Site Abraham Lincoln Nominated for President marker- Chicago, IL
Posted by: 
adgorn
N 41° 53.127 W 087° 38.208
16T E 447167 N 4637253
A bronze marker placed at the site of Lincoln's nomination for president in 1860.
Waymark Code: WM11RD6
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 12/09/2019
Views: 7
Inscription:
"The site of the Wigwam in which ABRAHAM LINCOLN was nominated for president 1860. Presented by the Chicago Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution February 12, 1909."
The original structure at this location was the Sauganash Hotel, built in 1831, which served as the social center of the new city of Chicago until it burned down in 1851. A plaque on the reverse side commemorates the hotel.
From the City of Chicago site: (
visit link)
"The Wigwam was erected on the same location for the 1860 Republican National Convention. Designed by Chicago Water Tower architect W. W. Boyington and financed by civic leaders, the two-story, gas-lit building was the first structure in the country to be specifically built for a presidential convention. It was also the country’s first presidential convention hall to have on-site telegraph equipment and to accommodate the public in large numbers, seating more than 10,000 people. Lincoln was nominated on the Republican ticket in the Wigwam on May 18, 1860, before being elected president. Named for an Algonquin word for a dwelling made of tree poles and bark, the Wigwam was later converted to retail uses before likely being destroyed by fire in 1867."
FYI Lincoln was not present at his nomination, but remained in Springfield.
More from the city website: "Gifted to the City in the early 20th century by the Daughters of the American Revolution, the 30- by 50-inch brass plaques honor the location of the Sauganash Hotel and, later, the Wigwam convention hall, on the southeast corner of Wacker Drive and Lake Street. The plaques had been in storage at City Hall for nearly two decades. The plaques honoring the buildings are today affixed on the opposite sides of a five-foot-tall, cast stone marker on the pedestrian median on Wacker near Lake. The marker was designed by Landmarks Commission staff and installed by the Chicago Department of Transportation."
Wikipedia provides a photo of the Wigwam structure: (
visit link)
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