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Ford's Theatre Museum - Lincoln Assassinationabilia

Field review by the editors.

Washington, DC

Exhibits in this "imagineered" museum include the murder weapon ("One shot was all that Booth had."), Abe Lincoln's bloodstained clothing of death -- but not his stovepipe hat, which is elsewhere -- and the door to the Lincolns' private theater booth-of-death. There's also one of John Wilkes Booth's boots (cut off his post-assassination injured leg) and the brass knuckles carried by Lincoln's ineffective bodyguard. A special sealed capsule displays Lincoln's fragile overcoat (or an exact replica if it's out for repair), and there are lots of video screens to show featurettes produced by The History Channel.

The entire museum was redesigned in 2009 by the same Disney-trained group that built the Abraham Lincoln Museum in Springfield, Illinois, so it's now a parallel universe of state-of-the-art wax dummies, mood lighting, fake building facades, video-projected faces, etc. The Theatre itself has been left the way it was in 1865, and visitors can walk to it next door to see the spot where Lincoln and Booth had their fatal rendezvous.

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Ford's Theatre Museum - Lincoln Assassinationabilia

Address:
511 10th St. NW, Washington, DC
Directions:
In the downtown museum district. On the east side of 10th St. NW, between E and F Sts. Next to Ford's Theatre, which is where the assassination took place. Tickets required in advance.
Hours:
Daily 9-4 (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
Phone:
202-347-4833
Admission:
Adults $3.75, or $9.75 w/audio tour.
RA Rates:
Worth a Detour
Save to My Sights

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In the region:
Unheralded Grave of Robert Kennedy, Arlington, VA - 3 mi.

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