Marker Unveiling at Ford's Theatre

Although repaired from its 1893 collapse, an 1894 congressionally appointed board declared the former Ford's Theatre structurally unsound for personnel use. It became a governmental records storage facility and later a warehouse for the Government Printing Office. After the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial, increased interest in Lincoln attracted attention to the building. Congressman Henry Riggs Rathbone introduced legislation to restore the theatre, but public opposition, believing such renovation would glorify Lincoln’s murderer, derailed this proposal.