The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum - Union Station

Union Station opened in 1898 as the passenger terminal for the Illinois Central (IC) Railroad. Francis T. Bacon, an IC architect, designed the station, adorning the brick structure with decorative terra cotta and topping it with a 110-foot-tall clock tower. The present tower is a reconstruction of the original, which was removed in 1946.

Vacated by the railroad in 1971, Union Station was rehabilitated by the Scully Family in 1985 for retail use. The State of Illinois leased the former train station for offices beginning in 1990, eventually purchasing the building in 1999.

A rehabilitation designed by White & Borgognoni Architects that began in 2005 returned the station to its turn-of-the-century appearance. Union Station is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The newly rehabilitated Union Station opened as a visitor center in March 2007 and has begun delivering information to visitors that reflects not only Springfield area historic sites and events but Illinois tourism as a whole. The Illinois Visitor Center at Union Station is strategically located across from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Patrons visiting the museum can stop at the visitor center to collect additional information on tourist attractions in Springfield and beyond. Another customer service available at the center includes on-site booking of hotel accommodations and special event packages that are scheduled across the state of Illinois. For more information contact the visitor center at (217) 557-4588.

Open Daily 9 – 5 pm Closed
New Year's Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas
Union Station will be closed on Sundays until the end of January

Download the Union Station Brochure