What occurred in Dallas' Dealey Plaza in November 1963 was beyond a doubt the city's darkest hour. Today, Dealey Plaza attracts visitors from throughout the world who for whatever reason, and there are likely a lot of reasons, just want to see for themselves the place where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. So much has been reported over the years regarding the physical landscape of Dealey Plaza that actually visiting the site yourself can be quite an experience.
Dealey Plaza
In Dealy Plaza itself the number one attraction has always been the old Texas School Book Depository Building.
It was they said, where the assassin Lee Harvey Oswald fired the fatal bullets from the building's sixth floor southeast window. That window on the photo to the left is on the far right side, the second story from the top.
At the time of the JFK assassination, the building of course was not open to the public. It was in essence a warehouse where Texas school books were stored. Later, in this same infamous building, the city would create the unique Sixth Floor Museum and Dealey Plaza itself would become the Dealey Plaza National Historic District.
Dealey Plaza came into being during the 1930's when land donated by early Dallas philanthropist and businesswoman Sarah Horton Cockrell was earmarked for a city park. The project was completed as a WPA project in 1940. At that time the land was on the western edge of Downtown Dallas. The park takes it's name in honor of George Bannerman Dealey, a civic leader and early publisher of the Dallas Morning News.
The Sixth Floor Museum
The Sixth Floor Museum is located at 411 Elm Street. For information about operating hours, special events / exhibits visit website...www.jfk.org
According to the Sixth Floor Museum website, the museum "chronicles the assassination and legacy of President John F. Kennedy; interprets the Dealey Plaza National Historic Landmark District and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza; and presents contemporary culture within the context of presidential history". Permanent exhibits at the museum include photos, artifacts and films about the life of President John F. Kennedy. There are also temporary exhibits on the building's seventh floor and the museum features monthly programs and special events.
The Texas Theater
The Texas Theater where Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested by Dallas Police is today still a working movie theater. The Texas Theater located at 231 West Jefferson Blvd, southeast of the downtown district opened it's doors in 1931. When the theater was constructed the owners spared no expense. The theater was built entirely of concrete and called itself "fireproof". It was also the first theater in that area showing "talking pictures" or "talkies" as they were often referred to.
On November 23rd, 1963 the Texas Theater of course would take on another entirely different image when Lee Harvey Oswald entered the theater without buying a ticket.
Lee Harvey Oswald's Rooming House
Not far at all from the Texas Theater in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas was the rooming house where Oswald resided. The address of the old rooming house is 1026 N. Beckley Avenue.
The house is still there today and has been occupied by Pat Hall who has lived there for over seventy years. Hall’s grandmother, Gladys Johnson, purchased the Oak Cliff property
in 1943 and for many years ran a rooming house there. Her tenants included
Oswald, who arrived on Oct. 14, 1963, taking a room for $8 a week Hall moved into the house in 2001 to care for her mother.
Today, the old Lee Harvey Oswald rooming house offers tours. If you've never been to the Oswald Rooming House, then you're really missing a unique experience. Take yourself back to 1963 and see what the rooming house looked like then.. For more information about the Oswald rooming house tour see website...http://www.oswaldroominghousetours.com/
JFK Conspiracy Theories
What might attract so many people still today from around the world to these sites connected with the JFK assassination likely are the many conspiracy theories that started almost immediately after the tragic event. The Warren Report and subsequent congressional hearings never really answered the questions, for some, of who exactly was involved and the whys. The topic is debated today just as it was decades ago. It is these unanswered questions that bring people to these sites out of sheer curiosity.
Still today, you can walk or drive through Dealey Plaza and see visitors pointing and taking photos. It's as if they are trying to piece together the facts they have heard with the physical landscape. They try to convince themselves of what the Warren Report said occurred. Could there have been assassins behind the wood fence on the grassy knoll? Your view of that area will probably convince you that there could have been.
Even though the historic sites described above are connected to one of America's and Dallas' darkest days, they still are part of a story that remains, to more than a few, an unsolved crime. Because these sites still exist, the curious historian in many of us have the opportunity as they say to visit the scene of the crime and perhaps come to your own conclusion.
