Ford's Theatre was the site of the tragic assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in April 1865. It was then closed as a theatre and remodelled. In 1867 it was taken over by the U.S. Army to house a cluster of important post-Civil War medical activities of the Army Surgeon General's Office. The most significant were: the archive of Civil War medical records, essential for verification of veterans' pension claims; the Army Medical Museum; the editorial offices for preparation of the multi-volume Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion; and the Library of the Surgeon General's Office. When the Army's needs outgrew the capacity of the former theater, several of the units were moved in 1887 to a new building, Army Medical Museum and Library, on the Mall.

The Ford's Theatre was restored to its 1865 appearance in the 1960s. The building is maintained by the National Park Service and houses the Lincoln Museum. In addition, it is a living theatre with regular performances. For additional information about the history of the Ford's Theatre, visit the Web site sponsored by the National Park Service.

In the above illustration, the large building in the middle is the Ford's Theatre. The building with the mansard roof on the right, which was at the corner of E and 10th Streets, first housed the Medical Department of Columbia College (now George Washington University) and later the Medical Department of Georgetown University. The site is now occupied by Hard Rock Cafe, Washington, DC.

See: #12 on Downtown Map.

Nearest Metro Station: 'Gallery Place-Chinatown' on Red, Green and Yellow Lines.