Ford's Theatre
is a historic theatre in Washington, D.C., used for various stage performances beginning in the 1860s. It is also the site of the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865. After being shot, the fatally wounded President was carried across the street to the Petersen House, where he died the next morning. The theatre and house are preserved together as Ford's Theatre National Historic Site.
Ford's Theatre is located at 511 10th Street, NW.
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FORD'S THEATRE TICKETS
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Theatre
The site was originally a house of worship, constructed in 1833 as the First
Baptist Church of Washington. In 1861, after the congregation relocated to a newly built structure,
John T. Ford bought the former church and renovated it into a theatre. He first called it Ford's Athenaeum. It was destroyed by fire in 1862, and was rebuilt, opening the following year as Ford's New Theatre.
Just five days after
General Lee's surrender at
Appomattox Court House, Lincoln sat in the "State Box" watching
Our American Cousin
. A well-known actor,
John Wilkes Booth, desperate to aid the dying
Confederacy, stepped into the box and shot Lincoln in the back of the head. He then jumped onto the stage, and cried out "
Sic semper tyrannis
" (some heard "The
South is avenged!") just before escaping through the alley.
The United States Government seized the theatre, with
Congress paying Ford
$100,000 in compensation, and an order was issued forever prohibiting its use as a place of public amusement. The theatre was eventually taken over by the U.S. military and served as the home of the
War Department records on the first floor, the
Library of the Surgeon General's Office on the second floor, and the
Army Medical Museum, during the period 1866-1887. In 1887 the medical uses were eliminated and it became a War Department clerk's office. The front part of the building collapsed on
June 9,
1893, and killed 22 of those clerks, injuring another 68. This led some to believe that the former church turned theatre and storeroom was cursed. The building was repaired and used as a
government warehouse until 1931.
It languished unused until 1954, when
Congress approved funds for its restoration, which began in 1964 and was completed in 1968. Since then, Ford's Theatre has been both an active theatre presenting plays and musicals and a historic site remembering the assassination of the 16th U.S. President.
[1] The museum beneath the theatre contains portions of the
Olroyd Collection of Lincolniana. On display are multiple items related to the assassination, including the
Derringer pistol used to carry out the shooting, Booth's diary, and the original door to Lincoln's theatre box. In addition, some of Lincoln's family items, his coat (without the blood stained pieces), Lincoln's blood-stained pillow that he had died upon, some statues of Lincoln, and some large portraits of the president, are on display in the museum.
Petersen House
Attendants, including Dr. Charles Leale, carried the President onto 10th street. The doctor decided to take him to Petersen's boarding house across the street. The streets were extremely crowded with people, because of the uproar. A captain cleared the way to the brick
federal style rowhouse. A boarder, Henry Safford, noticed what was going on and stood on the front steps crying, "Bring him in here, bring him in here!" Then he was taken into the bedroom in the rear of the parlors and placed on a bed that was not long enough for him.
Mrs. Lincoln was escorted across the street by
Clara Harris, who had been in the box during the shooting, and whose fiancée,
Henry Rathbone, had been stabbed by Booth during the assassination. Rathbone, bleeding severely from the knife wound in his arm, collapsed due to loss of blood after arriving at the Petersen House.
During the night and early morning, military guards patrolled outside to prevent onlookers from coming inside the house. A parade of government officials and physicians was allowed to come inside and pay respects to the unconscious President. Physicians continually removed blood clots which formed over the wound and poured out the excess brain fluid and brain matter from where the bullet had entered Lincoln's head in order to relieve pressure on the brain. However, the external and internal hemorrhaging continued throughout the night. Lincoln died in the house on
April 15,
1865, at 7:22 a.m., at age 56. Among the attending physicians was
Anderson Ruffin Abbott, a black, Canadian-educated doctor who later wrote “Some recollections of Lincoln’s assassination".
Administrative history
The theatre was authorized for federal purchase on
April 7,
1866. The Petersen House was authorized as the
House Where Lincoln Died
on
June 11,
1896. Both structures were transferred from the Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capital to the National Park Service on
August 10,
1933. They were combined as
Ford's Theatre National Historic Site
on
June 23,
1970, which is currently administered as part of
National Mall and Memorial Parks
The building has gone through a few name changes. It was designated the
Lincoln Museum
on
February 12,
1932, then redesignated
Ford's Theatre (Lincoln Museum)
on
April 14,
1965.
The theatre was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places on
October 15,
1966. The non-profit Ford's Theatre Society has an exclusive contract with the National Park Service for the Theatre's stage performances.
In May 2007 the theatre closed for an 18-month restoration project. In October 2007, plans were announced for several millions dollars to be spent on a
Lincoln Campus
around the theatre building.
[2]
Gallery
See also
- Theater in Washington D.C.
- Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site
- Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial
- Lincoln Home National Historic Site
- Lincoln's Tomb
- Lincoln Memorial
- Mount Rushmore National Memorial
- Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
- United States Presidential Memorial
References
- History, Ford's Theatre website
- Vincent Dowd, "'Lincoln Campus' plan for theatre", ''BBC News'', October 27, 2007.