I traveled to Dallas, Texas recently for a work trip. During my off time, I wanted to explore some of the Historical sites around Dallas. I had not been to the state of Texas since I was 14 years old, so I wanted to get out and explore. My love of history, along with the amount of American history in Texas, made it a perfect state for me.
I arrived to Dallas at 11am and could not check-in to my hotel until later, so I went to the site where JFK was shot. On November 22nd, 1963, President Kennedy was murdered. He was shot by a Cuban sympathizer, Lee Harvey Oswald.
He worked from a book depository on the the 6th floor of building at Dealey Plaza. That happened to be on the route President Kennedy would be traveling that day. Oswald was able to get the travel map from the news.
I traveled to the exact site. It is understandable since it happened in Dallas, that the city may not want to make it a shrine to the murder. That may be out of embarrassment that it happened there, but I did expect more of a memorial.
Most of the area is a memorial to those that founded Dallas and not to the Kennedy murder.
Using old YouTube footage from that day, I traced the exact spot it happened. I also looked up and saw the exact spot that Oswald shot from.
There is one marker on it that has waterspouts that makes people aware that the murder happened near that spot. That is the only marker. Dallas should do more to make that major event in American history.
Using old footage from the day of the assassination, I traced the route Kennedy traveled that fateful day. The spot he was murdered could not have been more ideal for Oswald’s murderous rage. The lanes separate at that spot. There is also a stoplight and train tracks immediately in front of his murder spot, which would have slowed his motorcade down.
The day Kennedy was assassinated is a major historical event in the second half of the twentieth. It was. day the Baby Boomer generation remembers well. I have not spoken to any that did not remember the exact moment it was announced he was dead.
In the early 1960s, America was not as divided as it is today. That day marked a tragic day for all Americans. I was surprised by how little Dallas did to mark that tragic day.
There is a small museum on the 6th floor of Dealey Plaza that marks the event. I will provide the link for that. That is about all that is offered. The city of Dallas does include it on their bus tour of the city. I will provide that link also.
https://www.visitdallas.com/things-to-do/venue/view/6749/Sixth-Floor-Museum-at-Dealey-Plaza.html
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g55711-Activities-c42-t174-Dallas_Texas.html
Um America was very much racially divided in the 60s, far more so than it is now.
I agree that the assassination of JFK, is obviously of major historical significance.
But I also understand why the City of Dallas is not too keen on the idea of drawing even more attention to it, by adding a memorial.