Ford's Theatre and Museum

On April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was in the audience at Ford's Theatre, one of the most popular playhouses in Washington. Everyone was laughing at a funny line from Tom Taylor's celebrated comedy, Our American Cousin, when John Wilkes Booth crept into the president's box, shot the president, and leapt to the stage, shouting, "Sic semper tyrannis!" ("Thus ever to tyrants!"). With his left leg broken from the vault, Booth mounted his horse in the alley and galloped off. Doctors carried Lincoln across the street to the house of William Petersen, where the president died the next morning.

The theater was closed after Lincoln's assassination and used as an office by the War Department. In 1893, 22 clerks were killed when three floors of the building collapsed. It remained in disuse until the 1960s, when it was remodeled and restored to its appearance on the night of the tragedy.

A much-needed renovation of the theater was completed in 2009, just in time to celebrate the bicentennial of Lincoln's birthday on February 12. Among the improvements: enhanced acoustics, better seating, a remodeled lobby and dressing rooms -- enhancements that don't change the essential historic nature of the theater. The President's Box is still on view, and no, you are not allowed to enter it and sit where Lincoln sat. Ford's remains a working theater, so be sure to consider attending a play. Ford's productions often are historical in theme, like the musical that had its world premiere here in 2011, Liberty Smith, "a madcap musical romp through Revolutionary America." Ford's production schedule means that its theater and sometimes the Ford's Theatre Museum may be closed to sightseers on the day you'd hoped to visit. Check the online schedule to confirm your dates.

Free tours of the theater take place daily 9am to 4:30pm, but timed tickets are required. The tickets admit you to the theater, its museum, and to Petersen House, as well. Ford's really wants you to order tickets in advance online -- only 20% of the daily allotment of tickets are available for same-day pickup. And even though Ford's says tours are free, the fact is that tickets are free only to those 20% lucky enough to get same-day passes. Online tickets cost $3.50 each to cover processing fees. You order the tickets online from www.ticketmaster.com and pick up the tickets at the theater's Will Call office. As part of the theater tour, you'll either listen to a National Park Service ranger's interpretive program or watch a miniplay, each designed to educate the audience about the Civil War in Washington and the events of April 14, 1865.

The tour concludes in Petersen House across the street , and once you exit the theater, you can't get back in without a new ticket. This means that if you want to visit the Ford's Theatre Museum, on the lower level of Ford's Theater, you should tour the museum in advance of your theater tour.

The Ford's Theatre Museum exhibits and displays artifacts that tell the story of Lincoln's presidency and what life was like in Washington and in the United States during that time. Unfortunately, when the museum is crowded, as it often is, it can be hard to get close enough and have enough time at each of the exhibits to properly absorb the information.

Spring through early fall, Ford's also sells tickets ($18 each, available online through www.ticketmaster.com) to its popular "History on Foot" 2-hour walking tours. A costumed actor brings Civil War Washington to life, leading tourists on a 1 1/2-mile traipse to about eight historically significant locations.

Lincoln Center on 10th Street -- The 500 block of 10th Street northwest, between E and F streets, is Washington's very own Lincoln Center. The reference has nothing to do with the New York entity, but everything to do with all things Lincoln. Straddling this short section of 10th Street are Ford's Theatre, where Lincoln was shot in 1865; its basement museum of interactive exhibits and artifacts that reveal Washington life in the 1860s; Petersen House, where Lincoln died hours after he'd been shot; and now, the grand two-level Center for Education and Leadership, devoted to exploring the aftermath of Lincoln's assassination and his continuing legacy. Scheduled to open on Feb. 12, 2012, the center's exact address is 514 10th St. NW. Check the Ford's Theatre website, www.fords.org, for more information.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

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