Wednesday marks the 60th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.
The moment that changed Dallas history forever was when JFK was killed while driving in a motorcade through the city.
More than half a century later, his life continues to inspire and his death continues to provoke questions and interpretations of the events of November 22, 1963.
DFW hosts a variety of events and exhibits to honor and celebrate the late president’s life.
park dedication
Parkland Health, where the president was taken after he was shot Wednesday morning, is commemorating the construction of a new John F. Kennedy Park for hope, healing and heroes. It is now open to the public and located in front of the Ron J. Anderson Clinic on the Parkland campus. One of the park’s donors is Dr. Ron Jones, one of the doctors who treated President Kennedy at Parkland.
6th floor art museum
The Sixth Floor Museum, a former Texas School Book Depository, is believed to be where gunman Lee Harvey Oswald was fatally shot. In this museum he has two exhibitions. “His Two Days in Texas” reimagines Kennedy’s 1963 trip to Texas through eyewitness accounts and his own words. It includes artifacts and oral history of each Texas city he visited on his last presidential trip. This exhibit is on view until his June 16th. Another exhibit is a permanent exhibit, “John F. Kennedy and the Memory of a Nation,” which features historical images, news footage, and artifacts. Click here for tickets and more information.
DPD collection
At Dallas City Hall, original documents, photographs and items related to the Dallas Police Department investigation will be displayed in the lobby. The free exhibit shows how crime scenes were investigated and reported back in 1963. The exhibit is on view through December 8 at Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla Street.
texas theater
The Texas Theater in Oak Cliff, where Oswald was captured, will host a special day of free tours and exhibits on Wednesday. The public can visit the theater from 12:45 to 7 p.m. and take a free lobby tour of him and a special exhibit detailing his November 22, 1963 events. Visitors also have the chance to purchase movie tickets for his double feature in the movie. war is hell and battle cry, a 1960s movie that was being shown when Oswald sneaked into the theater. There will be a staged reading on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. he should have bought a ticket It will feature a reenactment of the Warren Commission’s interviews with Texas theater employees and John Brewer, who noticed Oswald entering the theater. At 7:30 p.m., the theater will screen the director’s cut of Oliver Stone’s film. John F. Kennedy. Click here for more information.
Dallas Municipal Archives
On Wednesday, the Dallas Municipal Archives will host an event at Top Ten Records in Oak Cliff to retell the store’s unique connection to that fateful day. The free event begins at 1 p.m. at the shop’s location at 338 W. Jefferson Blvd. In Dallas. Click here for more information.
‘city of hatred‘
After JFK’s assassination, Dallas became known as the “City of Hate.” Many were quick to criticize Dallas, as it was a center of ultra-conservative thought at the time. Countless letters poured into the city expressing grief and anger. Southern Methodist University has preserved hundreds of those letters in a special collection called “Dear Dallas.”
NBC 5’s Katie Blakey takes a closer look at these incredible letters in a must-watch story on NBC 5 starting at 4 p.m.
History buffs can also read behind the scenes, A new book by journalist and SMU Communication Professor Emeritus Darwin Payne.he ran as fast as he could dallas times herald at his desk in Dealey Plaza when shots were fired at the president. As a young reporter, Payne interviewed Abraham Zapruder, the witness who captured the moment Kennedy was shot on film, and then rode an elevator with detectives to the sniper’s nest in the School Book Depository building.