View source for Dealey Plaza

{{Short description|Dallas, Texas, U.S. historic place}}
{{Distinguish|Daley Plaza}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Dealey Plaza Historic District
| nrhp_type = nhld
| image = Dealey_Plaza_2003.jpg
| caption = View from southwest, with the former Texas School Book Depository building at left, Dal-Tex Building in center, and the Dallas County Records Annex at right, 2003
| location = Roughly bounded by Pacific Ave., Market St., Jackson St. and right of way of Dallas Right of Way Management Company, [[Dallas, Texas]]
| coordinates = {{Coord|32|46|43|N|96|48|31|W|region:US-TX_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = Texas#USA
| map_label = Dealey Plaza Historic District
| locmap_relief = yes
| built = {{Start date|1890}}
| architect = Multiple
| architecture = [[Chicago school (architecture)|Chicago]], [[National Register of Historic Places architectural style categories#Early Commercial|Early Commercial]], [[Romanesque Revival architecture|Romanesque]]
| designated_nrhp_type= October 12, 1993<ref name="nhlsum">{{cite web |url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=2164&ResourceType=District |title=Dealey Plaza Historic District |access-date=June 23, 2008 |work=National Historic Landmark summary listing |publisher=National Park Service |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113170216/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=2164&ResourceType=District |archive-date=November 13, 2012}}</ref><ref name="nrhpinv2">{{Cite work|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NHLS/93001607_text |title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Dealey Plaza Historic District |date=August 1991 |format=PDF |author=Dallas County Historical Foundation |author-link=Dallas County Historical Foundation |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=June 7, 2012 |archive-date=September 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210903142215/https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NHLS/93001607_text |url-status=live }} and {{NHLS url|id=93001607|title=''Accompanying photos and maps, various dates''|photos=y}}&nbsp;{{small|(3.14&nbsp;MB)}}</ref>
| added = April 19, 1993<ref name=nris/>
| area = {{convert|15|acre}}
| refnum = 93001607<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2013a}}</ref>
}}

'''Dealey Plaza''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|iː|l|iː}} is a city park in the [[West End Historic District (Dallas)|West End Historic District]] of [[downtown Dallas]], [[Texas]]. It is sometimes called the "birthplace of Dallas". It was also the location of the [[assassination of John F. Kennedy]] in 1963.  The '''Dealey Plaza Historic District''' was named a [[National Historic Landmark]] on the 30th anniversary of the assassination, to preserve Dealey Plaza, street rights-of-way, buildings, and structures by the plaza visible from the assassination site, that have been identified as witness locations or as possible locations for the assassin.<ref name="nhlsum"/><ref name="nrhpinv2"/>

==National Historic Landmark==
The Dealey Plaza Historic District was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] (NRHP) in 1993 and designated a [[National Historic Landmark]] the same year. The former county courthouse is individually listed on the National Register and is also designated a [[Texas State Antiquities Landmark|State Antiquities Landmark]] (SAL) and a [[Recorded Texas Historic Landmark]] (RTHL). Additional properties within the district are also RTHLs. The following are [[contributing property|contributing properties]] and other significant buildings within the [[Historic districts in the United States|historic district]].:<ref name="nrhpinv2"/>{{rp|28}}

