City park in downtown Dallas was the location of the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy, on November 22, 1963
General Information
Overview
Dealey Plaza is a small park in Dallas' West End Historic District known both as the "birthplace of Dallas" — site of the city's first home, courthouse, and store — and, far more famously, as the site of President John F. Kennedy's assassination on November 22, 1963. Designated a National Historic Landmark on the 30th anniversary of the shooting, the plaza looks much as it did that day: original street signs and lamp posts remain, and the surrounding buildings are unchanged, creating a striking contrast with the modern Dallas skyline rising just behind it.
Most visitors come for a somber, focused visit lasting an hour or so, centered on the former Texas School Book Depository (now the Sixth Floor Museum) and the open plaza where the motorcade passed. The plaza takes its name from George Bannerman Dealey, a Dallas civic leader and newspaper publisher honored by a statue near the Main Street entrance.
Things to Do
Visit the Sixth Floor Museum
Housed in the former Texas School Book Depository at 411 Elm St., the museum occupies the sixth-floor corner window from which Lee Harvey Oswald fired the fatal shot, with exhibits covering the assassination and its aftermath.
Find the White X
A white "X" painted on Elm St. between N. Houston St. and the Triple Underpass marks the spot where President Kennedy was struck.
Walk the Grassy Knoll
This low rise northwest of the plaza became the focus of decades of conspiracy debate over a possible second gunman — enough that "grassy knoll" entered the language as slang for a cover-up.
See the Kennedy Memorial
One block from the plaza, this 1969 cenotaph designed by architect Philip Johnson is a stark concrete square enclosing a black granite slab engraved with the president's name.
Tour the Old Red Courthouse
Across from the plaza, the 1890s Romanesque Revival "Old Red" courthouse — built of red sandstone and blue granite — now houses the Old Red Museum of Dallas County History & Culture.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Dealey Plaza", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0
