Ford's Theatre

Ford's Theatre Review

The events that took place here on the night of April 14, 1865, shocked the nation. 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 the president. To let Lincoln know that someone was nearby, Leale held his hand throughout the night. Lincoln died the next morning. In 2009, the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth, the Ford's Theatre Society began unveiling a multi-year, multimillion-dollar effort to transform the theater and Petersen's house into the anchors of an ambitious block-long, Lincoln-centered cultural campus commemorating the president. The theater, which stages performances throughout the year, is restored to look as it did when Lincoln attended, including the presidential box draped with flags as it was on the night he was shot. The portrait of George Washington on the box is the same one Lincoln sat over; its frame has a nick made by Wilkes's spur as he leapt from the box to the stage. A 5,000-square-foot exhibition area for Lincoln artifacts is planned for a space below the museum. In the restored Petersen House you can see the room where Lincoln died and the parlor where his wife, Mary Todd, waited in anguish through the night.

A new Center for Education and Leadership focused on Lincoln's life and presidency is due to open in February 2012 next door to the Petersen House. Visits to Ford's Theatre National Historic Site require a free, timed-entry ticket. Same-day tickets are available at the theater box office beginning at 8:30 am on a first-come, first-served basis. You can also reserve tickets in advance through Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.com) with a $1.50 fee per ticket.