John L's Tour of Dealey Plaza,
Downtown Dallas – August 10, 1997

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Having visited Dallas in the spring of 1991 and spent some time in Dealey Plaza, the site of the assassination of John F. Kennedy in the fall of 1963, I knew I had to return some day and do it again. So why not do it when Bread's playing in the area?

A return to Dealey Plaza was necessary since the photo shop lost a number of my 1991 photos, including all shots of an interesting angle (line-of-site? trajectory?) that I hadn't read anything about but noticed when I was there. I was thinking that maybe having my photos turn up missing proved a conspiracy. (Ha ha.) But actually, that "angle" probably doesn't mean anything significant, and I'm sure it must have been noticed many times by others. But should you ever visit the place and stand behind the picket fence at the grassy knoll, you cannot miss seeing that 6th floor corner window. (Also notice how small the whole area really is!) Check out photos G and H below. One could conjure up a scenario that would have an astute agent behind the fence firing back after the first shot, taking out the shooter and a chunk of the building besides.

Reasonable and unreasonable scenarios have abounded since the conclusion by the Warren Commission that all the damage done to persons and things was caused by just three bullets. I had the pleasure of meeting a major opponent of the commission's judgement, author and photo-analyst Robert J. Groden ("The Killing of a President," "The Search for Lee Harvey Oswald") whose informal presentation near the grassy knoll was well-attended all afternoon.

Following are a few photos of my own taken on a relatively cool day in Dallas (getting up to only 90 today, the weatherman had said):

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A and B: Kind of a pastel/watercolor day in the big D. Here are views from the railroad overpass, looking northeast toward the former Texas School Book Depository building – which is at left in Photo 8 where Elm (left) and Main Streets are also seen.

C: Looking toward the overpass. The streets which form the "triple underpass" are Elm (foreground), Main (at left), and Commerce (further left, not in photo). The pointing finger (added to the photo) shows the approximate location where a bullet hit the south curb of Main and fragmented, with bits of metal and/or concrete hitting a bystander.

D: A spot on the curb (looking east and a little north) pointed out to me where the bullet hit. Now I'm reading that the original spot was paved over soon after the shooting, and subsequently that portion of the curbing was removed. So, on to other things...

E: Looking southeast over Elm Street (with the grassy knoll off-camera well to the right), this is the pedestal upon which Abraham Zapruder shot his famous footage of the assassination.

F: The picket fence which meanders from the railroad overpass (right) and then through the crest of the grassy knoll (about center of photo). The Depository building is at left.

G: View from behind the picket fence at the grassy knoll, looking toward the window of the "sniper's nest" on the 6th floor of the Depository.

H: The same view shot with telefoto lens.

I: Plaque on the Depository. The word "allegedly" was not on the original plaque.

J: View along Houston street, looking north.

K: Telefoto view of the 6th floor window. The entire floor is the Sixth Floor Museum which is filled with exhibits depicting the life and death of President Kennedy.

L: With photos I took in May, 1991 while standing atop Zapruder's pedestal, here is a panoramic collage showing Elm Street. The 6th floor window is at upper left, and the base of the grassy knoll is at lower right. At 347K, this photo may take a while to download.

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