Ford's Theatre Society Review

Not what I expected. Very glad the wife planned this for us, I think every American and non American should visit.

This an awesome piece of history. They charge to go here but we went on the weekend and it was free.

Love the history behind this theatre. They did a good job portraying the events and what happened afterwards. The place is fairly organized in terms of getting tickets and order of visits. I highly recommend to visit and learn about the history of Abraham Lincoln's assassination.

Wow! Museum is awesome and educational. Interestingly, because of the nature of the crime and subsequent investigation's the artifacts presented are very complete and well documented. Was fortunate to view inside the presidential box during my visit, but was told it isn't always accessible. Plenty of knowledge to be gained from these exhibits.

Loved the theatre and the play!!! The Wiz was awesome.

DO NOT GO HERE. It is a beautiful space and it is very historic museum but there are very rude workers. I was part of a larger group here and we entered the main theater, then sat in the seating area. A worker, named Nancy, proceeded to tell our group we could not sit there unless questions were asked. A student then asked why did John Wilkes Booth shot President Lincoln? . Nancy then proceeded to get uncomfortably close and hostile to the student (only 18 years old) and treat her like she was 10 years old. She treated her like she was stupid for simply asking a question (which was required), and never even answered the question. After an adult had stepped in she was also rude again. Our entire group left immediately after such a awful encounter. I would not recommend going if you want to learn anything or even be treated with respect like any human being. Thank you for the horrible experience, Nancy.

I just got back from DC yesterday 8/09 and i enjoyed this place. The story telling was my favorite part as it allowed me to envision how the series of event unfolded that fateful night. To actually see artifacts tied to Abe Lincoln's history was nice. A piece of history present in today's world. Go and check the place out. Admission is free.

Amazing show. Two men performing 'One Destiny.' I highly recommend seeing it. Great performers, well written show made just for the theatre.

Super detailed information about Lincoln's life and death. So educational.

We did a quick tour of DC, and several of our friends mentioned we should stop here. They were right. Don't be intimidated by the need for tickets. On Thanksgiving week we walked in and got tickets for the next tour. Tickets are free, but please donate as the experience is worth your money.

My favorite part of this experience is the oral history provided by the National Park Service. After a brief wait in line, the park ranger escorts you into the interior reconstructed theatre. You can sit wherever you like, and then the Park Ranger provides a very informative and vivid retelling of the events before and after Lincoln was shot.

In an age of over-produced videos, the intimate nature of the oral re-telling of the story is bold and refreshing. It's not just the oral history. The National Park Service provides context on both Lincoln and Booth.

We spent about an hour and half getting our tickets, waiting and then visiting the theatre. I would add another 30 - 45 minutes to your visit if you walk through the Peterson House across the street which is also included in your ticket. The Peterson House is the place where Lincoln ultimately passed.

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Ford's Theatre was a very cool place to see, because it (obviously) is where the 16th President was murdered. I was very disappointed to hear that the interior was not original, but still a cool replica nonetheless.

Great quick date with historical value - won't take you very long, but you will likely enjoy it. Lots of photos.

It was surreal to be where Lincoln was shot! Everyone should visit at least once!

I love abraham Lincoln so this was an amazing experience for me and I recommend going there.!.

Self guided tour through the Theater. Very informative and entertaining.

Historic site that's human in scale, with a museum and informative guides.

Loved it, great play, so historic. I hope to go again.

Great historic place to see and the adjoining tour across the street.

This might bey favorite museum in the city. It is organized really well and you learn so much! So fun.

Excellent Ranger talk. Animated and moving. On top free of charge. About 45 min on the theater and 30 in the house across the street where Lincoln died.

Great historic information about President Lincoln s assignation, even though the theater is not the original building.

This theatre has been around for quite a while, but it s still going strong. Many visit for the history and museum, but the plays, including a couple of good musicals every season, are the big attraction. School groups as well as groups of senior citizens often make up a large part of the audience. There s parking adjacent to the theatre, but it s better to take public transportation or come with a group.

Nice self guided tour. Takes you through a museum first and eventually into the theater. Once in the theater, they have a person talking about the assination and answering questions.

This is so interesting and a must when you come to DC.

Being in a historic place, knowing the history. Before the show we went through the museum below the theater. The theater was very old fashion and the seats were on the small side. But we weren't uncomfortable. All in all, we are glad to have gone to Fords Theater.

Great place to go and visit. I would recommend doing the self guided tour with the audio. Take your time and go through everything on the 1st floor then go up into the theatre. Do not go with the group and sit there through the presentation. It is someone standing on the stage telling the same story you will hear if you get the audio. You go into the theatre take your photos and leave and go across the street to the Peterson House.

Shove you to a museum in the basement that's not really about what happened to try and make it more than it is... spent 20 minutes. Appreciated the landmark and left.

Cool historic site! Good museum, not very large, but still a good time. Exhibits walk you through the entirety of Lincoln's presidency including the civil war and his assassination. There were quite a few historic items too. I also got the audio tour which does a good job of explaining each of the stops throughout the museum. Also make sure to stop across the street to finish up the tour and see the house where Lincoln was brought after being shot and ultimately died.

I would not normally have thought of going to a spot just to see where death and hatred occurred, but this made Lincoln and his times, and his assassination so much easier to imagine. It's a well-preserved piece of our history.