If your travels take you to Dallas Texas I would recommend a stop at the Sixth Floor Museum as well as the other sites highlighted above.
See additional Western Trips articles from the links below...
Visit the Old Red Museum in Dallas, TX
Places to Visit in Downtown Dallas
The Interurban Railway Museum
(Article and photos copyright Western Trips)
 |
| Old School Book Depository Bldg, opposite Dealey Pl. |
In Dealy Plaza itself the number one attraction has always been the old Texas School Book Depository Building.
It was they said, where the assassin Lee Harvey Oswald fired the fatal bullets from the building's sixth floor southeast window. That window on the photo to the left is on the far right side, the second story from the top.
At the time of the JFK assassination, the building of course was not open to the public. It was in essence a warehouse where Texas school books were stored. Later, in this same infamous building, the city would create the unique Sixth Floor Museum and Dealey Plaza itself would become the Dealey Plaza National Historic District.
Dealey Plaza came into being during the 1930's when land donated by early Dallas philanthropist and businesswoman Sarah Horton Cockrell was earmarked for a city park. The project was completed as a WPA project in 1940. At that time the land was on the western edge of Downtown Dallas. The park takes it's name in honor of George Bannerman Dealey, a civic leader and early publisher of the Dallas Morning News.
The Sixth Floor Museum
The Sixth Floor Museum is located at 411 Elm Street. For information about operating hours, special events / exhibits visit website...www.jfk.org
According to the Sixth Floor Museum website, the museum "chronicles the assassination and legacy of President John F. Kennedy; interprets the Dealey Plaza National Historic Landmark District and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza; and presents contemporary culture within the context of presidential history". Permanent exhibits at the museum include photos, artifacts and films about the life of President John F. Kennedy. There are also temporary exhibits on the building's seventh floor and the museum features monthly programs and special events.
 |
| The Texas Theater |
The Texas Theater where Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested by Dallas Police is today still a working movie theater. The Texas Theater located at 231 West Jefferson Blvd, southeast of the downtown district opened it's doors in 1931. When the theater was constructed the owners spared no expense. The theater was built entirely of concrete and called itself "fireproof". It was also the first theater in that area showing "talking pictures" or "talkies" as they were often referred to.
On November 23rd, 1963 the Texas Theater of course would take on another entirely different image when Lee Harvey Oswald entered the theater without buying a ticket.
Lee Harvey Oswald's Rooming House
Not far at all from the Texas Theater in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas was the rooming house where Oswald resided. The address of the old rooming house is 1026 N. Beckley Avenue.
 |
| Old Oswald rooming house in Oak Cliff |
Today, the old Lee Harvey Oswald rooming house offers tours. If you've never been to the Oswald Rooming House, then you're really missing a unique experience. Take yourself back to 1963 and see what the rooming house looked like then.. For more information about the Oswald rooming house tour see website...http://www.oswaldroominghousetours.com/
JFK Conspiracy Theories
What might attract so many people still today from around the world to these sites connected with the JFK assassination likely are the many conspiracy theories that started almost immediately after the tragic event. The Warren Report and subsequent congressional hearings never really answered the questions, for some, of who exactly was involved and the whys. The topic is debated today just as it was decades ago. It is these unanswered questions that bring people to these sites out of sheer curiosity.
Still today, you can walk or drive through Dealey Plaza and see visitors pointing and taking photos. It's as if they are trying to piece together the facts they have heard with the physical landscape. They try to convince themselves of what the Warren Report said occurred. Could there have been assassins behind the wood fence on the grassy knoll? Your view of that area will probably convince you that there could have been.
Even though the historic sites described above are connected to one of America's and Dallas' darkest days, they still are part of a story that remains, to more than a few, an unsolved crime. Because these sites still exist, the curious historian in many of us have the opportunity as they say to visit the scene of the crime and perhaps come to your own conclusion.
If your travels take you to Dallas Texas I would recommend a stop at the Sixth Floor Museum as well as the other sites highlighted above.
See additional Western Trips articles from the links below...
Visit the Old Red Museum in Dallas, TX
Places to Visit in Downtown Dallas
The Interurban Railway Museum
(Article and photos copyright Western Trips)