;Contributing buildings
*[[Texas School Book Depository]] (RTHL #6895,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/5113006895 |title=6895 |access-date=2018-07-31 |archive-date=2018-07-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180714111118/https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/5113006895 |url-status=live }}</ref> 1981), 411 Elm St. – Now known as the Dallas County Administration Building, this seven-story structure is where [[Lee Harvey Oswald]] fired the shot killing President Kennedy from the sixth-floor window at the building's southeastern corner at N. Houston St. The 1901 building houses the [[Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza|Sixth Floor Museum]].<ref name="nrhpinv2"/>{{rp|11–16}}
*[[Dal-Tex Building|Dal-Tex Building and Annex]], 501 Elm St. – This seven-story building sits immediately east across N. Houston St. from the Texas School Book Depository and is cater-corner from Dealey Plaza. The 1902 building has a three-story annex on the north to Pacific Ave. and was constructed in 1904.<ref name="nrhpinv2"/>{{rp|17–18}}
{{Anchor|Dallas County Records Building}}
*Dallas County Records Building (RTHL #6668,<ref>[https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/5113006668 6668]</ref> 1985), 509 Main St. – The original Records Building occupies half of the city block between Elm and Main along what was formerly Record St., now part of Founders Plaza to the east. The building features cut limestone with Gothic detailing and was completed in 1928.<ref name="nrhpinv2"/>{{rp|19}}
*Dallas County Records Building Annex, 500 Elm St. – The 1955 annex to the Records Building has its primary facade along Elm St. facing the Dal-Tex Building. The seven-story annex occupies the northwest quadrant of the block holding the original building, and it overlooks Dealey Plaza across N. Houston St. to the west. The building holds a loading dock to the south.<ref name="nrhpinv2"/>{{rp|19}}
{{Anchor|Dallas County Criminal Courts Building}}
*Dallas County Criminal Courts Building (RTHL #6667,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/5113006667 |title=6667 |access-date=2018-07-31 |archive-date=2018-07-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180714111245/https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/5113006667 |url-status=live }}</ref> 1986), 501 Main St. – The Criminal Courts Building is a [[Renaissance Revival architecture|Renaissance Revival]] edifice of eight stories constructed between 1913 and 1915. Its primary facade faces Main St., and it has a secondary facade facing N. Houston St. and Dealey Plaza. It is on the southwest quadrant of the block immediately adjacent to the original Records Building and separated from the Records Annex by the annex's loading dock.<ref name="nrhpinv2"/>{{rp|20}}
[[File:Overhead view of the former Dallas County Courthouse, fondly known locally as the "Old Red Courthouse," now a museum in downtown Dallas, Texas LCCN2014632609.tif|thumb|The Old Dallas County Courthouse]]
*[[Dallas County Courthouse (Texas)|Old Dallas County Courthouse]] (NRHP #76002019,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/76002019 |title=76002019 |access-date=2018-08-01 |archive-date=2020-08-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804091415/https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/76002019 |url-status=live }}</ref> 1976; SAL #8200000203,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/8200000203 |title=8200000203 |access-date=2018-07-31 |archive-date=2018-07-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180727145520/https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/8200000203 |url-status=live }}</ref> 1981; RTHL #6811,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://atlas.thc.texas.gov/Details/5113006811 |title=6811 |access-date=2018-07-31 |archive-date=2017-01-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170102124256/http://atlas.thc.texas.gov/Details/5113006811 |url-status=live }}</ref> 1977), 100 S. Houston St. – The [[Romanesque Revival architecture|Romanesque Revival]] courthouse building was constructed between 1890 and 1892 as the county's sixth courthouse. The building is situated on the east side of S. Houston St. directly across from Dealey Plaza on the block between Main and Commerce. Also known as the "Old Red Courthouse", it is constructed of Pecos red sandstone and Little Rock blue granite. The three-story building features two {{Convert|118|ft|m|adj=on}} columns of Texas granite at each of the four entrances with a central {{Convert|118|ft|m|adj=on}} main column. The building now houses the Old Red Museum of Dallas County History & Culture.<ref name="nrhpinv2"/>{{rp|20–22}}
*United States Post Office Terminal Annex, 207 S. Houston St. – This structure of subdued [[Art Deco]] and [[Neoclassical architecture|Classical]] styles was constructed in 1937 as a [[New Deal]] public works project. The public entrances and primary facade are along the west side of S. Houston St. between Commerce and Jackson. The rear of the building features loading bays along the railroad line as bulk mail was primarily transported by rail during the building's earlier decades. Similar loading bays for freight trucks line the building's south side. The lobby of the five-story building features two large murals by artist [[Peter Hurd]]. The building now houses federal government offices.<ref name="nrhpinv2"/>{{rp|22–23}}
*Union Terminal Company Interlocking Tower, near Pacific Ave. in railroad yard – This two-story concrete tower covered with white-painted stucco was constructed in 1916. The building is in the rail yard west of the School Book Depository, and features a hipped roof with wide overhangs. The first floor is accessed from the east and stored mechanical equipment. The second floor is reached by stairs from the south and held a central switching console and windows overlooking all sides.<ref name="nrhpinv2"/>{{rp|24–25}}

;Contributing sites
[[File:Jfk-final-shot.jpg|thumb|Street mark at the assassination site]]
*Kennedy assassination site, Elm St. between N. Houston St. and the Triple Underpass – Although it is occasionally removed, a white "X" on the Elm St. pavement usually marks the spot where President Kennedy was fatally shot.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Aasen |first1=Eric |title=It's Back: 'X' Returns To Dealey Plaza, Marking Spot Where JFK Was Shot |url=https://www.keranews.org/2013-11-27/its-back-x-returns-to-dealey-plaza-marking-spot-where-jfk-was-shot |website=KERA News |date=November 27, 2013 |access-date=30 March 2024}}</ref>
*[[Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad]] Yards, West of N. Houston St. between Elm St. and Pacific Ave. – Six railroad tracks running from north to south converge into four at the Triple Underpass. Five curved rail spurs have since been removed and replaced with parking. The yard, which extends west and north of the School Book Depository, includes the Interlocking Tower and a small office or shed.<ref name="nrhpinv2"/>{{rp|23–25}}

