History
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Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., began as an 1833 Baptist church before John T. Ford converted it into a theater in the early 1860s. It became central to American history on April 14, 1865, when John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln during a performance, then fled after stabbing Major Henry Rathbone; Lincoln died the next morning in the Petersen House across the street. Afterward, the government ended its use as an entertainment venue, and the building later served federal offices and suffered a deadly floor collapse in 1893. Restored and reopened in 1968, it now functions as a working theater, museum, and historic site with the Petersen House and education center.
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Washington, District of Columbia · United States
