Petersen Boarding House

In the audience at Ford’s Theatre the night of the assassination was Dr. Charles Leale. After examining him, he determined that President Lincoln should be moved from the theatre but advised against returning to the White House, believing the six-block ride too dangerous. Those tending to Lincoln decided to bring him outside and find a house in which to lay him. Henry Safford, a boarder at the Petersen House, suggested that the men carry the president into an empty room across the street.