November 22, 1963

Those of us old enough to remember will immediately recognize the date. Some of you younger people may recognize it as well. I remember the day quite well. So coming back into the Dallas, Texas, Amtrak station today was of great interest to me.

The S-shaped street coming down the center of this image is Elm Street in Dallas, Texas. This was where U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s limousine was when he was shot on November 22, 1963.

Indeed, there is an “X” painted in Elm Street to locate the position of the presidential limousine; at full resolution of the image above, the “X” can be seen just forward and to the left of the red car… (The “X” can not be seen with the “magnify” button above. The “X” can be seen with Google Earth and at http://maps.google.com
With Google Earth, search on the address, “411 Elm Street, Dallas, TX”; at maps.google, your “clue” will be a couple knots of people on the north side of Elm Street; go to Street View, and you’ll find it.)

The left-most building in the image is the former “Texas School Book Depository,” located at 411 Elm Street. History “suggests” that it was from the sixth-floor of this building that Lee Harvey Oswald shot President Kennedy. The particular window is the right-most window of the second-floor-from-the-top.

The building at 411 Elm Street is now the Dallas County Administration Building. It originally had only six floors; the seventh was added in 1901 (and probably explains why the seventh-floor windows are different from all of the lower floors).
» A history of the building — http://www.dallasarchitecture.info/schooldeposit.htm
» An excellent image of the building on 365 — http://365project.org/angeliquenordal/365/2012-04-16
» And the window itself — http://365project.org/angeliquenordal/365/2012-04-15

Tall, “pointy” building in the background? I think it’s Fountain Place, a 60-story late-modernist skyscraper in downtown Dallas’ Arts District. With a structural height of 720' (approx. 219m), it is the 5th-tallest building in Dallas, and the 15th-tallest in Texas.

A year ago (“Crescent Train #19”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2011-05-24

[Joyce Wells]

Thom - I remember exactly where I was that day! I was in high school waiting for the big football rally for the Thanksgiving Day football rivalry between my HS and our cross-town rivals. The coach came out and announced that there would be no rally or game - he said, "Our president has been shot!" - then he broke down in tears. Everyone ran out of the building trying to find out more news. I remember running to my after school job at a super market, and I passed the local newspaper office. There was a ticker tape announcement coming across in the window that said, "President Kennedy Died Today." I cried all the way to my job - such an unbelievable time! I'll never forget that day.

[Thom Mitchell]

@sparkleplenty1 I wasn't yet in high school, but in the days of the "neighborhood school," school was dismissed and I went home and was the messenger for my mom. The television came on and that was the first time I remember seeing my mom cry. Even 48+ years later, I have a couple vivid memories of that day.

[Heidi]

I wasn't born yet, but recognized the landscape immediately from your photo. Terrific shot!!

[Thom Mitchell]

@chauncygirl Thank you, very much, Heidi!
I got very, very lucky! I had shot several frames focusing on another building, thinking *it* was the infamous TSBD. But in trying to identify everything online tonight, I discovered I was wrong and am *so*, *so* glad I shot just one more frame because this was the keeper, for sure!

[Rick Schies]

Yep, remember it all too well. Was sitting in 6th grade classroom when we received word. Got home and that was all over the TV.

[Angelique]

This is an amazing shot!