Ford's Theatre, the historic Washington, D.C., venue where U.S. President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, has been shut for an $8.5-million US upgrade.

The 144-year-old theatre will get its first elevator, new washrooms and upgraded heating, air conditioning, lighting and sound systems. Accessibility for the disabled will also be improved.

Run by the National Park Service, it is a working theatre that shows historic plays, as well a tourist draw.

Among its annual productions is A Christmas Carol, which will run as usual, from late November through December, during renovations.

The Peterson House across the street, where Lincoln died after being shot by actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth, will remain open.

Booth shot Lincoln in the back of the head on April 14, 1865, as the president sat with his wife in a private box watching the comedy Our American Cousin. Lincoln, who had just secured a definitive victory for the Union forces in the Civil War, died the following day.

Ford's Theatre was closed for 103 years, before being opened as a historic site in 1968. About one million people visit it annually.

The Park Service hopes to reopen the theatre in November 2008.

 

With files from the Associated Press