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Image of flowers and crowd of mourners in Dealey Plaza
Image of flowers and crowd of mourners in Dealey Plaza

Image of flowers and crowd of mourners in Dealey Plaza

Object number2001.064.0033
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 floral tributes and a crowd of mourners in Dealey Plaza after the assassination of President Kennedy on November 23, 1963. The photograph was shot looking east towards the back of the south peristyle and the intersection of Houston Street and Main Street. The Old Red Courthouse is visible in the upper right corner of the image.
Curatorial Commentary
Dealey 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