Presidential Places: The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
In August of 2010, I had the privilege of visiting the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. Dealey Plaza is of course the place where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. The museum at Dealey Plaza is located on the sixth floor of the Dallas County Administration Building (formerly known as the Texas School Book Depository). The museum contains displays about the life, death, and legacy of President Kennedy. It is located on the same floor containing the very spot from which Lee Harvey Oswald killed Kennedy, according to the Warren Commission and three other government investigations.
The museum's exhibition area uses historic films, photographs, artifacts and interpretive displays to document the events of the assassination, the reports by government investigations that followed, and Kennedy's historical legacy. Visitors are provided with a head-set which contains a recording of a self-directed tour. I was disappointed to learn that picture-taking inside of the museum was not allowed. The museum is self-sufficient in funding. It relies solely on donations and ticket sales and it rents the space from the County of Dallas.
The museum opened its doors on February 20, 1989, which coincidentally was Presidents' Day.
In December 1999, the Zapruder family donated copyright to the Zapruder film to The Sixth Floor Museum, along with one of the first-generation copies made on November 22, 1963, and some other copies of the film. The Zapruder family no longer retains any copyrights to the film, which are now controlled entirely by the museum. I won't get into the subject of conspiracy theories, other than to say that it is the Zapruder film which leaves me personally convinced that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone.
On February 19, 2007, previously unreleased 8 mm film footage of Kennedy's motorcade, which was donated to the museum by George Jefferies and his son-in-law, was shown publicly for the first time. The 40-second film is silent and in color. It shows the motorcade before the assassination, as well as part of Dealey Plaza the following day.
A museum webcam features a live view from the sniper spot.
Behind the cut is the journal entry I made in my own journal the day after my visit, along with some pictures that I took.
When I went to Dealey Plaza yesterday morning, I was disappointed that they wouldn't let anyone take pictures inside the museum. The brown brick building is the Texas School Book Depository (or at least it was in 1963) and from the 6th floor window on the right side, Lee Harvey Oswald is said to have fired his Manlicher-Carcano rifle and assassinated President John F. Kennedy, though conspiracy theorists have their doubts. I was pleased to see that the museum had a section on the many conspiracy theories. The second and the last pictures are of the spot where he was shot and the fifth is of the infamous "grassy knoll" where some witnesses say other shots came from.
Following is more information about this venue:
Website: http://www.jfk.org/
Location: 411 Elm Street, Dallas, Texas
Hours of Operation: Monday: Noon to 6 p.m.
Tuesday-Sunday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Last tickets are sold at 5:15 p.m.
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dallas-TX/The-Sixth-Floor-Museum-at-Dealey-Plaza/162271023873
Twitter: @SixthFlrMuseum
The museum's exhibition area uses historic films, photographs, artifacts and interpretive displays to document the events of the assassination, the reports by government investigations that followed, and Kennedy's historical legacy. Visitors are provided with a head-set which contains a recording of a self-directed tour. I was disappointed to learn that picture-taking inside of the museum was not allowed. The museum is self-sufficient in funding. It relies solely on donations and ticket sales and it rents the space from the County of Dallas.
The museum opened its doors on February 20, 1989, which coincidentally was Presidents' Day.
In December 1999, the Zapruder family donated copyright to the Zapruder film to The Sixth Floor Museum, along with one of the first-generation copies made on November 22, 1963, and some other copies of the film. The Zapruder family no longer retains any copyrights to the film, which are now controlled entirely by the museum. I won't get into the subject of conspiracy theories, other than to say that it is the Zapruder film which leaves me personally convinced that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone.
On February 19, 2007, previously unreleased 8 mm film footage of Kennedy's motorcade, which was donated to the museum by George Jefferies and his son-in-law, was shown publicly for the first time. The 40-second film is silent and in color. It shows the motorcade before the assassination, as well as part of Dealey Plaza the following day.
A museum webcam features a live view from the sniper spot.
Behind the cut is the journal entry I made in my own journal the day after my visit, along with some pictures that I took.
When I went to Dealey Plaza yesterday morning, I was disappointed that they wouldn't let anyone take pictures inside the museum. The brown brick building is the Texas School Book Depository (or at least it was in 1963) and from the 6th floor window on the right side, Lee Harvey Oswald is said to have fired his Manlicher-Carcano rifle and assassinated President John F. Kennedy, though conspiracy theorists have their doubts. I was pleased to see that the museum had a section on the many conspiracy theories. The second and the last pictures are of the spot where he was shot and the fifth is of the infamous "grassy knoll" where some witnesses say other shots came from.
Following is more information about this venue:
Website: http://www.jfk.org/
Location: 411 Elm Street, Dallas, Texas
Hours of Operation: Monday: Noon to 6 p.m.
Tuesday-Sunday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Last tickets are sold at 5:15 p.m.
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dallas-TX/The-Sixth-Floor-Museum-at-Dealey-Plaza/162271023873
Twitter: @SixthFlrMuseum