3) Ford’s Theater, Washington, D.C.
The theater where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865 no longer exists. It was torn down by the War Department, who purchased it for $88,000 and proceeded to gut it. The original site was then turned into a medical museum, as well as a repository for Civil War records. In 1893, 22 people were killed when the building collapsed from shoddy construction work. In 1968, during the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson, the theater was completely reconstructed with funding from Congress. To approximate the original design, crime scene photos were used which were taken by the famed Lincoln photographer, Matthew Brady. During the 2000’s the theater underwent another renovation. It re-opened on February 12, 2009, commemorating the bicentennial of Lincoln’s birth. Today it’s administered by the National Parks service as a national historic site, along with the Peterson house across the street, where Lincoln died after being shot.