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Ford's Theatre Review
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Ford's Theatre
Museums / Galleries, East End
Fodor's Review:
In 1859 Baltimore theater impresario John T. Ford leased the First Baptist Church building that stood on this site and turned it into a successful music hall. The building burned down late in 1863, but Ford built a new structure on the same spot. The events that occurred less than two years later would shock the nation and close the theater. On the night of April 14, 1865, during a performance of Our American Cousin, John Wilkes Booth entered the state box and shot Abraham Lincoln in the back of the head. The stricken president was carried across the street to the house of tailor William Petersen. Charles Augustus Leale, a 23-year-old surgeon, was the first man to attend to the president. To let Lincoln know that someone was nearby, Leale held his hand throughout the night. Lincoln died the next morning.
The basement museum contains artifacts such as Booth's pistol and the clothes Lincoln was wearing when he was shot. The theater itself presents a complete schedule of plays; A Christmas Carol is an annual holiday favorite.
INFO
- Address: 511 10th St. NW, East End, Washington, DC
- Phone: 202/426-6924
- Web site
- Cost: Free
- Open: Daily 9-5; theater closed to visitors during rehearsals and matinees, generally Thurs. and weekends; Lincoln museum in basement remains open at these times
- Metro: Metro Center or Gallery Pl.
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