Image of the Texas School Book Depository building
Object number1999.034.0013
DateApril 1964
ClassificationsPhotographs
ObjectSlide
Credit LineRobert Russell Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumFilm
Dimensions2 x 2 in. (5.1 x 5.1 cm)
DescriptionOriginal 35mm color slide on Kodak Kodachrome Transparency Film taken by an unknown photographer. For months following the assassination, people would gather in Dealey Plaza to photograph the location and the building from which John F. Kennedy was allegedly shot. Image shows The Texas School Book Depository building with the Hertz sign visible on the roof.
Curatorial CommentaryThe Hertz Rent-a-Car billboard seen here was installed atop what would later be the Texas School Book Depository building in December 1959. At the time, the state-of-the-art sign was one of only three Hertz billboards in the United States that had an electronic time and temperature apparatus. After Dallas County purchased the warehouse in 1977, county engineers determined that the large, heavy sign was damaging the building's structural integrity. It was removed in May 1979, though the metal faceplate - separated into more than 120 pieces - was saved and is now part of the Museum's Collection. - Stephen Fagin, Curator
