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Photograph of jail cells in the Dallas Criminal Courts Building in 1997
Photograph of jail cells in the Dallas Criminal Courts Building in 1997

Photograph of jail cells in the Dallas Criminal Courts Building in 1997

Object number1997.043.0010
Date03/19/1997
ClassificationsPhotographs
Creator C. Judson Shook
ObjectPhotograph (color)
Credit LineLloyd Henderson Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumPaper
Dimensions4 3/4 × 6 in. (12.1 × 15.2 cm)
Collections
DescriptionOriginal color photograph of jail cells in the Dallas Criminal Courts Building in 1997. The picture was taken by C. Judson Shook during a tour of the jail. Shook was a former Director of Public Works for Dallas County and was instrumental in the preservation of the former Texas School Book Depository building. On the left side of the image is a locked steel box containing levers for opening and closing all cell doors simultaneously; there were about ten cells in a row. The Criminal Courts Building is located on the northeast corner of Main and Houston streets, across from Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas. Jack Ruby, tried and found guilty of the murder of accused assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, spent his years in jail in this building.