![Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar addresses the crowd at the re-opening ceremony for Ford's Theatre on Feb. 11, 2009. Behind him is a case with President Abraham Lincoln's Great Coat, which he wore on the night of his assassination as well as for his Second Inaugural address. Secretary Salazar said that President Obama considers President Lincoln a model for how he handled the war and economic turmoil of his time. P[hoto by Terry Adams, National Park Service]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090305004010/http://www.doi.gov/photos/highresolution/DSC_0051.JPG)
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar addresses the crowd at the re-opening ceremony for Ford's Theatre on Feb. 11, 2009. Behind him is a case with President Abraham Lincoln's Great Coat, which he wore on the night of his assassination as well as for his Second Inaugural address. Secretary Salazar said that President Obama considers President Lincoln a model for how he handled the war and economic turmoil of his time. [Photo by Terry Adams, National Park Service] Hi-Res
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today joined leaders of the Ford’s Theater Society, the National Park Service and the District of Columbia at a press conference and ribbon-cutting to re-open Ford’s Theatre after its 18-month renovation. The event initiated the celebration of the bicentennial of the birth of President Abraham Lincoln.
“I’d like to think that the spirit of President Abraham Lincoln is here with us today to celebrate not only his 200th birthday but the re-opening of Ford’s Theater,” Secretary Salazar said at the ribbon-cutting. “I think he would have liked to experience how a wonderful partnership has brought this theater and its educational programs into the 21st century.”
Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site, the place where President Lincoln was assassinated, is managed through a partnership between Interior’s NPS and the society to provide theater productions and educational programs about Lincoln and his legacy.
Secretary Salazar discussed the importance of the site to former presidents, President Obama and the entire nation, recalling how Obama retraced Lincoln’s train trip to Washington before his Inauguration and then took his oath of office on the same Bible used by President Lincoln.
“Our new President, whose friendship I have cherished since we joined the Senate together, has long studied Abe Lincoln’s life and leadership. His admiration of Lincoln stems not only from shared Illinois roots but also from great respect for his wisdom in a time of great turmoil.”
“Like Lincoln, President Obama faces the challenges of war and economic turmoil,” Secretary Salazar noted. “He is also calling for unity. He is also calling for change. The understanding of our common humanity and how unity and needed change go hand-in-hand is part of understanding Lincoln. Thus, it is part of the educational mission of Ford’s Theater.”
On display in the renovated lobby today was the Great Coat made by the Brooks Brothers for President Lincoln. “The coat helps us imagine just a bit of the larger-than-life stature of President Lincoln,” the Secretary said. “Although he wore the Great Coat on the night he was assassinated here at Ford’s Theater, the garment symbolizes much more than his martyrdom for a united nation.
“President Lincoln also wore the coat on the occasion of his second Inauguration where he gave his famous ‘With malice toward none, with charity for all’ speech. In a call for unity that could apply to current politics as much as it did to those in the 19th century, President Lincoln called for binding up the nation’s wounds.”
Hosted by Paul Tetreault, Managing Director of Ford’s Theatre Society, the ribbon-cutting also featured Wayne Reynolds, chairman of the society’s board of trustees; Rex Tillerman, Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Campaign Chairman, Mayor Adrian Fenty and several members of the D.C. City Council.
The new lobby opens to the public tomorrow; open houses on February 12 and 16 feature a variety of public programs. A new museum will open later in the year. The site is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, please see http://www.fordstheatre.org/open-house-schedule-february-12-and-16-2009.
A copy of the Secretary’s remarks can be found at http://www.doi.gov/secretary/salazar_speeches.html
A podcast of the Secretary's remarks is available at http://www.doi.gov/news/audio/podcasts/index.html