Image of flowers and crowds gathered in Dealey Plaza
Object number2001.064.0031
Date11/23/1963
ClassificationsPhotographs
Photographer
Dorothy Murphy
ObjectSlide
Credit LineDorothy and Carter Murphy Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumFilm
Dimensions2 x 2 in. (5.1 x 5.1 cm)
Collections
DescriptionOriginal 35mm color slide taken by Dallas resident Dorothy Murphy showing the crowd of mourners and flowers on the grassy knoll in Dealey Plaza after the assassination of President Kennedy on November 23, 1963. Elm Street is in the foreground with a sign for the Stemmons Freeway, and the pergola and some trees are in the background.
Curatorial CommentaryDealey Plaza was transformed into a memorial shrine during the weekend of the assassination as mourners left wreaths, floral displays and notecards in memory of President Kennedy. One plaza visitor, George Reid, recalled in his Museum oral history: "People were starting to leave things and then, by Sunday morning, there was quite a bit of stuff there--quite a lot of flowers.... And people were coming down there, and people were standing there crying. People just bawling and just talking to each other, hugging each other, you know. It was an emotional scene that day." - Stephen Fagin, Curator
