The site was originally a house of worship, constructed in 1833 as the second meeting house of the First Baptist Church of Washington, with Obadiah Bruen Brown as the pastor.
In 1861, after the congregation moved to a newly built structure, John T. Ford bought the former church and renovated it into a theater.
He first called it Ford's Athenaeum.
It was destroyed by fire in 1862, and was rebuilt.
The site was originally a house of worship, constructed in 1833 as the second meeting house of the First Baptist Church of Washington, with Obadiah Bruen Brown as the pastor. In 1861, after the congregation moved to a newly built structure, John T. Ford bought the former church and renovated it into a theater. He first called it Ford's Athenaeum. It was destroyed by fire in 1862, and was rebuilt.
Ford's Theatre