Where History Changed

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You may remember last year, while in Buffalo, New York, I took a picture of the small marker in the middle of a residential neighborhood that commemorates where President William McKinley was assassinated in 1901. In contrast, the place where history was changed in 1963 by a sniper’s bullet is an amazing museum. The first time I was in Dallas was in 1967, and all you could do was look up at the building. By 1991 the Sixth Floor Museum had opened, and I didn’t pass the chance to go to it. I went back today, and it still mesmerizes (and saddens) me. What does the Sixth Floor have to offer? The better question is what doesn’t it have to offer. It covers every single angle of JFK’s assassination, and that includes the 40 billion or so conspiracy theories. (There is a display devoted to nothing BUT the theories of “who did it,” along with a quote from President Johnson: “I don’t believe Oswald acted alone, but I do accept that he pulled the trigger.”) You can wander through the entire floor where the dastardly deed was perpetrated…everywhere, that is, except the actual window. That is sealed off in plexiglass, yet decorated (minus the leftover chicken meal, the gun, and the spent shell casings) exactly as the police found it when they searched the building. There are a number of artifacts on display, including the suit Detective Jim Leavelle was wearing on November 24, 1963 as he brought Oswald into the basement (as well as the actual handcuffs they were wearing when Ruby shot Oswald), the 8mm camera that Abraham Zapruder used to film the actual assassination (side note: the “Simmons Freeway” sign that blocked the view of JFK being struck by the first shot is no longer there), and Oswald’s wedding ring. The rifle you see in the collage (upper right) is not the actual rifle used (that’s at the National Archives) but the same model. With the enlarged photos you can see a lot of detail, such as the blood-splattered dress Jackie was wearing as she boarded Air Force One to fly back to Washington with her husband’s body. I’m sure you’ve heard the story how Jackie refused to change clothes on the trip back, stating “I want them to see what they have done.” Then there’s the photo, taken from the other side of the triple underpass, where a few people had no idea of what had happened and were cheering and waving to the limousine with the fatally-wounded president inside. The Sixth Floor is simply spectacular. If you are a fan of history, of JFK, of the conspiracies, or anything, it’s definitely worth the visit. I hope it’s not 33 more years until I’m back! COLLAGE: (Top Left) An “X” in the middle of Elm Street shows where the presidential limousine was when the fatal shot struck Kennedy. (There’s also another “X” showing where the limo was situated when the first bullet hit him.) (Top Right) A Carcano 6.5mm bolt-action rifle, the same model that Oswald used to shoot President Kennedy. (Bottom Left) The “sniper’s nest” at the corner window. (Bottom Right) The exterior of the former Texas School Book Depository Building, now the home of the Sixth Floor Museum.