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Image of a man in Dallas on the evening of the Kennedy assassination
Image of a man in Dallas on the evening of the Kennedy assassination

Image of a man in Dallas on the evening of the Kennedy assassination

Object number1989.100.0032.0002
Date11/22/1963
ClassificationsPhotographs
Photographer
ObjectNegative (b&w)
Credit LineBill Beal, photographer, Dallas Times Herald Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumFilm
Dimensions1 7/16 x 15/16 in. (3.6 x 2.4 cm)
Collections
  • Dallas Times Herald
  • "On Assignment: Dallas Times Herald 1963"
  • News Photography
  • All Online Objects
DescriptionOriginal 35mm black and white negative taken by Dallas Times Herald photographer Bill Beal. This image shows an unidentified man near the Baker Hotel on Commerce Street in downtown Dallas holding the latest edition of the Dallas Times Herald, the city's afternoon newspaper, with headlines announcing the death of President Kennedy.
Curatorial Commentary
This object is featured in the Museum's special exhibit, "On Assignment: Dallas Times Herald 1963," which opened on April 29, 2026.
Bill Beal took this and several other photographs while on a walk downtown that evening with women's news editor Vivian Castleberry.  A professional friend from Canada had asked Castleberry to write a brief story on the mood in Dallas on the evening of the assassination.  She began her story with the line, "Dallas is a ghost town tonight."  - Stephen Fagin, Curator