Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is a museum in Springfield, Illinois. It contains papers and exhibits about U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. Much of the museum is made of dioramas, or re-creations of scenes from the life of Lincoln. These include scenes of Lincoln in Springfield, Lincoln in the White House, and Lincoln at Ford's Theater. They were designed by Bob Rogers, who used to work for The Walt Disney Company as a designer. Some historians did not like that the exhibits were designed by someone who had worked for Disney. They thought that Disney people do not tell American history the right way. Along with the dioramas are original artifacts of Lincoln, such as the first copy of the Gettysburg Address. The library's founding director was Richard Norton Smith, who wrote several books on American presidents. Its current director is Eileen R. Mackevich.
Run by the state of Illinois, the library opened on April 19, 2005. After three years, it had more than 1.5 million visitors.