Renovated Ford's Theatre Museum lets visitors rediscover Lincoln
By: Nancy Dunham
Special to The Examiner
July 10, 2009
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| Visitors make their way through Ford's Theatre in a new section of the museum. (Examiner) |
If you goReopening of Ford's Theatre Museum
Where: 511 10th St. NW, Washington
When: Official re-opening at 9 a.m. July 15 (door open at 8:30 a.m.); regular hours, daily (except Dec. 25) 8:30 a.m. doors, 9 a.m. entry until 5 p.m. Final entry into the theater is 4:30 p.m.
Info: Free, but tickets required; ticketmaster.com; 202-397-SEAT. For more information on the museum, visit www.fords.org.
When the doors to Ford’s Theatre Museum are flung open Wednesday for the first time since it closed for renovations during August 2007, visitors will have an opportunity to view rare artifacts belonging to President Abraham Lincoln and his assassin, John Wilkes Booth.
But historians and scholars note there is much more to be learned at the 144-year-old theater and museum than the details of these artifacts, including the derringer pistol used in the homicide, no matter how intriguing we may find the rarities.
“I would like it to draw attention to the vastly different worldviews of Lincoln and the man who assassinated him,” said professor Jerald Podair of Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis., who teaches history and American studies. “Lincoln believed in the “right to rise” for all human beings and in a society that removed artificial barriers — like slavery — to that end. Booth believed in a hierarchical society in which human beings were fixed in their places and where the lines of racial and class inferiority were well-marked and permanent.”
That message will come through clearly to visitors of all ages because of the work of scholars and other team members who created narrative devices that include environmental recreations, videos and 3-D figures in a museum space that’s in excess of 6,800 square feet. The new museum — made possible by the Ford’s Theatre Society and the National Park Service — is a world apart from its former self, which included rare and priceless artifacts but “no story,” said Paul Tetreault, director of the Ford’s Theatre Society.
“There was a war going on in 1865 and people were being killed, but on April 14, 1865, someone very different and unique was murdered,” Tetreault said of Lincoln. “Our story tells the reason that murder mattered and was different.”
Following the lead of other national museums that strive to present history in a palatable way to visitors who are accustomed to multimedia displays, the team hopes the various video presentations and 3-D figures — including one of Lincoln wearing the actual suit in which he was clad the night of his assassination — will engage visitors.
“It’s no secret that there are a tremendous number of young people studying the [Lincoln] presidency that make pilgrimages to Ford’s on an annual basis,” he said. “We address that audience … but we also have addressed audiences that range in age from … older elementary school age all the way through adults. … If you are a voracious reader and want to read everything, you can do that. If you are only want to look at artifacts, you can do that. Our goal is to reach a multileveled audience.”
Allison Alonzy, visitor services manager, said that the details of Lincoln’s life and his assassination would most certainly appeal to a wide range of visitors.
“What’s intriguing is the timeline … [where visitors] learn about Lincoln and the events leading up to the assassination,” he said. “A lot of people know what happened here, but don’t know why or the events that led up to it.”
Even Nicole Murray, education programs manager, found new points to ponder about Lincoln and Booth as she worked with the team on the renovation.
“Almost everything there was a moment of learning to me,” she said of the artifacts, videos and other displays. “I’ve been working with this so long, I’m just so excited to share it with other people.
"What's intriguing is the timeline [where visitors] learn about Lincoln and the events leading up to the assassination," he said. "A lot of people know what happened here, but don't know why or the events that led up to it."
Even Nicole Murray, education programs manager, found new points to ponder about Lincoln and Booth as she worked with the team on the renovation.
"Almost everything there was a moment of learning to me," she said of the artifacts, videos and other displays. "I've been working with this so long, I'm just so excited to share it with other people."
