Lincoln

About Lincoln

Lincoln is the capital of Nebraska and its second largest city, set on the gently rolling prairie of the southeastern part of the state, about 50 miles southwest of Omaha. Originally a small salt-flat settlement called Lancaster, it was chosen as the new state capital in 1867 and renamed for President Abraham Lincoln, who had been assassinated two years earlier. The University of Nebraska was founded here in 1869, and the city grew as a center of government, education and agriculture.

Today Lincoln has about 295,000 residents and a friendly, college-town character. Its skyline is dominated by the Nebraska State Capitol, a soaring 400-foot tower topped by a golden dome and the bronze Sower statue, often called one of the finest capitol buildings in the world. On fall Saturdays, Memorial Stadium becomes the third largest city in Nebraska as more than 85,000 fans in red cheer on the Cornhuskers, a sellout streak that has lasted since 1962.

Visitors find plenty of culture and green space. The Historic Haymarket District, a revitalized warehouse area downtown, is filled with restaurants, shops and a busy Saturday farmers market. The University of Nebraska State Museum at Morrill Hall displays mammoth fossils, the Sheldon Museum of Art holds an outstanding collection of American art in a building by Philip Johnson, and the International Quilt Museum has the largest publicly held quilt collection in the world. Sunken Gardens, Pioneers Park Nature Center, the Lincoln Children's Zoo and the National Museum of Roller Skating round out a visit.