Ford's Theatre National Historic Site Administrative History

About This Grant

Ford's Theatre National Historic Site (FOTH) is a National Park unit in the National Capital Region that has been administered by the National Park Service (NPS) since the 1933. It is currently a unit of the National Mall and Memorial Parks (NAMA). FOTH, which is located at 511 10th Street, N.W. in Washington, D.C., memorializes the site where President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865. Following the assassination, the Federal Government purchased Ford s Theatre and converted it to an office building, which was used for various functions including a War Department pension office and the Army Medical Museum. In 1932, a Lincoln Museum was established at the site and the National Park Service assumed management of the site in 1933. The building was completely restored to its original appearance in 1968. At that time, a new museum was installed in the basement and live theatre returned to the stage. FOTH also oversees the House Where Lincoln Died, a row house located at 516 10th Street, NW in Washington, DC. The house, once owned by William Petersen and run as a boarding house, gained national attention on the evening of April 15, 1864, when President Abraham Lincoln died there after being shot the night before while attending a performance at Ford s Theatre, just across the street. The house immediately became a shrine to the slain president, with visitors wishing to gain entrance to see the death bed. Due to the recognition of the house as significant to the nation, the House Where Lincoln Died was purchased by the United States government in 1896 and opened to the public as a Lincoln museum. After years of maintenance under various federal departments, the property was transferred to the NPS in 1933. The museum was then moved across the street to the theatre and the House Where Lincoln Died re-opened as a historic house museum with period-appropriate furnishings. This Administrative History will provide historical information on how the park has operated from its earliest days as a unit of the NPS. Preparation of the FOTH administrative history will involve primary and secondary sources research resulting in a report with a detailed understanding of how the park has been managed since the 1930s and will be developed in accordance with the guidelines outlined in National Park Service Administrative History: A Guide (updated 2015). The project will be conducted by a historian meeting the Secretary of the Interior s Professional Qualifications for History.