Ford's Theatre - Wikipedia

Theater in Washington, D.C. For other uses of "Ford Theatre", see Ford Theatre (disambiguation). Ford's Theatre

Interactive map of Ford's Theatre
Address	511 10th St, N.W.Washington, D.C.United States
Owner	National Park Service
Operator	Ford's Theatre Society
Capacity	665
Type	Regional theater
Construction
Opened	August 1863; 162 years ago (1863-08)
Reopened	1968, 2009
Website
www.fords.org
Ford's Theatre National Historic Site
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Site
Show map of Central Washington, D.C.Show map of the District of ColumbiaShow map of the United States
Coordinates	38°53′48″N 77°1′33″W / 38.89667°N 77.02583°W / 38.89667; -77.02583
Area	0.29 acres (0.12 ha) (theater alone) less than one acre (entire NHS)
Built	1863
Architectural style	Late Victorian
Visitation	856,079 (2005)
Website	Ford's Theatre National Historic Site
NRHP reference No.	66000034[1]
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966

Ford's Theatre is a theater in Washington, D.C., which opened in 1863. In 1865, it was the site of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth. The theater was later used as a warehouse and government office building. In 1893, part of its interior flooring collapsed, causing 22 deaths, and needed repairs were made. The building became a museum in 1932, and it was renovated and re-opened as a theater in 1968.[2] A related Center for Education and Leadership museum opened in 2012, next to Petersen House.

The Petersen House and the theater are preserved together as Ford's Theatre National Historic Site, administered by the National Park Service. Programming within the theater and the Center for Education is overseen separately by the Ford's Theatre Society.

History

[edit]

The site was originally a house of worship, constructed in 1833 as the second meeting house of the First Baptist Church of Washington, with Obadiah Bruen Brown as the pastor. In 1861, after the congregation moved to a newly built structure, John T. Ford bought the former church and renovated it into a theater. He first called it Ford's Athenaeum. It was destroyed by fire in 1862 and was rebuilt.

Assassination of President Lincoln

[edit] See also: Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

On the night of April 14, 1865—five days after General Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House—. President Abraham Lincoln attended a performance of Tom Taylor's play Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre. The famous actor John Wilkes Booth, desperate to aid the dying Confederacy, entered the presidential box and shot Lincoln in the back of the head with a 5.87-inch derringer, mortally wounding him. Booth stabbed Major Henry Rathbone as Rathbone came at him, then leapt from the box onto the stage and made his escape through the back of the theater, en route stabbing orchestra leader William Withers Jr.[3][4][5][6] The assassination was witnessed by a theater full of about 1,700 people,[7] possibly including the then 5-year-old Samuel J. Seymour who claimed to be the last living witness to the Lincoln assassination before his death in 1956.[8] An unconscious Lincoln was taken across the street to the nearby Petersen House, where he died the next day.

Following the assassination, the theater was shut down for a criminal investigation which continued until Booth's co-conspirators were executed in July 1865. Once it was in his possession again, Ford announced that the theater would reopen on July 10, 1865, with a performance of The Octoroon; or, Life in Louisiana.[9] It was advertised that "the Theatre is in the same condition as when last opened to the public", and that Ford planned to give some of the proceeds to a fund for the construction of a monument to Lincoln, as he had done at his other theater in Baltimore.[10] However, Ford was met with angry letters and threats. On the night of the reopening, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton had the theater seized again to prevent any incidents and dispersed the crowd waiting to enter.[9]

The next day, Ford was told that the theater had been confiscated permanently.[9] Congress paid Ford $88,000 ($1.85 million in 2025) in compensation,[11] and an order was issued forever prohibiting its use as a place of public amusement. Between 1866 and 1887, the theater was taken over by the U.S. military and served as a facility for the War Department with records kept on the first floor, the Library of the Surgeon General's Office on the second floor, and the Army Medical Museum on the third. In 1887, the building exclusively became a clerk's office for the Record and Pension Office of the War Department when the medical departments moved out.

