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Image of a man preparing the Hotel Texas "Welcome Mr. President" marquee
Image of a man preparing the Hotel Texas "Welcome Mr. President" marquee

Image of a man preparing the Hotel Texas "Welcome Mr. President" marquee

Object number2014.080.0176.0001
Date11/21/1963
ClassificationsPhotographs
Photographer Dallas Morning News Photographer
ObjectNegative (b&w)
Credit LineThe Dallas Morning News Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza Donated by The Dallas Morning News in the interest of preserving history
MediumFilm
Dimensions2 3/16 × 2 3/16 in. (5.6 × 5.6 cm)
Collections
DescriptionOriginal 120 mm black and white negative taken by an unidentified Dallas Morning News staff photographer. The image shows a man standing on a ladder, arranging the words "Welcome Mr. President" on the marquee sign above the Hotel Texas entrance in Fort Worth as part of the hotel's preparation for a visit from President John F. Kennedy.
Curatorial Commentary
Object featured in special exhibition, Two Days in Texas, November 8, 2023 through September 8, 2024.
Construction began on the historic Hotel Texas in downtown Fort Worth in 1920, with a two-story addition and ballroom completed in 1963. On the night of November 21, 1963, the Kennedys stayed in Suite 850. The hotel, renamed the Sheraton-Fort Worth in 1968, was renovated in 1970 in order to serve as the official hotel for the newly-constructed Fort Worth Convention Center. This renovation, however, did not last long. The hotel was gutted and extensively renovated once again in 1979, reopening in 1981 as the Hyatt Regency Fort Worth. The name subsequently changed to the Radisson Fort Worth in 1995 and, in 2006, to the Hilton Fort Worth (which is still its name as of 2023). The hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 3, 1979. - Stephen Fagin, Curator