Few would dispute the idea that Abraham Lincoln was one of the greatest US presidents. A racist assassinated him on April 14, 1865. Seeing the anniversary of that fateful day just around the corner, I thought it would be best to remember Lincoln by returning to the scene of the crime. And so I planned a visit to Ford’s Theater in downtown DC today. I have to admit that I turned out to be a bit more adventure than I anticipated and yet not enough. Let me explain. The day began with a drive into downtown DC, which I try to avoid because many of the streets have a higher probability of confusing me, even with the GPS app on my phone (although I do confess the app does help some). I considered taking the Metro instead, but somehow it seemed that I would actually save time by driving in myself and parking at a nearby garage. So this morning I took off and headed into DC. The morning was cloudy, overcast, and very windy when I left. By the time I arrived, the sun was starting to come out. Apparently the parking garage I chose from the options I saw online did not materialize, or at least I didn’t see it anywhere in sight when the GPS app said, “You have arrived at your destination.” Like I said, the app helps out some. I thought the best thing to do would be to keep driving; surely another one must be nearby. After driving a few blocks and not seeing anything, I turned right, went down a block, and then turned right again. At the next light that stopped me, I repurposed my GPS app to find any parking garage. Then I saw one just to the left. I quickly turned in, and after a short conversation with a confused attendant, I found myself going further and further below ground within tight spaces to find a parking space. The maze I had to go through to get out of the building was even worse, but eventually I surfaced. With 10 minutes to go before my tour started, I consulted my GPS app and was misdirected around the corner. I should have just walked straight ahead and crossed the street at that corner.
Rejoining the line, I followed along down very tight and steep steps into the lower portion of the building where a museum is housed. I know some people like taking lots of pictures of the exhibits inside museums, but I’m not one of those folks. Something about me just feels it’s somehow uncouth or just downright wrong. My attitude is that if you want to see what is inside a museum, then go see it for yourself. What’s the point of the museum otherwise? I did make an exception — OK, I made a few exceptions. First, I saw this fantastic framed document in the gift shop that I just felt I needed to capture about the similarities between Lincoln and Kennedy. I did not before realize that these two American presidents had so many similarities, some of which are just downright uncanny. Lincoln’s Rules of Conduct was also on display, though like the previous document was also out of stock (making me feel a little more easy about taking photos). But the exception that really baked my bagel was Booth’s deringer pistol, or rather I should say a replica of Booth’s deringer pistol. All the promotional material for Ford’s Theater, and as can seen even the display in the museum, touts the displayed object as the actual pistol Booth used to assassinate Lincoln. The photo I took is a little blurry, but it is clear that what is on display is not Booth’s deringer but a plastic replica made from a mold fashioned with the actual murder weapon. It’s nice to “touch a piece of history,” but I would prefer that piece of history to be real. Of course, I don’t blame anyone associated with the museum for not displaying the actual piece; if I were in charge, I wouldn’t have it out on display for anyone to put their hands on. But neither would I be touting a replica as the real thing. Outside that one exhibit, what I saw in the museum is well worth the trip to see. Lots of exhibits that were very educational. After seeing everything, and taking my time to do so, I learned that I misunderstood the tour description. I thought that everything I purchased with my ticket would take 30 minutes to run through. No, the 30 minutes is just the museum. So after that half hour, I followed folks in line up the stairs to the actual theater area. I went upstairs another level to find a seat in the balcony area with a good view of the box where Lincoln saw his last theatrical performance. The public doesn’t go in there, and it’s clear to me why, so I’m OK just to be in eyeshot of it. After a few minutes, a park ranger appeared on stage and began a history presentation about the events surrounding Lincoln’s final days, which was educational but also kind of creepy since the stage was all set for the current run of Little Shop of Horrors. I regret not recording the presentation. Even an audio format would have been engaging after the fact, especially since it was filled with all sorts of interesting tidbits that I did not know previously. A lot of good the presentation did, though, because as I write this I can’t remember any of those interesting tidbits — more reason why I regret not recording it! So if you plan a visit to Ford’s Theater, going out of your way to attend a tour with the ranger talk is a definite must. Following the ranger talk, we all shuffled out to the street, which was behind the old-time doors I had stood in front of when I was in line at the very start. People began filing across the street for a tour of the Peterson house, and another long line awaited me. This one took much longer to get through — a whole 45 minutes! — mostly because the space inside being so small only 15 people at a time could enter. But eventually I did get inside. The actual room and bed where Lincoln met his end were interesting to see and are the last things seen inside the house. A walkway then leads you to stairs with an interesting quote on the wall. I was so impressed with the quote that I decided to snap a photo. I think the quote speaks for itself. Between the bottom of the stairs and the outside street is a final exhibit room with the highest stack of books I have ever seen in my life. I tried getting it in a photo, but it was so big that I couldn’t fit it all into a single shot. So I made a quick video. As I bibliophile, I just couldn’t stop geeking out over this “Tower of Books.” Once out on the street again, I had to get back to my vehicle. I wanted to linger longer and check out on of the nearby restaurants; there was a Greek place serving “yeeros” and a French café that both looked intriguing. But I had told the parking attendant earlier I needed only 2 hours, and my 2 hours were just about up. Getting out of DC was a bear, and I saw that it would have been much better to take the Metro, which I recommend for anyone visiting the theater. Overall, though, I don’t regret going. This is a definite bucket list item that is worth every minute. And since the theater is still being used as a theater (it wasn’t always so), I may have to go back some time to see a play in the house that Lincoln loved to visit.
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