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 The main building at the Lincoln Depot is now the
offices of the LCTB and is also set up as a visitor’s center for
those who wish to come in and learn more about our area and
particular points of interest.
The tourism bureau took over the building in May of 2018, renting it
from the city of Lincoln. Creating a comfortable interior of the
building was left to the discretion of the LCTB board members. After
much work, the board felt the building is where they want it and
were excited to have the public come in and see the inside, and also
learn more about the function of the LCTB on behalf of our county.
The open house was well attended. It is estimated that more than 100
people came to the open house that lasted from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. that
evening.
The evening began with a ribbon cutting ceremony hosted by Lincoln
Daily News. Nila Smith of LDN and the current president of the LCTB
board emceed the program with LDN representatives Karen Hargis and
Roy Logan manning the ribbon.
Those in attendance behind the ribbon included many representatives
from the city of Lincoln as well as Logan County Board and a number
of the LCTB board members, Logan County Fair Royalty Junior Miss
Julia Collins and Little Miss Kylee Fulk, Jay Berglin of Congressman
Darin LaHood’s Springfield office, local craftsman Jason Hoffman,
who built or refurbished much of the furniture in the building, and
LCTB Director Morgan Gleason and Assistant to the Director Kaylee
Kirby.
The day began with a moment of silence to honor the Schaler family.
Joe and Melanie have been wonderful supporters of local veterans,
their church, their community, and the tourism bureau.
Afterward, Smith began with a brief commentary about the historic
significance of the Depot and the land where it sits. She reminded
guests that the Depot sits on land where Abraham Lincoln christened
our town as Lincoln, Illinois. She noted that in addition, the Depot
stands on the edge of the original Route 66 trek through Logan
County. The combination of Lincoln history as well as Route 66
history make the depot the perfect location for an organization
promoting tourism in the town and county.
Smith introduced Gleason who spoke about the contents of the
building and issued several words of appreciation for all the people
and organizations that have played a role in the completion of the
interior.
Gleason thanked the city of Lincoln and its aldermen
for allowing the tourism bureau to move into the depot.
Gleason then moved on to a long list of thanks to all those who have
played a part in filling the building and helping to make it into a
tourist destination in the heart of the city.
She began with Anne Moseley and the Lincoln Heritage Museum. She
explained that the 18 prints in the north room are courtesy of
Moseley and the Museum. The photos represent the city of Lincoln in
the early 1900’s.
She mentioned the Stetson China display, and noted that at one time
in the 1960’s the Stetson China Company was the largest china
company under one roof in the world. She called off the names of the
people who had provided pieces of the Stetson China for the cabinet.
The benches in the north room came from St. John’s United Church of
Christ and were repurposed for the Depot by Jason Hoffman. She went
on to mention that Hoffman had done all the custom work in the
building from the cabinets to the stand for the Lincoln Statue and
the podium for the Lincoln Hands.
Gleason moved on to speak about the main attraction in the south
room, the statue by Edna Goodenough duplicating the Lincoln
Christening. The statue is on loan from the State Bank of Lincoln.
Additional words of gratitude were expressed to Lincoln Printers,
Small Town Creations, the city of Mount Pulaski, communities of
Elkhart and Atlanta, the Mill on Route 66 Museum, Heritage in Flight
Museum, Logan County Historical and Genealogical Society, Stewart
and Linda Churchill of Lincoln for their contributions either
through loans or donations of items for the displays inside the
building.
Gleason noted that the bureau had to the best of their ability used
local sources for everything in the building.
Her final thanks went out to Kaylee Kirby, her assistant for Kirby’s
support and help on getting the building put together. He noted that
Kirby had “listened to all my bad ideas” and helped her work through
them, and had added some very good ideas of her own to the mix.
When Gleason finished, Smith said she wanted to draw special
attention to the glass and wood cabinets and introduce the maker –
Jason Hoffman. She noted that the cabinets were top quality and
ideal for what the LCTB had in mind for the building.
Smith also noted that former LCTB Board member, Kevin Bateman, had
strongly urged the committee to make the bayed window area in the
south building a tribute to the Christening of the city of Lincoln
by Abraham Lincoln. Through the efforts of Smith, Gleason, and Steve
Aughenbaugh, the Goodenough statue had been secured for that
location, and it was a key focal point in the room.
LCTB board member Tracy Welch noted that when the
board walked into the building for the first time, it was a “blank
canvas with literally nothing but the paint on the walls. For a new
board to step in here and try to create a vision that would
represent this building was quite a challenge. We had many, many
meetings where we had differences of opinions on things, but
ultimately what you see here is a reflection of great collaboration,
great support from the community and surrounding communities, and
just overall a job well done.”
[to top of second column] |
 Lincoln Mayor Seth Goodman also spoke. He began by
acknowledging all those before him who had worked to make the
acquisition of the Depot possible. In the history of the reclamation
project, Keith Snyder was in office as mayor when it all began,
followed by Interim Marty Neitzel, then the late Scott Cooper,
Neitzel again, and finally Goodman. Goodman had the honor of
accepting the building on behalf of the city in December of 2017,
but noted that it was the work of others who actually brought this
day to fruition.
He continued his comments noting that the bureau had worked hard to
fill the space, “You guys have filled it beautifully, and done a
great job, and we thank you.” Finally, Smith
complemented Gleason on her hard work and dedication, not only to
the building, but for the community, the county, and the tourism
bureau in general. “We do appreciate Morgan, her dedication; we
appreciate Kaylee and her dedication.”
With the speeches concluded the group posed for
pictures behind the ribbon then did the traditional countdown to the
cutting of the ribbon with everyone in the room joining in the
count.
Guests were then invited to stay as long as they wished to check out
the displays and visit with tourism staff and board.
Many people enjoyed refreshments that included cookies decorated by
Nicole Cox to reflect the tourist draws in our community – Route 66
and Abraham Lincoln.
There were many good comments delivered to staff and board. The
photos in the north room drew a lot of attention as folks went from
location to location, many of them remembering stories they had
heard about specific locations.
The Stetson China got a lot of attention as did the displays from
the LCG&HS, Mount Pulaski, Atlanta, the Mill, Elkhart, and the
Heritage in Flight Museum.
The LCTB/Lincoln Tourism Bureau is open Monday through Friday from 9
a.m. to 5 p.m. During the summer months the building is staffed and
open on Saturday’s from approximately 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The public is invited to stop by any time, take a look around, grab
some literature about attractions in the area and check the monitors
for upcoming events in the county.
It should be noted that on the grounds there are actually two
buildings, joined by a roof. The small building on the north end of
the property is the Amtrak waiting station. The LCTB is not
responsible for that building. In addition, though some have tried,
the LCTB does not sell train tickets. Train tickets are available
online at Amtrak.com.
[Nila Smith with photos by Smith and Sarah Erlandson] |