Awesome experience to hear the story of Lincoln's last night here. Lovely theater and very nice people working there. We enjoyed the experience.

Sold out The Wiz show. Second time seeing it. Still amazed at the production they put together for an old theater of this small a size. The set, orchestra, cast and adaptation were all absolutely flawless.

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I had a fun time. The rush of a kill is amazing! 10/10 would recommend for the assassination of a president whom fights for great ideals.

One of our favorites. They had a two man play that was set the day after the assassination. It really made us feel like it was 1865 again. Very powerful!

This place is a part of US history. If you are interested in history, do not miss this place because one of the most important events in US history, took place here. It is the theater that Abraham Lincoln was assasinated during watching a play. First of all, it is free to visit this place, but the visiting is based on first come first serve basis. If you are visiting during a trip and want to assure your visitation, you can pay a $3 per person fee, to schedule your visit and ensure you will be inside in your desired time.
Roughly I can say there are three distinct sections in this place. First part of the visit is a museum in the lower level from the things that are related directly and indirectly to Abraham Lincoln's terror. You can find things like the pistol used for shooting Lincoln, some of his personal stuff and some of the stuff used by killers for fleeing, or by law men to arrest them.
Then you will go to the Ford's theater itself. You can take great images from very close distant from the place that he was shot. To the best of my knowledge, they keep this place as intact as possible from that time.
The last part of your visit is a home in the other side of the street, where Lincoln was moved to its first floor after shooting and stayed alive for 8 hours. You can find the bed he was laid and you can see his blood stain on it. Two other floors of this home is a museum showing the efforts for finding and arresting shooter and other contributors to his terror as well as images and reports from Lincoln's funeral in different states. At last there is a very large monument made up of the model books which are related in any way to Abraham Lincoln's life, death or any other aspects of his life. It totally takes one to two hours to visit all sections.
Last but not least, if you are planning to visit this place, schedule it with Madame Tussaud's museum in a same day, since they are too close to each other, maybe only 5 minutes walking.

Was surprised to see the Battle of the Ironclads at Ford's Theatre.

Christmas carol was delightful, just the thing to get you into the holiday spirit

Visited with a small, homeschool group. Great learning experience but need more time to tour basement. Not very accommodating to the needs of a teacher trying to 'teach' her students. There is so much history and I desperately wish I could have explored more! The speaker in the theater at the end was phenomenal!! During his talk, not one child ages 5 to 15 in our group became restless....very talented and engaging.

Excellent tour and monologue by Park Ranger! Highly recommend!!

My nephew is in The Wiz production, and it was AMAZING!! Looking forward to seeing other plays here even if he's not in the cast. The company did a fabulous job modernizing the play while keeping it classy. Job well done

Loved learning the history. The ranger giving the talk was overly monotonous and seemed as though he wanted to be any other place than on stage.

We weren't able to see the box where the assassination happened on this visit.

Remember to visit the Peterson house across the street. They need to be clearer that you have to have a ticket (free) to get in, and that you should see the theater before the house. We had to wait in line three times because we did things out of order.

Was about a half a block from the Hotel the last time and the last two times we went down great location

I miss the older tour where a ranger would speak and tell the story of Lincoln and his assignation. This new way is very uncoordinated and loses it charm.

An amazing historic place. Free tours. The tours include the museum.

A little anticlimactic, especially when I found out it's really a reconstruction, but the museum downstairs was interesting.

This historic theater is a must for anyone visiting D.C. The ranger who gave the presentation when we visited was absolutely fantastic! His knowledge, ability to keep the audience engaged, interworking of modern references, appropriate humor, and overall delivery made this a true highlight in our trip.

Beautiful intimate venue. We sat in the back of the orchestra section and still had a great view of the stage. A well done production of Silent Sky.

The Parks Service has created an informative and engaging space within the museum, with interesting artifacts, period actors, and an additional museum across the street. The whole experience is entirely free (but I'd highly recommend at least a small donation, as it supports the maintenance of the historical space) and is definitely worth a visit if you're in the area.

Great place, lots of things to see and read about a great man.

This place was very unsanitary and smelled really bad. The lights were very dim and soft which caused many people to fall asleep and feel uncomfortable.

Great historic place for a show, the museum is a must see.

A trip back in time to learn about Lincoln's last days

If you love history this is your place! Gift shop and many different things to look at. And it's free

I've been to this theatre multiple times to watch plays. It's a small venue so I'm sure there aren't too many bad seats in this place. It does kind of suck to sit behind one of the pillars in the orchestra area, which I've had to do once.

It's always super crowded in the lobby right before showtime, but the lines move pretty quickly, and things move along easily.

I always want to order one of the slushies from the gift shop, but they only allow water in the theater. Such a tease! I guess during the summer I can get one to go.

Great atmosphere and A Christmas Carol is always good. Convenient to the metro and some great restaurants.

Great productions here! Not as talented cast as the performers at the Kennedy Center but a fun show and great venue!

Fantastic history here. Make sure you go across the street to the house where Lincoln passed away.

Ford's theater is a nice theater, but the food is just too overpriced.

Charming historical theatre. Nice museum about Lincoln on lower level.

Excited to see Lincoln's assanitation place along with the house opp the theatre, where the Hon President's body was kept after he passed away.