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Yesterday the National Park Service quietly announced that Ford's Theatre, the site of President Abraham Lincoln's assassination and one of D.C.'s most popular tourist destinations, will close today for 18 months as it undergoes a massive renovation. The planned $8.5 million upgrade will include improvements to the heating, air conditioning, lighting and sound systems, the addition of an elevator and new restrooms, the Park Service said.
As the WaPo points out, in addition to being a historic site, Ford's also is a working theater. The theater generally produces four family- and tourist-friendly productions every year, including some ambitious fare as of late, like the new musical Meet John Doe, which closed May 20. The last time the theater underwent a major renovation was from 1964 to 1968.
The immediate area around 10th and E streets NW must be close to being the third most highly tourist-trafficked location in D.C. behind the National Mall and the White House, with a Hard Rock Cafe, ESPN Sports Zone, and several souvenir shops nearby. It's unclear how these businesses might be effected by the closure. The historical Petersen House, the home where Lincoln died across the street from the theater, will remain open during the renovation.
Photo by LaTur
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I don't know about Hard Rock or ESPN Zone, but the block across the street from Fords is about to get a major overhaul over the next 18 months. Jemal's going to gut and facade-ectomize the whole block, and replace it with office space. No sign of groundfloor retail, either. So long Waffle Shop. I can still recall your greasy burgers sitting hard in my gut after a night of underaged drinking at the old 9:30. I think I can still feel that double cheeseburger 22 years later. 'Course, that was back when Whitlows wasn't on Wilson, but around the block where Barnes & Noble is now. Now it's all bricks sandblasted the color of sunbaked dogpoop and mirrored office cubes. It's as if downtown DC is ashamed of what it's become and is trying to hide behind walls of mirror and baked dogpoop.
Sorry to nitpick, but that "effected" in the last paragraph should be "affected."
Given that the National Park Service announced that it will take 9 years to renovate the Carter Woodson Site on 9th Street, NW, I'd say the 18 month Ford Theatre job is speedy work for them.
There will still be plenty of tourists at that intersection. They'll just be glad they don't have to pretend to care about Ford's Theater and can go straight to eating pizza shooters in the shadow of Nick Rhode's keyboard stand.
Monkey is it really a done deal with Jemal? I didn't think the plans were finalized yet.
Reid - I'm just going by what's on Gallery Place Living blog; HPRB scheduled a review of a raze order on Waffle Shop on May 8. That's usually an indication that development is imminent. And any sort of interior preservation would have been a deal killer. Even with the deco facade, the joint doesn't merit historic preservation status, unfortunately.
No Waffle Shop? Where are the protests by regular customers? Well, okay they're probably lined up at CVS buying Pepto-Bismol. But surely something can be done. Did anybody write an Urban Environmental Impact Statement? Can't the National Park Service assume curatorial responsibility? Forget the whales: Save The Waffles.
The Ford's Theatre upgrade is WAY overdue. Aside from 1-2 handicapped stalls on the main floor, the only way down to the rest of the restrooms in the museum-basement is via a single staircase which gets very backed up with dem turrists.
BTW, when they re-open, I hope they continue to have cheap seats: either $18 obstructed view (narrow column) or $25 balcony seats. Also, all preview tix have been $25.