Dealey Plaza
April 17, 2019
Dealey Plaza
Our flight from Clovis on Sunday morning only took about 90
minutes and we arrived in plenty of time to spend the afternoon and evening in
Dallas. My only previous visit to Dallas had been last fall, where I spent a similar
amount of time, less than a day I n the city. On that visit, I made a visit to
historic Dealey Plaza, the site of the November 22, 1963 assassination of
President John F. Kennedy. During that visit, I had hoped to go to the Sixth
Floor Museum which is in the former Texas Book Depository building where
assassin Lee Harvey Oswald had his sniper’s nest where he supposedly took the
fatal shots.
This time, I had prearranged tickets for Kathy and I to
visit the museum, which was packed with visitors on this beautiful Sunday
afternoon. The assassination of JFK is one of the most studied, debated,
controversial and historic events in American history and it is something that
I have always been fascinated in and I was very intrigued to finally have the
opportunity to see this historic, if tragic location.
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 the historical legacy of the tragedy. The museum is really interesting and very well-done. It has an excellent collection of artifacts including many items directly related to that fateful day.
Among the more interesting is the actual camera that Abraham Zapruder used to film what is possibly the most famous home movie in history and the only one to capture the actual moment that the bullets struck Kennedy. The scale model of Dealey Plaza that was used by the FBI to investigate the shooting is also on hand, as well as an exact replica of the rifle that Harvey used. The most interesting part of the museum is the recreation of the sniper’s nest from where Oswald took the fatal shots.
Original book boxes arranged just as they were found that day and the sixth floor corner sniper nest looks much as it did when it was discovered.You cannot look out the exact window that Oswald used, but the remainder of the windows along that side of the building are accessible as well as the window on the seventh floor just above the location can all be accessed and visitors can get a good view of the motorcade’s route, Oswald’s view and all of Dealey Plaza which is remarkably similar today as it was that day.
The museum merely presents the basic facts and does not take any real opinion on the many controversial conspiracy theories regarding the assassination, their exhibits naturally focus on the role that the location played that day, but it does include displays that focus on the many different opinions. Personally I have always gone with the single deranged gunman theory and feel the book “Case Closed” is the best JFK assassination one that I have read.
The time we spent in Dallas also offered us time to visit with our friends Dennis and Ally and their family, former Key West residents and currently living in the Dallas area. I had a hankerin for some delicious Texas BBQ and they recommended one of their favorite locations, Hard Eight Pit BBQ. It was a wonderful meal and even better company. Ally used to work with Kathy at the Key West Preschool Co-op and we have not seen her or her family in a few years.
So while it was a short visit to Dallas, we took full advantage of our time there, we had a fun, informative and interesting time. I am really glad to get the chance to finally visit the Sixth Floor Museum and to catch up with old friends during the same visit. Hopefully we can get back to the area soon.
posted by Michael and Kathy @ 1:50 PM
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