Lincoln's Tomb

1865 newspaper illustration of Lincoln burial The Lincoln Tomb is the final resting place of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, and three of their four sons. It is located in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois. At the close of the ceremonies and events marking Lincoln's death, his body was placed in a nearby receiving tomb and later in the state tomb. The mausoleum is owned and administered by the State of Illinois as Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site. It was designated one of the first National Historic Landmarks in 1960, and thus became one of the first sites listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966, when that designation was created. Constructed of granite, the tomb has a single-story rectangular base, with a semicircular receiving room entrance-way, on one end, and semicircular crypt or burial room on the opposite side. Four flights of balustraded stairs—two flanking the entrance at the front and two at the rear—lead to a level terrace. The balustrade extends around the terrace to form a parapet where several statues are located. At its center, it is surmounted by a -high obelisk. Inside the ground level entrance is a rotunda with connecting hallways to the crypt. Marble is used throughout the interior and several well-known, specially cast statues of Lincoln are displayed. Stained glass windows adorn the crypt. A bronze reproduction of sculptor Gutzon Borglum's head of Lincoln in the U.S. Capitol rests on a pedestal in front of the entrance way.