Image of Kennedy campaign parade in Dallas on September 13, 1960

Object number2005.018.0002

Date09/13/1960

ClassificationsPhotographs

Photographer Anita Hansen

ObjectSlide

Credit LineAnita Hansen Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

MediumFilm

Dimensions2 x 2 in. (5.1 x 5.1 cm)

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DescriptionOriginal 35mm color slide on Kodak Ektachrome Transparency Film taken by local amateur photographer Anita Hansen showing crowds lined up in downtown Dallas prior to a parade held for visiting Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy on September 13, 1960. The photographer stood on Akard Street near the northwest corner of the intersection with Jackson Street, looking north toward Commerce Street. Crowds line both sides of Akard Street as well as the balcony of the Baker Hotel and in front of the Adolphus Hotel on Commerce Street.

Curatorial Commentary

Less than two months after this photograph was taken by Anita Hansen, a significant moment in the 1960 presidential campaign took place near this location on Commerce Street in downtown Dallas. On November 4, 1960, just four days before the election between Senator John F. Kennedy and Vice President Richard Nixon, Kennedy's running mate, Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson, and his wife, Lady Bird, were accosted by a mob of right-wing demonstrators while crossing the street between the Baker Hotel and the Adolphus Hotel. Particularly in the aftermath of the Kennedy assassination in 1963, this incident was frequently cited as a powerful example of the city's volatile political atmosphere. - Stephen Fagin, Curator