The “rubber box” or did Laura Keene indeed held Lincoln’s head?

[loetar44]

(09-14-2014 02:13 PM)Jim Garrett Wrote:  The alley between the theatre and the saloon was a covered alleyway. My understanding is that there was indeed a stairway leading up to the lounge that was part of the second floor. The Fords built the Star Saloon building as part of the reconstruction project after the December 62 Theatre fire. It wasn't a secret alley, it just that if you weren't employed or associated with the theatre, you wouldn't have a reason to know about the side stairway.

Thanks Jim, Joe and Roger!

And thanks to the Historic Structures Report “Restauration of Ford’s Theatre”.

It’s fully clear for me now! I mean the architectural structure of the South Addition in reference with Ford’s Theatre. The small alley was indeed there, it was a four-foot (1.20 meter – sorry we Europeans think in meters) wide passageway and it was indeed covered. So it was more an interior corridor within the south building. It was built in 1863. A single door with eight panels provided access from 10th Street. A glass-windowed door was on the rear side of the passage. The passage gave the actors quick passage from Tenth Street to the backstage door. And Jim, you are completely right: there is indeed a stairway leading up to the lounge that was part of the second floor of the South addition. And there was a double doorway which connected the lounge to the theatre at dress circle level. The levels in the south addition were however a bit lower than those in the theatre, so all connecting doors ascended stepwise to the theatre.

Here are the pages where I found additional info:

P. 51
The south addition was a three-story brick building built by Ford in 1863 as an extension of his theatre. A combined restaurant and bar, known as Peter Taltavul's "Star Saloon," occupied the first floor. The second floor, which was used as a cloakroom and lounge of the dress circle, was connected to the theatre by a double doorway. Larger windows on this floor of the building provided additional light and ventilation. Rest rooms were most probably at the rear for the convenience of dress circle patrons. Because of the difference in the floor levels of this building and Ford's Theatre, all connecting doors descended stepwise to the lower levels of the south addition. H. Clay Ford and James R. Ford occupied rooms on the third floor which they could reach through the door from the lobby of the dress circle or through another doorway at the level of the family circle. An outside stairway provided ready access from the theatre to the rear of the second floor. Finally, a four-foot wide covered passageway ran between the theatre and the Star Saloon and gave the actors quick passage from Tenth Street to the stage door in the south wall of the theatre.

P. 32
A single door with eight panels provided access to the 4-foot wide through passageway from Tenth Street to a glass-windowed door on the south side of the stage at the rear of the presidential box."

P. 27
In 1863 a door was also installed at about the level of the family circle to provide access from the theatre to the rooms of Harry and Dic k Ford on the third floor of the south addition.

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Interesting to learn (I never knew before) that the Family Circle had a separate entrance and no access to the rest of the building:

P26
The five arched openings on the first floor level were approximately 6 feet in width by 12 feet in height and varied from 2 feet to 2.5 feet in depth. During the lifetime of the theatre, they were used as doorways. Four of these doorways opened into the lobby and gave access to the north ticket window, the orchestra and dress circle." The fifth door, known as the "gallery door" at the south end of the facade, provided access to the gallery ticket window and stairwell leading to the family circle. On the front wall, south of the gallery door and about 8 feet above the sidewalk, hung a 3-foot white oval sign with black lettering reading Entrance Family Circle 25 cents." In the family circle there were only benches.

I’ve made the following sketch. The lower part of the red box is the passageway which is an interior corridor of the South addition. BTW: you only can enter the Star Saloon via 10th Street, so Booth had to pass the door with eight panels, when he went through this passageway while on his way to assassinate AL.

   

and here is the door with the eight panels again (blue arrow) and the gallery door (red arrow):