Lincoln Douglas Debate Statues at 100 Market Street
Artist: Jerry McKenna
Dedicated: October 1995
Life-size bronze statues stand at the exact spot of Stephen A. Douglas’s and Abraham Lincoln’s seventh and final debate in front of a crowd of nearly 6,000 in the 1858 U.S. Senate election. Douglas retained the seat, while the coverage of the debates raised Lincoln’s national profile. The Alton-Godfrey Rotary Club commissioned the bronze sculptures created by Texas artist Jerry McKenna. Lincoln Douglas Square, now the home of the annual Alton Christmas Tree lighting community event, was erected in 1995 using funds raised by the sale of engraved bricks that make up the expansive courtyard surrounding the sculptures.
Nearby Restaurants & Businesses: Comfort Cuisine, Funky Planet Toys & Gifts, F.R.E.Z. Hair Salon, The Grapevine, My Just Desserts, Picture This & More, Rushmore
