Just
a few blocks north of the National Mall is one of the most historically
significant buildings in Washington that didn’t start out as a government
structure. And the events there changed the course of American history.
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| Ford's Theatre, Washington DC |
Ford’s Theatre was originally the First Baptist Church of Washington built in 1833.
When the congregation moved to a new facility, John T. Ford bought the building
and renovated it to create a theater. It was destroyed by fire in 1862 and Ford
reopened in 1863. It was on April 14th, 1865 when the first assassination of a
U.S. President took place when John Wilkes Booth shot President Lincoln.
The
government paid Ford $100,000 for the theater which eventually became a clerk’s
office. In June of 1893 the building collapsed killing 22
clerks. It was designated a National
Historic Site in 1932 and restored as a working theater and museum in 1968. Photographs taken in the 1860's by Matthew Brady were invaluable in the restoration. Another renovation took place in recent years with an opening in February of
2009.
Visitors
will need a ticket to get into the theater and they are purchased for a certain
time period with different options based on the time and the options. There is
a museum in the basement, so tickets that include the museum will allow visitors
down into the basement level. The museum deals with Lincoln’s Presidency, the
Civil War, and the assassination with wall text, photographs, videos and artifacts. One of the most significant is John Wilkes
Booth derringer.
From the museum, the theater is accessed by a stairs and a hallway. The theater has been restored to its 1860’s appearance
except for the Victorian-style folding chairs (there would have been movable
chairs in 1865) and the modern stage lighting fixtures in the ceiling. A few items, near the President’s box are
original. Again depending on the ticket, visitors may get a park ranger talk in
the theater. On the day that I went a ranger did a short one-man play as
Boston Corbett, man that shot and killed Booth, relating his recollection of the
events of the assassination the manhunt to track Booth down. Audio guides are also available with additional
information about both the museum and the theater.
All
visitors can then cross the street to visit the Petersen House which is where
Lincoln was taken after the assassination and laid in bed. The front rooms and
bedroom have been furnished to appear as they did on the night of the
assassination.
Then
going from the bedroom visitors step into an elevator and go into the Center
for Education and Leadership. In that building are exhibits dealing with
Lincoln’s funeral, the train that carried his body back to Springfield and
Lincoln’s historic legacy. The last thing visitors see coming down to the first
floor and the exit is the Lincoln book tower. At 34 feet (three and a half
stories) it represents the fact that an enormous number of books, some 15,000,
have been written about Lincoln over the years. The “books” in the tower are
actually made from aluminum with the cover art of numerous titles printed on to
the metal.
Depending
on the calendar there is also a walking tour on the streets around Ford’s Theatre and a one-act play in the early
evening called One Destiny. In the theater season there are nighttime stage performances of plays and musicals. During my visit one of the One Destiny actors mentioned that he found some comfort in realizing that before he died, Lincoln would have been laughing at the comedy he had come to see, knowing that the nightmare his country had been facing was over.
It’s a sobering visit but helps us get a better understanding the momentous events of April 1865.
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