Grant and Lincoln's invitation

[L Verge]

I think the State Box was like today's Air Force One. There are duplicate planes, and any can be Air Force One the minute the President steps on board. I suspect the State Box at Ford's was only the State Box when the President or some other dignitary used it. The same holds true at the Kennedy Center today. There is one box reserved for the presidential party and guests in the Eisenhower Theatre and the Opera Hall. However, plain old people sit there when it is not reserved for the special people. My daughter and I and several members of the Surratt Society have been seated in that box on several occasions. It helps when one of your best friends has a husband who worked at the Kennedy Center...