Ford’s Theatre getting a face-lift

Ford’s Theatre, the site of President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination and one of Washington’s premier tourist stops, will close today for an 18-month renovation, the National Park Service said.

The theater will get an $8.5-million upgrade that will include its first elevator, new restrooms, and renovations to its heating and air conditioning and lighting and sound systems, the park service said.

Lincoln was shot in the back of the head on April 14, 1865, as he sat with his wife in a private box at the theatre watching the comedy “Our American Cousin.”