/internal/media/dispatcher/72381/fullTom Russell Oral History03/16/200433 MinutesHi-8 videotapeOral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza2004.001.00130Videotaped oral history interview with Tom Russell. A Dallas real estate developer in 1963, Russell attended the Trade Mart luncheon and put a memorial cross for President Kennedy in Dealey Plaza after the assassination. He recalls the entire city being a hotbed of radical conservative activity.Oral Histories6423826030Oral historyVideotaped oral history interview with Tom Russell. A Dallas real estate developer in 1963, Russell attended the Trade Mart luncheon and put a memorial cross for President Kennedy in Dealey Plaza after the assassination. He recalls the entire city being a hotbed of radical conservative activity.
Interview conducted at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza on March 16, 2004 by Stephen Fagin. The interview is thirty-three minutes long.Dealey PlazaConservativesTrade Mart luncheonMemorialsOral historiesRussell, TomDallasDallas Trade Mart (OHC)Dallas and 1960s History and Culture (OHC)At the time of this oral history, Mr. Russell donated photographs of the recognizable memorial cross he placed in Dealey Plaza in memory of President Kennedy.
Ironically, despite being perhaps the most ornate display in the plaza in the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination, Mr. Russell was forced to quickly remove his controversial tribute. Because Russell prominently listed the name of his development corporation on the display, the City of Dallas Parks Department considered it to be an advertisement. Russell was informed that it must be removed from the plaza or it would be confiscated and destroyed. In defiance, he kept the memorial tribute displayed in front of his home for more than one year after the assassination. - Stephen Fagin, CuratorTom Russell passed away August 28, 2014. - Riley Harris, Collections Cataloger