City leases Lincoln law office for tourism visitors’ centre

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The state’s budget crisis shuttered Abraham Lincoln’s former law office in Springfield. But city officials plan to reopen it Saturday.

The (Springfield) State Journal-Register reports the first floor of the building will be the visitors’ centre for the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Bureau tourism manager Jeff Berg says the city’s association with the 16th president and historic U.S. Route 66 brings visitors. He hopes the new centre encourages them to see other historic sites.

Onetime building owner Seth Tinsley ran a dry goods store and rented third-floor rooms to Lincoln and law partner William Herndon from 1843-1852.

It closed in 2014 for a $1 million state renovation but stayed closed after a two-year budget impasse. The city signed a five-year lease with the state to reopen it.

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Information from: The State Journal-Register, http://www.sj-r.com