/internal/media/dispatcher/45618/fullImage of a man preparing the Hotel Texas "Welcome Mr. President" marquee11/21/19632 3/16 × 2 3/16 in. (5.6 × 5.6 cm)FilmThe Dallas Morning News Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
Donated by The Dallas Morning News in the interest of preserving history2014.080.0176.00010One original 120 film black and white negative taken by a staff photographer from The Dallas Morning News. The image shows man standing on a ladder, changing out the marquee sign above the Hotel Texas entrance in Fort Worth, Texas on Thursday, November 21, 1963. The sign reads, "WELCOME MR. PRESIDENT."
This negative is on Kodak Safety Film. This image is labeled "5 D" on the film.
The metadata provided by The Dallas Morning News for the digital version of these images includes this description: "TDMN JFK negatives collection / November 21, 1963 - preparations for John F. Kennedy's visit to the Hotel Texas in Fort Worth / photographer is not known."
This item was originally stored in the "The Dallas Morning News JFK Assassination Negatives and Contact Sheets Vol. 1" binder (2014.080.0001). This item was in the section of the binder labeled "JFK in S.A. & Ft. Wort [sic]."
The page has a typed adhesive label at the top center of the page. The label reads: "JFK 25."
The table of contents (2014.080.0002) listing for JFK 25 describes it as: "JFK 25: Preparations for JFK's visit to Hotel Texas in Fort Worth, 11-21-1963 (ten, 120-size negs.)"Photographs652845.55626111255.556261112544853Negative (b&w)0E-10Original 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.PhotographsPhotographerTrip to TexasFort WorthKennedy, John F.The Dallas Morning NewsHotel TexasFort Worth Chamber of CommerceFort WorthObject featured in special exhibition, Two Days in Texas, November 8, 2023 through September 28, 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