[2] In March 1979, New Frontier Development submitted the winning bid to build the 300-room hotel, at approximately $10 million.

[3] Early discussions indicated that an air rights leasing deal would be made with the hotel, with rent of $120,000 per year and an exclusive catering contract with the center.

), and about $5.4 million borrowed by President Lincoln Hotel Venture from the Lyons Trust and Savings Bank of nearby Hinsdale, Illinois.

However, in April 1983, the decision was made to change the affiliation to Ramada, and its more upscale Renaissance Hotel brand.

The then 37th and longtime, now legendary Governor of Illinois, James R. ("Big Jim") Thompson (1936–2020, served 1977–1991), along with numerous other federal, state and local government officials and leading business and cultural leaders in the state, were among those attending at the Springfield hotel dedication ceremony.

The new center of hospitality was furnished with some unique decorative features, such as marble floors which were imported from Italy.

Displayed at the entrance to the restaurant was an 8-foot rendition of Lindsay's 1913 painting, "The Wedding of the Rose and the Lotus.

[13] The Globe Tavern, an upper-level bar, is named after the famous Springfield inn where Abraham Lincoln would have occasionally stopped and stayed.

A court-appointed receiver, of the Hostmark Hospitality Group,[20] formally took over operations of the now 23-years old establishment now renamed for three years as the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel and Conference Center, prompting then 40th Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (born 1956, served 2003–2009), to lift a previous ban on state employees staying overnight there.

[21] The state then spent an additional $375,000 on repairs and up-grading improvements, including new furnishings and mattress replacements.

[28] Al Habtoor Group now has expanded to include hotel, automotive, real estate, education, insurance and publishing businesses worldwide, according to the company website.

[31] The landmark building was supposedly destroyed to make way for a city and state courts complex in the late 1970s, which never materialized.

[32] To this day, the old Lincoln Hotel downtown site remains a vacant lot and undeveloped.