Ford's Theater stage diagram

[J. Beckert]

I found this today and I've never seen it before. Any questions you may have had about the location of the dressing rooms or the backstage underground passageway Booth used to get to the alley next to Taltavul's are clearly shown here.

https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/fordstheatrediagram/

[RJNorton]

Thanks for posting, Joe. I have seen other diagrams that were not as complete as this one.

[J. Beckert]

(08-25-2023 07:14 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  Thanks for posting, Joe. I have seen other diagrams that were not as complete as this one.

You're very welcome, Roger. It was the very least I can do for the Politest Man on the Internet....... I hope you're well, my friend!

[Dennis Urban]

That drawing and legend looks like something I have seen in the past but don't know where. The website from which it came, NIH National Library of Medicine, does not give attribution to the location of the original page. It does look like a page out of a newspaper which may have been drawn at the time pictures were taken of the inside of the theatre. One place the drawing does NOT appear is in the 1963 book by the Department of the Interior book, Restoration of Ford's Theatre. Several other drawings of the interior of the theatre and stage area are reproduced in the book, including that of John T. Ford done in May 1865 while confined in the Old Capitol Prison. I am curious to know the origin of this drawing. Perhaps one of the history slueths on this site can determine that for us.

[Dave Taylor]

This diagram is in the Benn Pitman trial transcript at the very end:

https://archive.org/details/55931160R.nl...1/mode/2up

It was originally drawn by Lt. Simon Currier. On April 22, Currier reassembled as much of the cast of Ford's Theatre as he could in order to recreate Our American Cousin. Currier and his assistants kept track of movement of the set pieces and measured the wings and backstage areas. Currier was especially interested in seeing what the backstage area was like at the moment the shot was fired. From what he gathered during the recreation, Currier composed this diagram and sent it to Col. Foster, one of the men then gathering evidence on the crime, on April 24. The government consulted it when they were laying out their case against Spangler, as Lt. Currier felt that the backstage passageway that Booth escaped through was kept, "remarkably clear". Currier's drawing appeared at the trial of the conspirators as Exhibit 48. It was shown to Joseph Stewart who used it to point out his movements at Ford's as he climbed onto the stage and pursued Booth.

As he was working on his edition of the trial transcript, it seems that Pitman had Currier's drawing duplicated for his book.

[Dennis Urban]

Thank you, Dave. I knew the drawing had to be from the recreation of Act III, Scene 2. Of particular interest to me is the noted position of Laura Keene (B) and the torn stage covering (27) being 2 feet from the box. To me, that location is more indicative of Booth lowering himself from the box rather than jumping from the box which would have landed him farther away from the edge of the box.
Thanks again,