{"nrhp_refnum":"04000144","name":"Lincoln (Statue)","other_names":["The Young Circuit Lawyer","Lincoln the Lawyer","Young Lincoln","Abraham Lincoln"],"category":"object","location":{"address":"1000 Blk of S. Race St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Urbana","county":"Champaign County","state":"IL","lat":40.104356331000076,"lon":-88.21035365099993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2004-03-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Art"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A ten-foot bronze statue of a young Abraham Lincoln as a circuit lawyer, sculpted by Lorado Taft and cast in 1927. It stands in a small triangular plot at the east edge of Carle Park on South Race Street in Urbana, Illinois.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the statue is significant under Criterion C as a work of high artistic quality by Lorado Taft, an internationally known sculptor raised locally. It is described as a simplified example of Neo-Renaissance Classicism, reflecting Taft's later conservative American style. It has also long been a community focal point and a link to the city's past.","narrative":"Standing at the east entrance of Carle Park in Urbana, this ten-foot bronze statue shows Abraham Lincoln as a young circuit lawyer, leaning back against a half wall that may suggest a courtroom bench. Sculptor Lorado Taft, who grew up in nearby Champaign and studied at the University of Illinois and in Paris, cast it in 1927. The work was funded by the will of Mrs. J. O. Cunningham, whose husband had known Lincoln when he rode the Eighth Judicial Circuit. Taft accepted a fee well below his usual rate for bronze work. The statue was first dedicated beside the Urbana Lincoln Hotel, moved to the park in December 1927, and shifted about twenty feet in 1954 so it would face southeast, as Taft had wanted. Residents have repeatedly opposed proposals to relocate it. It is valued as a fine example of Taft's later, simplified style and as a local landmark.","period_of_significance":"1927","architect_builder":"Taft, Lorado Zadok","architectural_style":"Other: Sculpture; described as simplified \"Neo-Renaissance Classicism\"","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Publicly owned and still displayed outdoors in Carle Park as a work of art; moved twice, to its present spot in 1954, and the nomination says the moves did not harm its integrity.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.800725-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/30/8918/28891830/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/04000144.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000144/661a2254bb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/04000144/661a2254bb-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Christy Pomatto","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%22Lincoln_the_Lawyer%22_by_Lorado_Taft.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Christy Pomatto</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%22Lincoln_the_Lawyer%22_by_Lorado_Taft.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891830","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_the_Lawyer","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6551212"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/champaign-county/lincoln-statue-04000144/"}