Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site

Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site, national historic site created in 1970. Located in Washington, D.C., the site includes Ford’s Theatre, where President Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865) was shot on April 14, 1865, by actor John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln died the following morning at the home of William Petersen, across the street from the theater. The Petersen house is also part of the historic site. Ford’s Theatre was purchased by the federal government in 1866 and the Petersen house was authorized as a historic site in 1896. The theater features a reproduction of the assassination site and a museum about the assassination. Sections of the Petersen home have been restored to their 1860s appearance. Administered by the National Park Service. Area, 0.1 hectares (0.3 acres).