One of America's Most Famous Crime Scenes

The Sixth Floor Museum chronicles the legacy and 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. 

My extra day in Dallas was spent visiting the infamous Texas School Book Depository Building. It was at this site from which Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly fired the shots which assassinated President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. This is one of the most well-known crime scenes in the United States and indeed, one of the 20th Century's most famous. Even after the passage of some 62 years, the JFK assassination continues to fuel some of America's biggest conspiracy theories and I was very anxious to see this location for myself. After another buffet breakfast at the Westin Dallas Park Central Hotel’s Urban South Restaurant, I took an Uber to 411 Elm Street. The building's top two floors play host to the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, while the rest of the building now contains general Dallas County government offices. The entire structure has since been designated a Texas Historic Landmark.

It was from this concrete perch that Abraham Zapruder stood while shooting his famous film.

My timed ticket was for entry between 11:00 and 11:30, but I arrived at 10:40 and used the intervening time to familiarize myself with the surrounding area, including Zapruder’s Perch, the concrete pedestal from which Abraham Zapruder, a Ukrainian-born Dallas clothing manufacturer, unexpectedly captured the shooting on what was to be a home movie. He filmed Kennedy’s presidential limousine as it traveled through Dealey Plaza and unexpectedly captured the assassination with his 8mm Bell & Howell camera, which is now in the collections of the National Archives. The Zapruder film is regarded as the most complete footage of the assassination and was not made public until 1975, although Life Magazine published still frames in 1963.

An aerial view of Dealey Plaza with the Texas School Book Depository Building on the right.

I next made my way across the street to Dealey Plaza, the historic city park so often associated with that tragic November Friday. In addition to a landmark like the Texas School Book Depository Building, the plaza abuts the now-famous Grassy Knoll as well as Elm Street, which winds its way to the Triple Underpass leading to the eastbound lanes of the Stemmons Freeway (Interstate 35). The area has become a significant location in American history, 

for remembrance and for countless conspiracy theories while designated a National Historic Landmark. There was a map placed next to a bench along the plaza’s north border which detailed the presidential motorcade route and was most helpful in orienting me to the route the taken. I walked along the motorcade route and saw the "X" markers on Elm Street that denote locations of significance.

The building's southeast corner window area looks very much as it did on Friday, November 22, 1963.

The Sixth Floor Museum’s physical connection to the site of JFK’s assassination was an emotional experience. It’s well laid out with photographic exhibits detailing the era, the 1960 election, JFK’s presidency and his family life, as well as details surrounding he and Jackie’s visit to Texas that November. The sniper's perch is the reconstructed southeast corner of the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository where Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly fired the shots which killed President Kennedy. Oswald used a 6.5 x 52mm Italian Carcano Model 38 bolt-action rifle, a surplus WW II weapon he purchased by mail order under an alias, which was later found at the scene with a telescopic sight. The area featured replica boxes and an iconic view of Dealey Plaza through the window, protected by glass to preserve the original site, allowing visitors to see the historic vantage point where the rifle and shells were found, as documented in historical photos. The weapon is now held by the National Archives and Records Administration in College Park, MD, kept out of public view.

The nearby Corner Bakery Café is a beloved Dallas spot for quick, quality meals and baked goods.

By now it was lunchtime and the nearby Corner Bakery Café was recommended and did not disappoint. This casual and well-known Dallas-based chain offers all-day breakfast and fresh bakery items, sandwiches, soups, and salads, with a focus on comfort food. It’s known for its wide variety of goodies, from pastries and coffees to hearty meals. I’m a big fan of chicken salad, but I’m often let down. However, I noticed the menu’s DC Chicken Salad was a “guest favorite” and decided to give it a try. It was delicious, served with Chicken, Green Apple, Currants, Red Onions, Toasted Almonds, Mayonnaise, Lettuce and Tomato on a Croissant.  I was very pleased with my lunch at the café and would heartily recommend it to anyone visiting the historic site.

The Eternal Flame at JFK's Arlington gravesite was lit by the First Lady and has burned continuously.

Returning to the museum, I was saddened yet captivated by a film of Kennedy's State Funeral, which took place on the Monday after his assassination. It was a somber, nationally-televised event watched by nearly the entire US population, creating a shared, unforgettable national experience of grief and unity. His body lay in state in the US Capitol Rotunda where hundreds of thousands filed past the flag-draped coffin. A solemn procession, led by a riderless horse with boots reversed in the stirrups, carried the casket from the Capitol to the White House, then to St. Matthew’s Cathedral for the requiem mass attended by global dignitaries. The moment young John F. Kennedy Jr., who turned three that very day, saluted his father's casket as it passed, became a poignant symbol of national mourning. The President’s final journey ended at Arlington National Cemetery, where he was interred. The funeral's elaborate pageantry, orchestrated partly by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, underscored the immense tragedy and stabilized the nation after the assassination. It solidified the image of the Kennedy Administration as being "one brief shining moment," a phrase coined later by Mrs. Kennedy to describe the era as "Camelot." 

The suit and shoes worn by Homicide Detective James Leavelle during the Oswald shooting.

The Sixth Floor Museum also includes information about the official investigations, including the findings of the Warren Commission, and discussed the various conspiracy theories that have emerged over the years. The John F. Kennedy assassination remains a uniquely compelling crime due to a perfect storm of factors: the victim's high profile, the abrupt loss of national optimism, the dramatic, public circumstances of the events, and a long history of government secrecy that has fueled persistent conspiracy theories. The subsequent murder of the primary suspect, Lee Harvey Oswald, by nightclub owner Jack Ruby just two days later, live on national television, added an unprecedented layer of drama and complexity to the case. The shooting occurred in the basement of the Dallas Police Headquarters as Oswald was being transferred to the county jail. Ultimately, the combination of a charismatic leader's public, violent death, a confusing sequence of events, and decades of government-imposed mystery has made the Kennedy assassination an enduring American mystery. 

I traveled home to Raleigh the next day pondering how the crack of a rifle decades ago in Dallas affected not only the Kennedy family, but cataclysmically destroyed a presidency and undoubtedly changed the course of history.

Until next time...safe travels.