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Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

Coordinates: 32°46′47″N 96°48′30″W / 32.77972°N 96.80833°W / 32.77972; -96.80833
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Sixth Floor Museum
The Texas School Book Depository, now the Dallas County Administration Building
Map
EstablishedFebruary 20, 1989
LocationDealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas (411 Elm Street Dallas, TX 75202)
Coordinates32°46′47″N 96°48′31″W / 32.7798°N 96.8085°W / 32.7798; -96.8085
TypeHistoric
Visitors400,000
DirectorNicola Longford
CuratorStephen Fagin
Public transit accessDART 11,12,19,21,35,60,63,81/82,161,164, 283
Websitewww.jfk.org

The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza is a museum located on the sixth floor of the Dallas County Administration Building, formerly the Texas School Book Depository, in downtown Dallas, Texas, overlooking Dealey Plaza at the intersection of Elm and Houston Streets. The museum examines the life, times, death, and legacy of United States President John F. Kennedy, and the life of Lee Harvey Oswald, as well as the various conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination.

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 self-sufficient in funding, relying solely on donations and ticket sales. It rents the space from the County of Dallas.

The museum was founded by the Dallas County Historical Foundation.[1] It opened on Presidents' Day, February 20, 1989.[2]

A museum webcam features a live view from the sixth floor sniper's nest.[3]

In December 1999, the Zapruder family donated the copyright to the Zapruder film to The Sixth Floor Museum, along with one of the first-generation copies made on November 22, 1963, and other copies of the film. The Zapruder family no longer retains any copyrights to the film, which are now controlled entirely by the museum. The original camera negative is in the possession of the National Archives and Records Administration.

In February 2007, the previously unreleased 8 mm film footage of Kennedy's motorcade, donated to the museum by George Jefferies and his son-in-law, was shown publicly for the first time. The 40-second film, silent and in color, showed the motorcade before the assassination, as well as part of Dealey Plaza the following day. The Jefferies film was described as capturing "a beaming Jacqueline Kennedy," as well as showing Kennedy's suit jacket bunched-up in the back at that moment, about two minutes before Kennedy entered Dealey Plaza.[4]

Over the years, the museum has offered exhibits, access to a catalog of some 2,500 oral history recordings[5] and speaker events with book authors and other prominent figures related to JFK, Oswald and the historic and cultural significance of the infamous presidential visit. For the 60th anniversary in November 2023, it offered some timely speaker programs.[6] Its "JFK Was Here" banners to highlight the historical significance of places along the 1963 motorcade route from Love Field (airport) to Dealey Plaza[7] were met with mixed reactions about reminders of the assassination.[8][9]

This is a view from the next window over from the sixth floor shooting position. The yellow line shows the route of Kennedy's motorcade. There is an 'x' on the road marking the location of the fatal bullet which struck Kennedy.

References

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  1. ^ Noland, Eric (November 15, 2003). "Popularity and mystique; Museum in former Texas School Book Depository founded in response to visitors to the JFK assassination scene". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Retrieved August 13, 2014. Syndicated from the Los Angeles Daily News.
  2. ^ "History of the Texas School Book Depository". jfk.org. The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. Archived from the original on 12 August 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  3. ^ EarthCam - Dealey Plaza Cam
  4. ^ Stoddard, Ed (February 19, 2007). "New footage of JFK in Dallas released". Reuters. Reuters. Retrieved June 6, 2012.
  5. ^ STENGLE, JAMIE (2023-11-22). "JFK assassination remembered 60 years later by surviving witnesses to history, including AP reporter". The Register Citizen. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  6. ^ Goodman, Matt (2023-11-14). "Reporter Darwin Payne Opens Up His Old Notebooks to Tell a New Story About JFK's Assassination". D Magazine. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  7. ^ "60th Anniversary Banners | The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza". Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  8. ^ "'JFK Was Here' banners in Dallas met with mixed reaction". Yahoo News. 2023-11-17. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
  9. ^ Boyer, Alex (2023-11-17). "'JFK Was Here' banners put up in Dallas by Sixth Floor Museum to mark 60 years since JFK's assassination". FOX 4. Retrieved 2023-11-22.

Further reading

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32°46′47″N 96°48′30″W / 32.77972°N 96.80833°W / 32.77972; -96.80833

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