• View from beneath the balcony. The Presidential Box is on the right.
• Ford's Theatre in 1865

Disrepair and restoration

[edit] See also: United States Congress Joint Committee on the Ford's Theater Disaster

On June 9, 1893, the front section of the three interior floors collapsed when a supporting pillar was undermined during excavation of the cellar, killing 22 clerks and injuring another 68. This led some people to believe that the former church turned theater and storeroom was cursed. The building was repaired and Record and Pension Office clerks were moved back on July 30, 1894.[12][13]

In 1928,[14] the building was turned over from the War Department Office to the Office of Public Buildings and Parks of the National Capital. A Lincoln museum opened on the first floor of the theater building on February 12, 1932—Lincoln's 123rd birthday.[15] In 1933, the building was transferred to the National Park Service.

The restoration of Ford's Theatre was brought about by the two-decade-long lobbying efforts of Democratic National Committeeman Melvin D. Hildreth and Republican North Dakota Representative Milton Young. Hildreth first suggested to Young the need for its restoration in 1945. Through extensive lobbying of Congress, a bill was passed in 1955 to prepare an engineering study for the reconstruction of the building.[16] In 1964, Congress approved funds for its restoration, which began that year and was completed in 1968.

On January 21, 1968, Vice President Hubert Humphrey and 500 others dedicated the restored theater.[17] The theater reopened on January 30, 1968, with a gala performance.[18] The presidential box is never occupied.[19]

The theater was again renovated during the 2000s. It has a current seating capacity of 665.[20] The reopening ceremony was on February 11, 2009,[21] which commemorated Lincoln's 200th birthday. The event featured remarks from President Barack Obama as well as appearances by Katie Couric, Kelsey Grammer, James Earl Jones, Ben Vereen, Jeffrey Wright, the President's Own Marine Band, Joshua Bell, Patrick Lundy and the Ministers of Music, Audra McDonald and Jessye Norman.[22]

In March of every year, the Abraham Lincoln Institute holds a symposium at Ford's Theatre.[23]

Ford's Theatre National Historic Site

[edit]

The National Historic Site consisting of two contributing buildings, the theater and the Petersen House, was designated in 1932.

The Ford's Theatre Museum beneath the theater contains portions of the Olroyd Collection of Lincolniana. Most recently renovated for a July 2009 reopening,[24] the Museum is run through a partnership with the National Park Service and the private non-profit 501(c)(3) organization Ford's Theatre Society. The collection includes 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 theater box. In addition, a number of Lincoln's family items, his coat (without the blood-stained pieces), some statues of Lincoln and several large portraits of the President are on display in the museum. The blood-stained pillow from the President's deathbed is in the Ford's Theatre Museum. In addition to covering the assassination conspiracy, the renovated museum focuses on Lincoln's arrival in Washington, his presidential cabinet, family life in the White House and his role as orator and emancipator.[25] The museum also features exhibits about Civil War milestones and generals and about the building's history as a theatrical venue. The rocking chair in which Lincoln was sitting is now on display at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.

Petersen House

[edit] Main article: Petersen House

After Lincoln was shot, doctors had soldiers carry him into the street in search of a house in which he would be more comfortable. A man on the steps of the house of tailor William Petersen beckoned to them. They took Lincoln into the first-floor bedroom and laid him on the bed—diagonally because of his unusual height. Many people came to visit him throughout the night before he died the following morning at 7:22 a.m.

