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Image of man taking photograph of flowers in Dealey Plaza
Image of man taking photograph of flowers in Dealey Plaza

Image of man taking photograph of flowers in Dealey Plaza

Object number1996.014.0040
DateNovember 1966
ClassificationsPhotographs
Photographer George Reid
ObjectSlide
Credit LineGeorge Reid Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumFilm
Dimensions2 x 2 in. (5.1 x 5.1 cm)
DescriptionOriginal 35mm color slide taken by amateur photographer George Reid. Immediately after the assassination and in the following days, weeks and even years, people left flowers and mementos in Dealey Plaza in honor of President Kennedy. This picture was taken in November 1966, three years after the assassination, and shows an unidentifed man taking a photograph of the flowers and wreaths placed in Dealey Plaza in front of the historical markers.
Curatorial Commentary
George Reid was a longtime John F. Kennedy supporter who campaigned for him in Texas. He also filmed home-movie footage of President Kennedy at Love Field in Dallas, and in Dealey Plaza on several occasions in the 1960s. - Stephanie Allen-Givens, Collections and Exhibits Manager
In the summer of 1965, Richardson, Texas, resident Martina Langley launched an effort, almost singlehandedly, to convince the City of Dallas to finally recognize the Kennedy assassination at the site of the tragedy. Langley organized the Committee for Kennedy Assassination Site Memorial and visited the plaza hundreds of times, speaking to tourists and passing out leaflets. Her efforts led the Dallas Park Board to propose this multi-paneled bronze marker mounted on marble supports, although the wording of the marker was the subject of some controversy. Originally, the Dallas Park Board only briefly acknowledged the assassination beneath eight detailed paragraphs about the city's early history. Langley successfully pressured the Dallas city council to remove the extraneous Dallas historical information in March 1966. A specific reference to Lee Harvey Oswald was deleted during final review of the text. The marker was installed in November 1966 without an official dedication ceremony. Instead, Langley herself, along with her two children, led an informal ceremony and placed a large floral wreath at the site with the message: "Lest We Forget." -- Stephen Fagin, Curator