the project's troubled history, you
expressed a strong personal commitment to doing whatever was
necessary to realize its possibilities. You have more than fulfilled
that promise, for which I am deeply grateful. My appreciation
extends to members of the legislature, to public officials, both
here in Springfield and in Washington, and to the countless citizens
throughout Illinois who have provided their own encouragement and
support.
"A great deal of work, some of it corrective, more of it
creative, has necessarily been telescoped into these crowded years.
As it happens, the ALPLM is the sixth institution -- the last two of
them start-ups -- for which I have been responsible since 1987.
Having done what I was asked to do in 2003, I feel the time has come
to do other things."
"When Richard became director, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential
Museum was already signed, sealed and was being delivered," said
Julie Cellini, board chairman of the Illinois Historic Preservation
Agency. "But it took Richard's unique combination of scholarship and
media savvy to articulate the museum's bold concept of telling a
19th-century story with 21st-century technology. No one can match
his communication skills or his creativity. I predict students will
line up to take his courses at George Mason University, and his
Nelson Rockefeller book will be a best-seller."
When Smith began as the first executive director of the library
and museum, in the fall of 2003, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential
Library was nearing completion, and the museum was still being
constructed.
In October of 2004, the governor and Smith opened the
presidential library, which is now home to the former Illinois State
Historical Library, which since 1889 has been the institution for
research about all aspects of Illinois history. The library's
47,000-item Abraham Lincoln Collection is the largest assemblage of
pre-presidential Lincoln material in the world and is used for
virtually every publication, broadcast program or film about Lincoln
or the Civil War. The new building replaces the one constructed
underneath the Old State Capitol State Historic Site in 1968.
Contained within the library is a treasure trove of 12 million
documents and artifacts relating to all eras of Illinois history.
These include more than 10.5 million manuscripts, 175,000 books,
90,000 reels of Illinois newspapers on microfilm, 6,000 maps and
broadsides, and 200,000 prints and photographs.
The library's Lincoln Collection features 1,500 original
manuscripts written by Abraham Lincoln; 400 of the 600 letters
written by Mary Todd Lincoln that are known to exist; 1,200 prints
and photographs, including the only photo showing Lincoln lying in
state; more than 200 paintings and sculptures, including six
original life portraits of President and Mrs. Lincoln; 12,000 books
and pamphlets; more than 230 personal and family items; 800
broadsides, including invitations to Lincoln's first and second
inaugural balls; and political campaign material, including pieces
of rail allegedly split by Lincoln and sold to raise money for the
1860 presidential campaign.
The crowning achievement during Smith's leadership was opening
the presidential museum with Blagojevich and President George W.
Bush in April of 2005. The dedication, held in Union Square Park,
across from the museum, concluded several years of planning and hard
work, bringing the public life and private life of Abraham Lincoln
to the forefront.
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum features nearly 40,000
square feet of exhibits, special-effects theaters and displays of
original artifacts that plunge visitors into Lincoln's life and
times. Hundreds of thousands of visitors each year will be immersed
in the Lincoln story through two state-of-the-art exhibit "journeys"
depicting Lincoln's early years, home life, legal and political
careers, and presidency. The museum's Treasures Gallery showcases
select original items from the state's Lincoln Collection, such as
the Gettysburg Address and Lincoln's presidential briefcase. The
Union Theatre presents "Lincoln's Eyes," a 17-minute show that uses
special effects and three screens to surround the audience with the
tragedies and triumphs of Lincoln's life. The "Ghosts of the
Library" theater amazes audiences as live actors interact with
ghosts onstage to make yesterday and today come to life.
The museum also features a children's area, restaurant, gift
shop, a 4,500-square-foot plaza sure to be one of the most popular
gathering places in Illinois, and a parking garage for visitors. The
complex will include a welcome center in the restored 1890 Union
Station, currently under construction.
Other accomplishments during Smith's tenure at the Abraham
Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum:
- Fully staffed the presidential library and museum, hiring
over 100 employees; saved the state over $1 million by
privatizing the museum store, food services and security.
- Museum on course to attract 600,000 visitors in the first
year of operation, doubling pre-opening forecast.
- Opened the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in October
2004; increased staffing 50 percent; established new evening and
weekend hours for researchers; launched efforts to preserve
historically significant film holdings; secured over $1 million
in manuscript and artifact donations to library.
- Staffed the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation;
strengthened the foundation with new board members and
approximately $8 million in new gifts and pledges; created
nationwide friends program.
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- Tripled funding of "The Papers of Abraham Lincoln," designed
to place online every document that ever crossed Lincoln's desk.
