Ford’s+Theatre

Ford´s Theatre  media type="custom" key="8927980" width="320" height="320" align="center"

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 theatre. He first called it Ford's Athenaeum. It was destroyed by fire in 1862, and was rebuilt the following year. When the new Ford's Theatre opened in August 1863, it had seating for 2,400 persons and was called a "magnificent new thespian temple". Just five days after General Lee´s surrender at Appomattox Court House, Lincoln and his wife attended a performance of //Our American Cousin// at Ford's Theatre. The famous actor John Wilkes Booth, desperate to aid the dying Confederacy, stepped into the box where the presidential party was sitting and shot Lincoln. Booth then jumped onto the stage, and cried out "//Sic sempergfrg tyrannis//" (some heard "The South is avenged!") just before escaping through the back of the theatre. Following the assassination, the United States Government appropriated the theatre, with Congress paying Ford $100,000 in compensation, and an order was issued forever prohibiting its use as a place of public amusement. Between 1866 and 1887, the theatre 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 War Department, when the medical departments moved out. The front part of the building collapsed on June 9, 1893, killing 22 clerks and injuring another 68. This led some people to believe that the former church turned theatre and storeroom was cursed. The building was repaired and used as a government warehouse until 1931. It languished unused until 1968. 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 Senator 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. In 1964 Congress approved funds for its restoration, which began that year and was completed in 1968. The theatre reopened on January 30, 1968, with a gala performance attended by First Lady Lady Bird Johnson, Vice-President Hubert Humphrey, and many other government officials and dignitaries. Performers included soprano Patricia Brooks, Henry Fonda, Harry Belafonte, among others.

Ford´s Theatre form the outside!! Stage

The audience´s place

Bibliography:


 * "Ford's Theatre." //Ford's Theatre | America's Most Famous Theatre//. Web. 07 Apr. 2011. <[]>.
 * "Ford's Theatre National Historic Site - Ford's Theatre National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)." //U.S. National Park Service - Experience Your America//. Web. 07 Apr. 2011. <[]>.
 * "Ford's Theatre." //Supercomputing '94//. Web. 07 Apr. 2011. <[]>.

By: Madian

= Ford's Theater =



Ford’s Theatre is a historic theatre located in Washington DC. This theatre has gone through tragedy in plays and in the real life. Stage performances were made here since the 1860 s. It is a very important place because one of the most important presidents of the United States was assassinated in this special theatre. It is a very well known theatre because of all the history it carries out. It was constructed in 1833 and it is still in use.

Ford’s Theatre is still today a theatre, but it is also a museum about the life of Abraham Lincoln and in what he participated and what he did. People can now enjoy learning by taking this interesting tour or they can go to the theatre and watch new and interesting plays. Ford’s Theatre is located in Washington DC because it was originally the second meeting house of the First Baptist Church so it had to be in the capital city of the United States. The Ford’s Theatre was constructed in 1833, but back then it was built to be originally a house of worship. Then, the congregation moved to a new building and John T. Ford bought it to make it a theatre. This theater has a classic architectural style which brings an old fashioned memory to it. Ford’s Theater has changed a lot throughout the years; various renovations have changed it from the inside. Everything might have changed in these renovations, but the presidential box has the same architectural structure as it had in Lincoln days. It is the original one. The wallpaper, walls, drawings, pictures, chandeliers, etc has changed because of the various renovations needed to do to this historical place. Lincoln would only recognize the facade of the building because the brick facade is the only original artifact left, along with the presidential box, from 1863. The architect of the first construction of the worship house is unknown but the architect from the last renovation is called Robert Pruitt. Ford’s Theatre, as mentioned before, has a lot of history behind it. This important theatre is recognized because the 16th US President, Abraham Lincoln, was assassinated here. This historical event happened here on April 14, 1865. Lincoln and his wife Mary Todd were located at Ford’s Theatre because he was about to see a famous play. Well known actor John Wilkes Booth was the person that shot Lincoln on the head that night because he wanted to aid the Confederacy. Lincoln died here, on Fords Theatre and that is why this place is honored and remembered. Ford’s Theatre was one of the most interesting sites while visiting Washington DC. The museum under Ford’s Theatre told you everything you needed and wanted to know about Abraham Lincoln. Some of his personal stuff was there and that was very interesting and amusing for me to see. When I was there, I tried to remember that time and place myself in those times and tried thinking how would I have felt if I would have been in Abraham Lincoln’s assassination? It was fun for me to think about that and about many other topics similar to it. We couldn’t enter to the actual theatre but by just passing by, I felt the eagerness to enter and explore the place. It was a very interesting place for me to visit because one of my favorite American presidents of all times is Abraham Lincoln.

**__ Bibliography: __** ** 1. ** "Ford's Theatre." // Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia //. Web. 22 Mar. 2011. < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford's_Theatre>. ** 2. ** "Petersen House | Ford's Theatre." // Home | Ford's Theatre //. Web. 22 Mar. 2011. [] ** 3. ** "Ford's Theatre National Historic Site - Ford's Theatre National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)." // U.S. National Park Service - Experience Your America //. Web. 22 Mar. 2011. < http://www.nps.gov/foth/index.htm> [|F Ford's Theater Official Site]





Copyright. Rebeca Merinos G. ATS.