The 6th Floor Museum in Dallas, Texas is a comprehensive look at the assassination of the U.S. President John F Kennedy. It is housed in the very building where Lee Harvey Oswald fired his rifle. When you’re in Dallas, it’s a must see place to visit to learn about this dark period in our history.
6th Floor Museum
While President Kennedy was assassinated before my birth a few years, I still grew up learning about his presidency and assassination both in school and in my own home. My father actually met JFK the day before he died at Brooks Air Force Base School of Aerospace Medicine. My dad was in one of the first classes there.
Now, I’m married to a man who is really into the conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination. Given all of this, you would think that I wouldn’t have learned anything at the museum. You would be wrong. I actually learned quite a bit and it was interesting.
Photos
When you arrive at the museum, you will ride an elevator up to the actually museum, which is full of photos of not only November 22, 1963, but also the rest of JFK’s life. The phones above are actually photo mosaics made from photos of President and Mrs. Kennedy.
Many, many people loved President Kennedy, which is expected since he won the Presidency. A lot of people did not like him though. I don’t think that ever changes. Every president since I can remember is both loved and hated.
This is President Kennedy’s coffin sitting in State in the Capital building. Leaders from around the world came to the United States to pay their respects to President Kennedy and the United States.
Models
The assassination occurred on Elm Street, as the President’s motorcade was passing the Texas Schoolbook Depository, which is now the 6th Floor Museum building. You can see a couple models inside the museum that correspond with the actual locations outside. This is the model of the Grassy Knoll.
Below is the actual Grassy Knoll. Abraham Zapruder was filming the procession, standing on the white wall on the very left of this photo. His is the most complete record of the assassination. You can watch that film in the museum.
Below is a model of Elm Street. You can see the string from the Depository on the left to the President’s car. There were two shots that hit JFK, with one going into Governor Connally.
There are two ‘X’s’ on the road showing where on the street that JKF was shot. This one marks the second shot that hit him. At this point there was a lot of panic and the motorcade sped off to the hospital.
Artifacts
In addition to the photos and models in the museum, there are also artifacts from the time period. This first one is a camera like the one Abraham Zapruder used to capture his footage.
When Lee Harvey Oswald was setting up to shoot Kennedy, he stacked boxes like these around him to hide his intent. Then he set up to take his three shots. Below is the type of rifle used, while probably not the exact rifle.
I’m really glad that we were able to visit the 6th Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. It was quite interesting, especially given all I have learned over the years. A few of tips for your visit. First, schedule your trip and buy your tickets online. Second, try to get in the first tour of the day. The line will fill up really quickly and you don’t want to waste your time standing in line. Third, there is a lot of reading, so be sure to get everyone a headset and tablet to help lessen it, especially with young children.
Wow! You have such a close connection with JFK! How does your dad feel about the encounter? I bet he could never forget.
The JFK museum curtly seems fascinating with collection of such importance artifacts from history.
This would be such an amazing museum to see. The American political history is fascinating, but the killing of JFK is known around the world. We even learned about it in Canada in our history class. If I go to Texas, I definitely will visit the 6th Floor Museum. Its really amazing that your dad was privileged enough to meet him.
Fascinating is a good word for US politics. I liked it a lot more before 24 hour news. I hope you will go to the museum if you’re in Dallas.
He has actually met three presidents, which I found out when we were talking about JFK. He said JFK was very nice and he’s glad he was able to meet him. The museum was very interesting.
I have never been to this museum, so it was nice to get a quick glimpse into it. I’ll have to add it on my bucket list now. Thanks for sharing!
Great! It was interesting and we learned a lot there.
Wow, this is really neat! I’ve been to Dallas but never heard of this museum. I’ll have to check it out if I ever get back there, this look right up my alley!
Yes, you should go if you get back. You can learn a lot here. It was really interesting.
This is an interesting museum. I have never heard of this museum before. I suppose JFK was one of the most popular US presidents of the 20th century. His assassination led to so many conspiracy theories.
It’s so true. I think he might be more popular in death than he was in life. So many conspiracy theories.
How timely that your Dad met JFK the day before his assassination, what a family story! This looks like a must visit in Dallas, I’d definitely be keen to check out 6th Floor Museum. What’s your favourite out of your husbands JFK conspiracy theories?
Yes, it was very timely. JFK’s era was an interesting time period. We watched a conspiracy theory recently that said the second shot actually came from one of the secret service agents on accident. Not sure how reliable it is though.
This is the first time I am reading about this museum. The JFK Museum is really fascinating with all that history and collection of such important artifacts. Your dad knew him from so close. Wow. I would surely love to visit this place someday.
It was timing that my dad could meet JFK and the museum was very interesting to us. I hope you can visit someday.