Image of crowds gathered in Dealey Plaza after the assassination
Object number2001.064.0034
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)
DescriptionOriginal 35mm color slide taken by Dallas resident Dorothy Murphy showing a large crowd gathered in Dealey Plaza after the assassination of President Kennedy on November 23, 1963. The Texas School Book Depository building and the Dal-Tex building are in the background while the foreground shows Elm Street with crowds of mourners and flower tributes on either side of the street.
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
