Image of the Kennedy motorcade on Main Street

Stuart Leslie Reed (1906-1979) had a truly remarkable experience on November 22, 1963. Reed, employed in the Secretary of the U.S. Army's Office for thirty years, was serving as Executive Officer of the Panama Canal Zone Civilian Personnel Policy Coordinating Board at the time of the Kennedy assassination. He was visiting his daughter, F.A. Holley, in Dallas when he decided to see the Kennedy motorcade on Main Street. Reed ultimately took twenty photographs that day, first documenting the Kennedy motorcade as it passed his location on Main Street. After making his way to the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, he happened to be on Jefferson Blvd. when he photographed suspect Lee Harvey Oswald being brought out of the Texas Theatre by Dallas police officers after his dramatic arrest inside. At some point that day, Reed also captured a few photos showing the exterior of the Texas School Book Depository building. Over the years, as some of his photographs have been published and examined, they have generated research interest. They also proved to be of research interest to investigators at the time. The FBI became aware of Reed's photographs by November 26, 1963. FBI agents tracked down Reed in New Orleans as he was preparing to return to the Panama Canal Zone and obtained his written permission to examine his photos. After being developed by Dynacolor in Dallas, the images were provided to the FBI by Reed's daughter, F.A. Holley. The FBI kept ten of the images for further study and later returned them to the family. The original 35mm color slides then remained in the possession of the family until Stuart Reed's grandson, Stuart Reed III, donated the twenty images to The Sixth Floor Museum in 2023. He also recorded an oral history at that time, sharing family stories about his grandfather and his extraordinary photos from November 22, 1963. - Stephen Fagin, Curator

Object featured in special exhibition, Two Days in Texas, November 8, 2023 through September 28, 2024.