- Organized a variety of community events at the library and
museum, including a holiday open house, Black History Month,
Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day and other observances.
- With foundation support, unveiled new programs, including
"Evenings to Remember"; inaugural governor's conference, "Adlai
Stevenson of Illinois," November 2005; and the Jim Edgar Lecture
Series, with inaugural speaker Pulitzer-prize winning historian
David McCullough.
- Helped raise $50,000 for Hurricane Katrina victims.
- Created three blockbuster temporary exhibits at the museum:
"Blood on the Moon"; "Christmas at the White House"; and,
opening this May, "Mrs. President: From Martha to Laura."
- Launched planning for Lincoln Bicentenary, developing a
strategic plan for 2006-2015 and identifying candidates for a
statewide commission.
Between 1987 and 2001, Smith served as director of the Herbert
Hoover Presidential Library and Museum in West Branch, Iowa; the
Dwight D. Eisenhower Center in Abilene, Kansas; the Ronald Reagan
Presidential Library and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation
and the Reagan Center for Public Affairs in Simi Valley, Calif.; and
the Gerald R. Ford Museum and Library in Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor,
Mich., respectively.
In December of 2001, Smith became director of the new Robert J.
Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas in Lawrence.
There he supervised construction of the institute's $11.3 million
permanent home and launched many successful, high-profile programs.
While in Lawrence, he was recruited by Blagojevich to take the helm
of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.
Smith will leave his current position at the end of March to
become a Scholar in Residence at George Mason University in
Arlington and Fairfax, Va. In addition, Allen Weinstein, the
archivist of the United States, has asked Smith to undertake a
comprehensive review to assess and strengthen the nation's
presidential library system. Smith also plans to complete his
biography of Nelson A. Rockefeller, already some six years in the
making. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation has
invited Smith to become a consultant and resource, particularly as
it relates to the forthcoming Lincoln Bicentenary celebration.
Text of resignation letter from Richard Norton Smith:
January 24, 2006
The Honorable Rod
R. Blagojevich
205 Statehouse
Springfield, Illinois 62701
Dear Governor
Blagojevich,
It hardly seems
possible that nearly three years have passed since the day in May,
2003 when we met for the first time, and you shared with me your
vision for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.
Notwithstanding the project's troubled history, you expressed a
strong personal commitment to doing whatever was necessary to
realize its possibilities. You have more than fulfilled that
promise, for which I am deeply grateful. My appreciation extends to
members of the legislature, to public officials, both here in
Springfield and in Washington, and to the countless citizens
throughout Illinois who have provided their own encouragement and
support.
Since coming to
Springfield in November, 2003, I have had the good fortune to work
with many talented and dedicated colleagues. Together we have fixed,
finished, staffed, budgeted, dedicated, and programmed the ALPLM.
Public response has been overwhelmingly positive, with half a
million museum visitors since April. Needless to say, the ALPLM is
far more than a tourist attraction. First and foremost, it is a
place of scholarship, popular as well as academic. Thus, I am
particularly pleased to report dramatic increases in library usage,
acquisitions, preservation efforts, on-line visibility, and
community outreach.
At the same time,
the once dormant Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation has
been revitalized, with new board members and an ambitious
fundraising effort that has more than doubled Foundation assets.
This, in turn, has enabled the Foundation to underwrite a variety of
scholarly, cultural, and educational programs which have already
begun to attract national attention.
A great deal of
work, some of it corrective, more of it creative, has necessarily
been telescoped into these crowded years. As it happens, the ALPLM
is the sixth institution - the last two of them start-ups - for
which I have been responsible since 1987. Having done what you asked
me to do in 2003, I believe the time has come to do other things.
Accordingly, confirming what I first mentioned to your colleagues
last summer, I will be leaving Springfield at the end of March,
2006. George Mason University has honored me with the designation of
Scholar in Residence. In addition, the Archivist of the United
States, Dr. Allen Weinstein, has invited me to undertake a
comprehensive review to help strengthen the nation's presidential
library system. I am especially pleased that the Abraham Lincoln
Presidential Library Foundation has invited me to become a
consultant and resource, particularly as it relates to the
forthcoming Lincoln Bicentenary celebration. Above all, I look
forward to completing my biography of Nelson Rockefeller, which has
been subordinated these past two years to all things Lincolnian.
It only remains for
me to reiterate my gratitude to you and everyone who has been
instrumental in launching the ALPLM. I am confident that my
successors will build a world class institution on the foundation
that has been laid down, and that all eyes will be on Springfield in
2009, as humanity celebrates the life and legacy of Illinois'
greatest son.
With best regards.
Sincerely,
Richard Norton
Smith
Executive Director
[News release from the governor's
office]
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