The epitome of small town charm, Pontiac’s downtown features historical sites, museums, merchants, restaurants, and more. While our 1875 courthouse is the gem on which this downtown centers, we offer several walking tours to make sure you don’t miss a thing!

1) The Mural Tour. More than two dozen murals beautify the buildings in our downtown. Many of them were painted in 2009 when the Walldogs held their annual meet in Pontiac. Detailed information can be found about the murals and Walldogs here. For the walking tour simply follow the red footprints. This mile and a quarter long route will take you past most of the murals in the downtown.

2) The Museum and Historical Loop. This mile long loop will take you past all three museum buildings (the Pontiac Museum Complex, the Pontiac Oakland Automobile Museum, and the Museum of the Gilding Arts) as well as all three Historical Homes (The Catherine V. Yost Museum, the Jones House, and the Strevell House). Take a stop inside the museums as you go or walk it all first to get the lay of the land.

3) The Lincoln Tour. Pontiac is proud to be home to 9 Looking for Lincoln Wayside Exhibits and is part of the Looking for Lincoln National Heritage Area. This route will take you on a one and three quarter mile journey through downtown Pontiac with stops significant to Lincoln’s many journeys in Pontiac including a life size statue of young Abraham Lincoln at the courthouse. While Lincoln never set foot in this courthouse, as a lawyer on the 8th judicial circuit in Illinois he did practice law in Pontiac in the previous courthouse.