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An Overview of President Lincoln’s Cottage
After a $15 million restoration by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, a private, non-profit organization, President Lincoln’s Cottage opened to the public for the first time in 2008, giving Americans an intimate, never-before-seen view of Abraham Lincoln’s presidency and family life. Designated a National Monument by President Clinton in 2000, President Lincoln’s Cottage served as Lincoln’s family residence for …
Read MoreExhibits at the Visitor Education Center
The Robert H. Smith Visitor Education Center contains four self-guided, permanent exhibits: Wartime Washington, Lincoln the Commander-in-Chief, Lincoln Family at the Soldiers’ Home, and History of the Soldiers’ Home. Civil war prints and maps line the main corridor and interactive gallery in the Visitor Education Center, a sustainably renovated 1905 Beaux Arts style building that was awarded LEED Gold certification …
Read MorePAST EXHIBIT – Can You Walk Away?
To commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, the Cottage opened “Can You Walk Away? Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking in the United States” in February 2012. This special exhibit challenges perceptions of slavery in America today and raises awareness of a growing humanitarian crisis. By posing the question, “Can you walk away?” this exhibit inspires people to engage …
Read MoreVisitor Education Center
History The Robert H. Smith Visitor Education Center is housed in a sustainably rehabilitated, Italianate Renaissance Revival style building designed by architect William Poindexter. The structure was originally built in 1905, to serve as the Administration Building for the Soldiers’ Home in northwest Washington, DC. In 2007, the National Trust for Historic Preservation began a sustainable rehabilitation of the building …
Read MorePreservation Overview
The planning and scope of work for the preservation of President Lincoln’s Cottage was divided into distinct phases of investigative research, planning, and development. The Preservation and restoration of the Cottage and rehabilitation of the Visitor Education Center has been fully documented with digital photographs, reports, and architectural design and as-built plans. An exterior restoration slideshow is available on site …
Read MorePresident Lincoln’s Cottage to Display Emancipation Proclamation
David M. Rubenstein loans rare signed copy to National Monument for Civil War anniversary. August 23, 2012. President Lincoln’s Cottage will be the first public venue to display a rare, signed copy of the Emancipation Proclamation recently purchased by David M. Rubenstein. The historic document will be displayed in the Robert H. Smith Visitor Education Center at President Lincoln’s Cottage …
Read More“Can You Walk Away?” Opens Today!
The long-awaited exhibit on modern slavery in America opens to the public today at President Lincoln’s Cottage. Can You Walk Away? challenges people’s perceptions on this growing humanitarian issue at the very place President Lincoln developed his ideas on freedom in America 150 years ago. Over 12 million men, women, and children are held in slavery across the globe today, …
Read MoreNew Exhibit Opening Presidents Day Weekend
On February 17, 2012, President Lincoln’s Cottage will open Can You Walk Away?, an exhibit on modern slavery and human trafficking in the United States. This exhibit is part of a year-long commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of Lincoln developing the Emancipation Proclamation at the Cottage. It will challenge perceptions of slavery in America today and raise awareness of a …
Read MoreNew Exhibit Now Open!
President Lincoln’s Cottage is proud to announce that the temporary exhibit, Abraham Lincoln: A Man of His Time, A Man for All Times opened yesterday in the Robert H. Smith Visitor Education Center. On loan from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, this exhibit will be open until November 14, 2011. More books have been written about Lincoln than …
Read MorePAST EVENT: Smithsonian Museum Day
Saturday, September 24, 2011 is Smithsonian Museum Day! In the spirit of Smithsonian Museums, which offer free admission everyday, Museum Day is an annual event hosted by Smithsonian magazine in which participating museums acros the country open their doors to anyone presenting a Museum Day Ticket…for free. President Lincoln’s Cottage is proud to participate this year, which means we will …
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