Ford's Theatre — Attraction in Washington

You thought you knew about the assassination, but you do not...

I ordered tickets minutes before the next tour was starting at 10am; it was nice that there was an available slot last minute. But, do be aware that I came in late November, so this can vary if you visit at a more popular time like June-August. The first part of the tour wasn't too fun, with having to maneuver around a lot of people to read information on the walls. Half of the time, I skipped reading because I felt like I was standing in someone's way. However, for what I did learn, it was valuable and opened my mind beyond the act of the attack on Lincoln and saw how that moment came to be.

For instance, do you really know who John Wilkes Booth is? How was he able to get so close to the President? What was his motivation? All this and more, you can learn from this exhibit.

I was much happier when it was time to sit inside the real theatre the infamous event took place in, and guests were treated to a detailed story about the build-up to the assassination, including what Lincoln did that day- humanizing the former President in a way than most outlets tend to forget. The story is 20-minutes long with no video accompaniment, so without paying attention, you could get bored. Fortunately, you would not be shamed for skipping this portion of the tour or stepping out for any reason. But, I highly suggest to sit through all of it because by the end, I truly felt like I had a better perspective on history.

Afterwards, you're guided across the street to visit the home that Lincoln died in- which was itself a surprise. Did you know he didn't technically die in the theatre? Find out how when you visit this home that illustrates the aftermath of the assassination and how the United States was forever impacted by their loss.

You can choose to skip this part too, but I feel like you'd miss out. There's some great thought-provoking questions that you can carry in your minds afterwards, with my favorite being: Who is your Lincoln? Which president since him has most closely resembled his character & ideals? The options sure were interesting...

Overall, both buildings were clean and respectful to the President, and you get a full view of where he sat on that dreadful day. The crowds were very high for the tour having spare tickets, so a face mask would suffice (and fast reading is helpful). But I learned so much that now when I hear about this historical incident, I can observe it from a new angle, and see what can lead a man to take another one's life, and how we can try to prevent this from...

I am deeply disappointed in my recent experience with Ford’s Theatre On the night of our visit, my sister experienced a medical emergency and had to leave at intermission with our father. I immediately brought this to the attention of a manager, who told me the box office would be open the following morning and that I should call back then.

Since then, I’ve been bounced around to several departments within the organization, each passing me off to someone else, with no meaningful resolution. I initially requested a refund for two of our four tickets, given that half our party had to leave due to a health emergency. I was later told by Paul Tetreault, the Director of Ford’s Theatre, that “buying a ticket is entering into a contract,” and that the theatre had fulfilled its obligation by presenting the performance. I explained that I understood that from a policy standpoint—but reality sometimes requires flexibility and empathy.

Instead of compassion, I was met with hostility. Paul accused me of being “aggressive” and “terrorizing his staff.” He even said, “no one at this nonprofit gets paid enough to deal with this.” That’s a shocking and unprofessional statement coming from the Director of a nonprofit organization that should pride itself on community and service. I raised my voice out of frustration after being passed around for days, not because I intended to be threatening.

After all of this, I received another email—not from Paul, but from the marketing department—offering the same credit Paul had already offered me. I had already made it clear that a credit was not acceptable, as I do not live in the area and will not be returning. A credit to a place I cannot use is meaningless. At this point, given the way I’ve been treated, I believe a full refund for all four tickets is more than justified.

The only person who showed any concern or compassion was Megan in the Membership Department, whom I spoke with on April 7th. She was the first person to ask how my sister was doing and genuinely apologized for the experience. She said she would escalate the matter, and I appreciated that—but no resolution has come.

I was deeply disappointed in the way I was treated—especially at such a historic venue like Ford’s Theatre, with its national significance. You would think an institution with such a legacy would know how to treat its patrons with dignity...

We recently visited Washington D.C. and one of the most interesting attractions seen during the week was the Ford Theatre Museum.

The Ford Theatre Museum is a downstairs exhibition hall, just below the actual theatre, where Lincoln was assassinated. Displays are modern, informative and do a nice job providing context around Abraham Lincoln - the person and President as well as building up the events that led to his assassination.

There are quite a few historic artefacts that are combined with well-presented information to create a very good specialty museum experience for anyone interested in learning about President Abraham Lincoln. Recommended time for the collection is 30-45 minutes. We ended up spending over an hour reading through all the displays and looking at the various exhibitions.

As part of the visit, you are invited to the actual theatre to listen to a talk, given by a National Parks Ranger, who tells how events unfolded on night of the assassination. We found this talk to be quite good and just the right amount of time. It was nice seeing the actual theatre as well as the booth where Lincoln was seated on the evening as well.

In the end, we considered the Ford Theatre museum to be very good and well worth considering if you are a fan of President Abraham Lincoln or even just a person interested in history figures. After your visit you can also walk across the street and visit the Peterson House, where Lincoln was taken after being shot and where he died.

Hint: You can reserve tickets (free entry) online and this is advisable if you want to visit during normal daytime hours, weekends and during peak times of the year. We visited midweek, first thing and had no trouble picking up walk-in tickets. However, it was very full shortly after due to the arrival of a few decent sized tour groups. As such, we would simply recommend to book in advance if this is a high priority for you during your time in Washington D.C.

Hint: There are similar period exhibitions at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History which complement if not overlap what you will see at the Ford Theatre Museum. If you plan to visit both, we might suggest visiting the Ford Theatre first so you can see the actual theatre and artefacts here before visiting the much larger Smithsonian and its exhibitions which include this time period in...