Lincoln Plaza Galleria — Attraction in Springfield

Such an eyesore of an establishment that lays waste to an otherwise beautiful part of the city. There’s a reason the store is usually empty, of course other than the fact it’s riddled with unimaginative adobe filter prints attempting to be passed off as any meaningful form of art. Owner is unwelcoming and will immediately interrogate you with the self righteousness of a cop without giving you a reasonable explanation for why you have to comply to his requests. He fills an already ugly store with such a poor and grimy atmosphere, asking seemingly random, uncomfortable questions, while overwhelming you with demands in the most callous way imaginable. There is little to no signage properly telling the customer they will need to accommodate the staff in such way, which wouldn’t be a problem if they were able to explain this to you with an ounce of humanity. Just completely rude, making no effort to hide his arrogance, while simultaneously trying to victimize himself as he runs you out of the store. Utterly incapable of taking criticism without twisting the situation and claiming you have some sort of vendetta against his disability and need for accommodation. It is sad he shines such a poor light on such an otherwise wonderful community, instead of standing up to his own shortcomings of being generally unlikeable and unpleasant to be around. Just an overwhelmingly irritating and mean person who has little desire or drive to own a real business. Doubt half the people leaving negative reviews would have had any problem with turning their phones off if they were treated with an ounce of humanity when asked, rather than some sort...

I recently visited the Lincoln Plaza Galleria for the first time ever. What a treat. The shop has a variety of sizes and pieces of art, many highlighting Springfield's Abraham Lincoln & Route 66. It was a pleasure speaking with the owner and incredible artist Michael Weist. He took time to visit with me, and even showed me several pieces. When I purchased a couple prints he offered to sign them for me. That was a pleasant surprise. I also felt pricing was very reasonable. Be sure to stop in when you're in town. There are smaller souvenir type gifts available here as well as postcards.

I do want to comment on a couple "rules" in place here that perhaps confuse or offend some visitors. When I entered the store I happened to have a sealed to-go container with food in it as I had just had lunch nearby. As I was welcomed to the store I was asked to place the food on a table by the door while I shopped. I was happy to oblige as I understand the risks of food or drink spilling, especially in gallery store like this. They also asked me to place my phone on airplane mode which I complied. I suspect their request is to allow visitors to have an uninterrupted experience, certainly for yourself but also for other patrons. Is it out of the ordinary to be asked these things? It seems so. But I actually understand and even appreciate their request.

I look forward to a...

This is an amazingly unique art gallery, where the owner/artist creates all these interesting takes on Lincoln, often putting him into modern environments, or coloring/shading him in all sorts of creative ways. If you love Lincoln(and what true American who understands our nation’s history, and his role in it, doesn’t?), you’re sure to find something that grabs you here. Also, Micheal’s service dog(Michael was badly injured in the military, years ago, while an active duty serviceman), “Lincoln”, is worth the visit alone— The most beautiful, gentle, loving dog I think I’ve ever encountered. I have to confess that these one-star reviews of late(suspiciously recent I might add; is there some kind of “smear campaign” afoot, miching malleco?), with no explanation, are very puzzling. It’s an ART gallery, with ART, which is inherently subjective. An artist’s work either speaks to you, grabs you, or it doesn’t. It spoke to me, and as far as I know, NO ONE else is creating such beautiful & interesting works with Lincoln as the subject. Can’t recommend it strongly...