Ford's Theatre to Reopen

[Dennis Urban]

(12-30-2020 01:32 PM)Jim Garrett Wrote:  Hi John: Roger asked me to look at your inquiry. My guess is that the side door leading to the wing on the south side of the stage was probably locked most of the time. I would imagine that the side door to Taultavull's saloon was probably left unlocked while the saloon was open. The principal purpose of the alley was for the patrons of both establishments to reach the privies located in Baptist alley.

If I remember correctly, Booth went under the stage, came out the theatre side door, went all the way up to the front of the theatre to do a quick reconnoiter, then went back out the front of the theatre to Taultavull's.

Again, I haven't looked at this material in a very on time, but I believe the saloon building was actually built when Ford's was rebuilt after the fire. The apartment for Harry Ford, being above the alley and the saloon. The part of the building that housed the saloon was used for many different purposes up through the 1930's, at which point it was demolished for a parking lot. It drives me crazy, all the historic and semi-historic buildings torn down for parking lots. Today, the area occupied by Taultavull's houses the HVAC systems for Ford's.

Hope this answers your questions.

I was unaware of the privies in Baptist Alley. Where were they located? The small homes of the two black ladies and the Booth stable were on the south side of the alley. I've seen a post-war picture of the alley taken somewhat later but saw no evidence of privies nor have I ever seen a written reference to them prior to this post. Very curious.