Today is the 150th anniversary of the shooting of Abraham Lincoln. As we all know from history, he lingered throughout the night and died the next morning.
It’s a sad, sordid and yet fascinating piece of our past. Many movies and documentaries have been devoted to the assassination. The stories are told in almost every high school U.S. history class in the nation.
I read a couple of the articles, this morning, marking the 150th and I was reminded of Ford’s Theatre, the site of the shooting. The website for Ford’s Theatre features a special tribute to the anniversary and the theatre, itself, hosted a number of commemorative events.
Over the years, we have had the opportunity to take the tour of Ford’s Theatre. The facility operates in partnership with the National Park Service to provide educational tours. We have taken that tour and, one, in particular, was really striking.
The specific park ranger on duty when we visited Ford’s in June 2000 was truly gifted. He had an amazing ability for storytelling. He painted a vivid picture of the events of April 14, 1865. By the time you wound your way up to the Presidential box for the penultimate moment of the tour, you almost believed you were going to see President Lincoln sitting inside.
It was kind of like traveling back through time to that very evening.
Talk about chills. It was a remarkable experience and one that has obviously stuck with me (as I’m telling you about it now). Not every stop at every tourist spot in D.C. carries the same clout as Ford’s Theatre.
I’ve visited D.C. as a tourist on a number of occasions and went there a few times on business as well. If I were to make a Top 10 of my favorite/most memorable experiences, that particular visit to Ford’s Theatre would clearly make the list (as would the Paul McCartney concert at Nationals Park in 2013, the time Marine One flew over to land on the White House lawn as we waited near-by at the Washington Monument in 2005 and, of course, the time I met President George HW Bush in 1989).
Those are just a few. Maybe sometime I will actually spend time sketching out the list. I’m sure I’d have more than 10 candidates for the final countdown. Washington is obviously my favorite vacation destination and the great storytelling by the ranger at Ford’s made that one of my Top 10.
Another striking element at Ford’s is the museum downstairs. I would be remiss if I did not mention it.
I thought a lot about touring both when I read about the observances today.
If you and your family happen to be visiting D.C. for vacation in the near future, I would highly recommend that you add time on your itinerary to visit both the theatre and museum.
JG
Originally posted 4/14/2015
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