Museum Visit Booking Required
Ford's Theatre Museum + Theater Tour
Self-guided tour of the basement museum and view of the preserved Presidential Box where Lincoln was shot; ranger talks on most days.
- Duration:
- 1.5 hr
Theater / Performance Venue
Ford's Theatre
The Washington theater where John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865; preserved as a working theater and National Park Service museum, with actors and visitors reporting a sorrow in Box 7.
511 10th Street NW, Washington, DC 20004
Wheelchair Accessible
Research-Backed · 4sources
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Timed museum tickets via NPS are free; theatrical performances are ticketed separately.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Fully accessible museum and theater.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1863 · Site of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, April 14, 1865 · Site of the June 9, 1893 interior collapse that killed 22 federal workers · Ford's Theatre National Historic Site (NPS) and working theater · National Historic Landmark
The building at 511 10th Street NW began life in 1833 as the First Baptist Church of Washington. After the congregation moved out, John T. Ford acquired the structure and in 1861 converted it into Ford's Athenaeum. That building was destroyed by fire in December 1862. Ford rebuilt at the same location, opening the new and larger Ford's Theatre on August 27, 1863.
On the evening of April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln, First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, Major Henry Rathbone, and Clara Harris attended a performance of 'Our American Cousin' from the State Box. During the third act, actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth entered the box, shot Lincoln behind the left ear with a .44-caliber Deringer pistol, stabbed Major Rathbone, and leapt to the stage. Lincoln was carried across the street to the Petersen House and died there the following morning at 7:22 a.m.
The federal government seized Ford's Theatre and forbade its further use as a theater. The interior was gutted and rebuilt as office space for the War Department's Records and Pensions Division. On June 9, 1893, the front section of three interior floors collapsed when a supporting pier was undermined during cellar excavation. Twenty-two federal clerks were killed and 68 were injured. The building was subsequently used for federal storage until the mid-20th century.
In 1933 the property was transferred to the National Park Service. After extensive research and reconstruction, the building was restored to its 1865 appearance and reopened as a working theater on January 30, 1968. Today the Ford's Theatre Society produces a full season of plays and musicals in collaboration with the National Park Service, which preserves and interprets the site as Ford's Theatre National Historic Site.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford%27s_Theatre
- https://www.nps.gov/foth/learn/historyculture/the-collapse-of-ford-s-theatre.htm
- https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/june-9/fords-theatre-collapse-lincoln-assassination
- https://boundarystones.weta.org/2020/10/29/legends-lincolns-ghost
Oppressive emotional weight near the State BoxActors forgetting lines or feeling invisible hands during performancesCold spots in or near Box 7Sorrowful apparition in the State BoxFigures and footsteps along Booth's escape route
Ford's Theatre is by some distance the most-cited haunted theater in Washington. According to Ghost City Tours, DC Ghosts, and WETA's Boundary Stones, the documented hauntings center on the preserved Presidential Box and the stage immediately below. Actors have for over a century reported sudden onset of forgotten lines, a feeling of invisible hands on their shoulders, a heavy emotional weight pressing down, and intermittent cold spots when working near the box. Some performers have requested not to perform monologues facing the box at all.
Visitors taking the NPS daytime tour occasionally describe a sorrowful figure visible briefly in the State Box, sometimes interpreted as Lincoln and sometimes as Major Henry Rathbone (who survived the attack but suffered psychiatric collapse later in life). Booth's apparition is associated less with the box and more with the alleyway and escape route behind the building; ghost-tour writers describe figures in dark clothing seen along the path Booth took on horseback toward the Anacostia River (Ghost City Tours; Boundary Stones / WETA).
The June 9, 1893 collapse, in which 22 federal clerks were killed when the floors caved in, is folded into the building's haunting reputation by paranormal writers. Some accounts describe the sounds of footsteps, voices, and papers being shuffled in the spaces that once held the War Department office floors. NPS staff have not confirmed any official paranormal program at the site, and Ford's Theatre does not market itself as haunted.
Notable Entities
Abraham LincolnJohn Wilkes BoothFederal clerks killed in 1893 collapse
Plan Your Visit
2 ways to experience Guided Tour Booking Required
History on Foot: Investigation Tour
Ranger-led walking tour retracing Booth's escape route through 10th Street and the Petersen House.
- Duration:
- 2 hr
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#washington-dc
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#lincoln-assassination
#national-park-service
#civil-war
Sources & Further Reading
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Ford's Theatre family-friendly?
NPS site interprets a presidential assassination — appropriate for middle-school and up. Younger children may find the recreated death scene at the Petersen House intense. Overall family fit: Moderate.
How much does it cost to visit Ford's Theatre?
Timed museum tickets via NPS are free; theatrical performances are ticketed separately. This location is free to visit.
Do I need to book in advance?
Yes, reservations are required.
Is Ford's Theatre wheelchair accessible?
Yes, Ford's Theatre is wheelchair accessible. Terrain: Fully accessible museum and theater..