The Petersen House was purchased by the U.S. government in 1896 as the "House Where Lincoln Died", being the federal government's first purchase of a historic home.[26] The National Park Service has operated the building as a historic house museum since 1933, with the rooms being furnished as they were on the day Lincoln died.[27]

See also

[edit]

• Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site
• Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
• Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial
• Lincoln Home National Historic Site
• Lincoln Memorial
• Lincoln Memorial University
• Lincoln Tomb
• Mount Rushmore
• National Register of Historic Places listings in central Washington, D.C.
• Theater in Washington, D.C.
• President Lincoln's Cottage
• Presidential memorials in the United States

References

[edit]

1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. ^ "About · Ford's Theatre". fords.org.
3. ^ "John Wilkes Booth's Other Victim".
4. ^ Donald, David Herbert (1995). Lincoln. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-80846-3.
5. ^ Smith, Gene (1992). American Gothic: the story of America's legendary theatrical family, Junius, Edwin, and John Wilkes Booth. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 154. ISBN 0-671-76713-5.
6. ^ Goodrich, Thomas (2005). The Darkest Dawn. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University. p. 97. ISBN 0-253-32599-4.
7. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions – Ford's Theatre National Historic Site". Nps.gov. February 12, 1932. Retrieved November 28, 2025.
8. ^ "Last Witness to President Abraham Lincoln Assassination I've Got A Secret". Youtube. I've Got a Secret. March 10, 2016. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
9. ^ a b c "The Collapse of Ford's Theatre", Ford's Theatre National Historic Site, National Park Service. Accessed on March 20, 2025.
10. ^ "Amusements. Ford's New Theatre. Reopening Night". National Republican. July 6, 1865. p. 3. Retrieved March 21, 2025 – via Newspapers.Com.
11. ^ Anderson, Brian (2014). Ford's Theatre - Images of American series. Arcadia Publishing. p. 52. ISBN 978-1-4671-2112-5.
12. ^ "Pronounced Safe - Ford's Theatre Building to Be Again Occupied". The Evening Star. July 31, 1894.
13. ^ "Back to the Death Trap - Fateful Ford Theater Building Again Occupied by Clerks". The Washington Times. July 31, 1894.
14. ^ Anderson, Brian (2014). Ford's Theatre - Images of American series. Arcadia Publishing. p. 68. ISBN 978-1-4671-2112-5.
15. ^ Anderson, Brian (2014). Ford's Theatre - Images of American series. Arcadia Publishing. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-4671-2112-5.
16. ^ Eva Reffell, Ford's Theatre's Reconstruction: Warehouse, Museum, Pilgrimage Site (1865–1968), "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 6, 2009. Retrieved January 3, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link).
17. ^ "Ford's Theater, Now Restored, Is Dedicated". The Times News, Henderson, NC. Archived December 31, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
18. ^ Theodore Mann, Journeys in the Night: Creating a New American Theatre with Circle in the Square (NY: Applause Theatre and Cinema Books, 2007), 234–5
19. ^ Swanson, James. Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer. Harper Collins, 2006. ISBN 978-0-06-051849-3. pp. 381–2.
20. ^ Select Traveler Magazine: "Restored Theaters: Stage presence", May 13, 2010 Archived July 1, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
21. ^ "Ford's Theatre Reopening". United Press International. February 11, 2009.
22. ^ Marks, Peter (February 12, 2009). "At Historic Ford's Theatre, an Evening of Tributes to Lincoln's Legacy". The Washington Post.
23. ^ "Abraham Lincoln Institute, Inc. | The Life and Legacy of President Abraham Lincoln". Abraham Lincoln Institute, Inc.
24. ^ "Ford's Theatre Museum to Unveil New Artifacts". The Washington Post. July 9, 2009.
25. ^ O'Sullivan, Michael (July 17, 2009). "Ford's Theatre Museum Reopens; New Displays Focus on Lincoln's Life". The Washington Post.
26. ^ Hartley, Allison (July 22, 2013). "Eccentricities from our Archives: The Man Who Collected Lincoln". www.fords.org. The Ford's Theatre National Historic Site. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
27. ^ "Petersen House". Archived from the original on March 26, 2009. Retrieved April 19, 2009.

External links

[edit] Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ford's Theatre.

