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Image of the entrance to the Texas School Book Depository building
Image of the entrance to the Texas School Book Depository building

Image of the entrance to the Texas School Book Depository building

Object number2018.006.0027
Date11/24/1963
ClassificationsPhotographs
Photographer Rudy Clauss
Photographer Vera Clauss
ObjectSlide
Credit LineRudy and Vera Clauss Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumCardboard, Film
Dimensions2 × 2 in. (5.1 × 5.1 cm)
DescriptionOriginal 35mm color slide of the entrance to the Texas School Book Depository building in Dallas, Texas. The image was taken by amateur photographers Rudy and Vera Clauss on Sunday, November 24, 1963, two days after the assassination of President Kennedy. The image shows several bystanders, many of whom are young children, outside the front entrance to the Texas School Book Depository building.
Curatorial Commentary

This image from Sunday, November 24, 1963 was taken before a printed sign was placed on the main entrance of the Texas School Book Depository to prevent sightseers from trying to enter the building. Due to persistent tourist interest, Depository management placed a sign on the door within days of the assassination that read" "No Admittance Except on Official Business." The sign remained in place through at least 1964, and one longtime Depository employee recalled that the front doors were kept locked for a few years after the assassination.

The enameled metal "Texas School Book Depository" sign above the main entrance to the building is in the Museum's Collection (1987.001.0001) and was displayed on the Museum's seventh floor from 2012 to 2014. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator