Fords Theatre [Washington]
Fords Theatre
Fordovo divadlo
Teatro Ford
Theatre building in Washington, USA
bouwwerk in Washington D.C.
Opened August 1863 as Ford's Theatre. Named after its owner and manager, John T. Ford (1829-1894). Site of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on 14 Apr 1865, by the actor and slavery advocate, John Wilkes Booth, during a performance of Tom Taylor's Our American Cousin. Lincoln was transported to the nearby Petersen House where he died the following day. The theatre building was seized by the U. S. government (and Ford was paid $88,000 for it). Later it was used as a warehouse and office building. 1893 partly collapsed. Renovated and re-opened as a theater in 1968. Renovations in the 2000s, re-opened 21 Feb 2009. 665 seats.