• Official NPS website: Ford's Theatre National Historic Site
• Ford's Theatre Society including Center for Education and Leadership, theater Box Office
• The 1893 collapse of Ford's Theatre
• Abraham Lincoln's Assassination
• The Life and Plot of John Wilkes Booth
• Podcast with the curator of Ford's Theatre from the Speaking of History Podcast – MP3 file
• Podcast of the Ranger Talk for visitors from Ford's Theatre from the Speaking of History Podcast
• Ford's Theatre at Google Cultural Institute
• "A Living Museum" (Slideshow). The New York Times. July 15, 2009. Retrieved July 15, 2009.

v t e Abraham Lincoln
16th President of the United States (1861–1865) U.S. Representative for IL–7 (1847–1849)
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Speeches	Lyceum address (1838) Peoria speech (1854) "Lost Speech" (1856) House Divided speech (1858) Lincoln–Douglas debates (1858) Cooper Union Address (1860) Farewell Address (1861) First inaugural address (1861) Gettysburg Address (1863, event) Second inaugural address (1865)
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Elections	Republican National Convention 1856 1860 1864 National Union Party Presidential election 1860 1864 1860 campaign song
Assassination	Ford's Theater Our American Cousin opera John Wilkes Booth "Sic semper tyrannis" Petersen House State funeral Lincoln catafalque Lincoln Tomb "O Captain! My Captain!" "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd"
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v t e Landmarks of Washington, D.C.
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Other	Basilica of the Immaculate Conception Blair House Capitol Reflecting Pool Congressional Cemetery DAR Constitution Hall Exorcist steps First Air Mail Marker Ford's Theatre Petersen House Frederick Douglass National Historic Site Healy Hall Hillwood Estate and Museum Islamic Center Jefferson Pier John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Library of Congress Jefferson Adams Madison National Arboretum National Capitol Columns National Building Museum National Gallery of Art Lincoln's Cottage at Soldiers' Home Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool National Archives National Cathedral National Mall Octagon House Old Post Office Old Stone House Smithsonian Institution St. John's Episcopal Church The Arts of War and The Arts of Peace Tidal Basin Treasury Building Freedman's Bank Building Tudor Place Union Station United States Capitol Dome Rotunda United States Supreme Court Building Watergate complex White House Willard Hotel
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Nearbylandmarks	Arlington National Cemetery Tomb of the Unknown Soldier John F. Kennedy gravesite McClellan Gate Military Women's Memorial Victims of Terrorist Attack on the Pentagon Memorial Arlington House Marine Corps War Memorial Mount Vernon Netherlands Carillon Pentagon Pentagon Memorial United States Air Force Memorial George Washington Masonic National Memorial Women in Military Service for America Memorial
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v t e Protected areas of Washington, D.C.
National Historic Sites and Parks	Carter G. Woodson Home Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Ford's Theatre Frederick Douglass Mary McLeod Bethune Council House Pennsylvania Avenue
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Other	National Historic Landmarks National Register of Historic Places

v t e National Medal of Arts recipients (2000s)
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2005	Louis Auchincloss James DePreist Paquito D'Rivera Robert Duvall Leonard Garment Ollie Johnston Wynton Marsalis Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Tina Ramirez Dolly Parton
2006	William Bolcom Cyd Charisse Roy DeCarava Wilhelmina Holladay Interlochen Center for the Arts Erich Kunzel Preservation Hall Jazz Band Gregory Rabassa Viktor Schreckengost Ralph Stanley
2007	Morten Lauridsen N. Scott Momaday Craig Noel Roy Neuberger Les Paul Henry Z. Steinway George Tooker Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival (University of Idaho) Andrew Wyeth
2008	Stan Lee Richard M. Sherman Robert B. Sherman Olivia de Havilland Hank Jones Jesús Moroles Ford's Theatre Society Fisk Jubilee Singers, (Fisk University) José Limón Dance Foundation The Presser Foundation
2009	Bob Dylan Clint Eastwood Milton Glaser Maya Lin Rita Moreno Jessye Norman Joseph P. Riley Jr. Frank Stella Michael Tilson Thomas John Williams Oberlin Conservatory of Music School of American Ballet
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Authority control databases: Geographic	EUTA theatre