Postcard titled "Kennedy Marker", showing the Kennedy Marker in Dealey Plaza
Object number2000.048.0119
Datecirca 1967
ClassificationsDocuments
ObjectPostcard
Credit LineJeanne Reilly Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumPaper
Dimensions6 x 9 in. (15.2 x 22.9 cm)
Collections
DescriptionLarge postcard with a color photograph of the Kennedy Marker in Dealey Plaza, titled "Kennedy Marker" in white text in the upper left corner. The bronze marker was installed in Dealey Plaza on November 22, 1966.
A large caption at the bottom reproduces the text of the marker:
“On November 22, 1963, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, thirty-fifth president of the United States, visited Dallas. A presidential parade traveled north on Houston Street to Elm Street and west on Elm Street. As the parade continued on Elm Street at 12:30 p.m. rifle shots wounded the president and Texas Governor John Connally.
Findings from the Warren Commission indicated that the rifle shots were fired from a sixth floor window near the southeast corner of the Texas School Book Depository building, Elm and Houston, a block north of this marker.
President Kennedy expired at Parkland Memorial Hospital at 1:00 p.m. The John Fitzgerald Kennedy Memorial Plaza is nearby, bounded by Main, Records, Market and Commerce Streets.”
The back of the postcard says "Kennedy Marker" with the following text:
“This marker stands near the site of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas. The scene draws thousands of visitors each year, many of whom reverently pause to leave a floral tribute to the slain President.” This is followed by a small blue map of Dealey Plaza.
"Dexter Western, Published exclusively by All-Tom Corporation, Box 3496, Arlington Texas" appears printed vertically down center with Dexter Press information and logo below.
Curatorial CommentaryIn 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
1965 - 1967
11/23/1963 - 11/25/1963
