Nov. 22 marks 60 years since President Kennedy’s fatal visit to Dallas. His assassination in downtown forever changed the country and city. Many are spending the day at Dealey Plaza or the Sixth-Floor Museum. NBC 5’s Katy Blakey has more.
Wednesday marks 60 years since the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
The moment forever changed Dallas history, when JFK was killed during a motorcade ride through the city.
More than half a century later, his life continues to inspire and his death continues to spark questions and interpretations about the events of November 22, 1963.
There are different events and exhibits happening in DFW to honor and celebrate the late president's life:
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PARK DEDICATION
On Wednesday morning, Parkland Health – where the president was taken after he was shot – is commemorating the new John F. Kennedy Park for Hope, Healing and Heroes. It is now open to the public and is located in front of the Ron J. Anderson Clinic on Parkland Campus. One of the donors of the park is Dr. Ron Jones, who was one of the doctors who treated President Kennedy at Parkland.
SIXTH FLOOR MUSEUM
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The Sixth Floor museum – formerly the former Texas School Book Depository -- is believed to be the location where accused shooter Lee Harvey Oswald had fired the fatal shot. The museum is hosting two exhibits – “Two Days in Texas” revisits Kennedy’s 1963 trip to Texas through eyewitness accounts and his own words. It includes artifacts and oral histories from each of the Texas cities he visited on his final presidential tour. The exhibit is open through June 16. The other exhibit is permanent – “John F. Kennedy and the Memory of a Nation” – featuring historic images, news footage, and artifacts. Click here for tickets and more details.
DPD COLLECTION
At Dallas City Hall, original documents, photos and items associated with Dallas Police Department’s investigation will be on display in the lobby. The free exhibit highlights the methods of crime scene investigation and reporting from back in 1963. The display is up now through December 8 at Dallas City Hall on 1500 Marilla Street.
TEXAS THEATRE
Texas Theatre in Oak Cliff, the site where Oswald was captured, is hosting a special day of free tours and exhibits on Wednesday. The public is invited to visit the theater from 12:45 p.m. to 7 p.m. for free lobby tours and a special exhibit detailing the events of Nov. 22, 1963. Visitors also have a chance to buy movie tickets for a double feature of War Is Hell and Cry of Battle, films from the 1960s that were playing when Oswald snuck into the theater. At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, a staged reading of He Shoulda Bought a Ticket will feature a re-creation of the Warren Commission’s interviews with Texas Theatre employees and with John Brewer, who noticed Oswald entering the theater. At 7:30 p.m., the theatre will play a director’s cut of Oliver Stone’s film, JFK. Click here for more details.
DALLAS MUNICIPAL ARCHIVES
On Wednesday, Dallas Municipal Archives is hosting an event at Top Ten Records in Oak Cliff to re-tell the shop's own unique tie to that fateful day. The free event starts at 1 p.m. at the shop’s location on 338 W. Jefferson Blvd. in Dallas. Click here for details.
'CITY OF HATE'
After JFK’s assassination, Dallas became known as "City of Hate.” Many were quick to blame Dallas because it was the center of ultra-conservative thought at the time. Countless letters poured into the city, expressing grief and anger. Southern Methodist University saved hundreds of those letters in a special collection called "Dear Dallas.”
NBC 5's Katy Blakey takes a closer look at those incredible letters in a story you have to watch on NBC 5 at 4 p.m.
History buffs can also read Behind the Scenes, a new book by journalist and emeritus SMU communications professor Darwin Payne. He sprinted from his Dallas Times Herald desk to Dealy Plaza when shots were fired at the president. As a young reporter, Payne interviewed eyewitness Abraham Zapruder, who captured the moment Kennedy was shot on film, and rode the elevator with detectives to the sniper’s nest in the School Book Depository Building.
