One of the top sites we wanted to visit is Ford Theater, site of the assassination of President Lincoln. We took the metro into town and arrived early for our entry time, so we went down the street to the Hard Rock Café for a refreshment. Our self guided tour started in the visitor center where we picked up our audio devices. We went down into the museum under Fords Theater where the exhibits led you through the build up to the assassination. In one exhibit, they had the blood soaked pillow that Lincoln rested his head on as he lay dying in the Peterson House. Another had the single shot Derringer pistol that was used to kill Lincoln. We then went up into the theater. We were disappointed to find out that it was a recreation of what the theater looked like in 1865. A year after the assassination, the Department of the Navy bought the theater that had remained closed. They demolished the interior and built three floors for clerks. In 1927, the floors collapsed killing 26 people. In 1968, the park service was given the building and it was renovated to look like the 1865 theater. None of the contents are original. So it was a bit disappointing to realize this was not the real theater where Lincoln visited. The theater is presenting shows since its renovation. Next we stepped across the street to the Peterson’s House where Lincoln was carried after he was shot and where he died the next morning. The bullet had entered just behind the left ear and lodged behind his right eye. He live for 12 hours after he was shot. None of the contents of the house are original either. The bed in the room where Lincoln died is a reproduction. The owners of the house had auctioned off the contents in the 1880s. The real bed is in a private collection in Chicago. It is a bit disappointing to realize the museum is mostly theater, but it was still interesting to imagine the times.
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| Fords Theater |
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| Peterson House |
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| The Derringer that killed President Lincoln |
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| The pillow that supported Lincolns head while he died |
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| The recreated Box where President and Mrs. Lincoln sat when he was assassinated |
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| Th recreated interior of Fords Theater |
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| The room where President Lincoln Died (recreated bed) |
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