;Contributing structures
*Reflecting pools and colonnades, Dealey Plaza along Houston St. – Two reflecting pools extend along Houston St. within the plaza with each extending from Main St. to the edges of the plaza. Both pools are rectangular on their ends near Main and oval-shaped at their ends along the edges. Curved concrete colonnades with pylons at the ends run along the west of each reflecting pool. Concrete planters holding oak trees are placed between the pools and the colonnades. East from the planter box on the north side of Main St. is a tall, graduated obelisk. Immediately west of the obelisk is a bronze bas relief marker mounted on red granite illustrating President Kennedy's visit to Dallas.<ref name="nrhpinv2"/>{{rp|6,9}}
*Pergolas, Dealey Plaza along Elm and Commerce streets – Two concrete columnar [[pergola]]s, one north of Elm St. and the other south of Commerce St., symmetrically gate the portion of Dealey Plaza where Elm and Commerce converge toward Main St. as they approach the Triple Underpass. Both pergolas are reached by broad steps ascending the grassy inclines approaching from the streets. The Elm St. pergola, located adjacent to the Grassy Knoll, has a historical marker honoring [[John Neely Bryan]], Dallas' founder. The Commerce St. pergola has a marker describing the pioneer Cockrell family. Cedar fencing in the vicinity of both pergolas originally separated Dealey Plaza from surrounding properties, but these are best preserved at the Bryan pergola where the fencing was restored in 1988.<ref name="nrhpinv2"/>{{rp|7,8}}
*Triple Underpass, west edge of Dealey Plaza at convergence of Elm, Main, and Commerce streets – This unpainted concrete railroad overpass was constructed by the [[Works Progress Administration]] along with the other original amenities of Dealey Plaza. The Art Deco-styled facility features square balusters and square columns reminiscent of other structures within the park.<ref name="nrhpinv2"/>{{rp|6}}

;Contributing objects
*Dealey Statue, 101 S. Houston St. – The Dealey Statue, featuring the likeness of the plaza's namesake [[George Bannerman Dealey|George Dealey]], is located on the south side of the Main St. entrance to the plaza along Houston St. The bronze statue replaced an obelisk in 1949 that was originally paired with the existing obelisk across Main St. to the north. The statue was sculpted in 1948 by [[Felix de Weldon]] and is mounted atop a tall red granite plinth. Behind the statue is a red granite slab with four bronze bas relief tablets consistent in appearance to the Kennedy marker behind the north obelisk. The tablets describe Dealey's professional and community accomplishments.<ref name="nrhpinv2"/>{{rp|6–7}}
[[File:John F. Kennedy Memorial (6768392485).jpg|thumb|Kennedy Memorial]]
*[[John Fitzgerald Kennedy Memorial|Kennedy Memorial and Plaza]], 600 Main St. – The Kennedy Memorial and Plaza is located between Main St. and Commerce St. west of S. Market St. The 1969 memorial is located within the middle of a plaza on the eastern half of a double block it shares with the former county courthouse due to the previous closure of Record St. The memorial plaza sits above an underground parking structure and includes trees and benches around the memorial. The Kennedy Memorial is a [[cenotaph]] designed by architect [[Philip Johnson]] featuring a 50-by-{{Convert|50|ft|m|adj=on}} open space with {{Convert|30|ft|m|adj=on}} vertically scored concrete walls. Two narrow openings extend to the top in the middle of the north and south walls. In the center of the memorial is a square {{Convert|8|ft|m|adj=on}} black granite slab with the president's name engraved in gold.<ref name="nrhpinv2"/>{{rp|26}}

Dealey Plaza and all of the contributing buildings are part of the [[West End Historic District (Dallas)|Westend Historic District]] (NRHP #78002918,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/78002918 |title=78002918 |access-date=2018-08-02 |archive-date=2020-08-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804111100/https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/78002918 |url-status=live }}</ref> 1978; [[List of Dallas Landmarks|Dallas Landmark]] Historic District #H/2,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://dallascityhall.com/departments/sustainabledevelopment/historicpreservation/Pages/landmark_districts.aspx |title=H/2 |access-date=2018-08-02 |archive-date=2018-07-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728101344/http://dallascityhall.com/departments/sustainabledevelopment/historicpreservation/Pages/landmark_districts.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> 1975<ref name="WestEnd">{{cite web |title=West End Historic District |url=http://dallascityhall.com/departments/sustainabledevelopment/historicpreservation/Documents/West%20End%20Report.pdf |author=Staff |date=August 4, 2016 |page=3 |publisher=Department of Urban Planning, City of Dallas |access-date=August 2, 2018 |archive-date=August 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180803074506/http://dallascityhall.com/departments/sustainabledevelopment/historicpreservation/Documents/West%20End%20Report.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>) with the single exception of the U.S. Post Office Terminal Annex which is outside of the boundaries of that district. The Kennedy Memorial and Plaza is the only contributing property not in existence at the time of the assassination nor in view of its site.<ref name=Westend>{{Cite web |title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory&ndash;Nomination Form: Westend Historic District |url=https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/NR/pdfs/78002918/78002918.pdf |last1=Williams |first1=Joe |last2=Hardy |first2=Danny |last3=Moore |first3=David |date=November 14, 1978 |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |access-date=August 2, 2018 |archive-date=August 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802132043/https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/NR/pdfs/78002918/78002918.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|11–14}}

;Non-contributing buildings
*Sixth Floor Museum Visitor Center Building, N. Houston St. adjacent to Texas School Book Depository – The Visitor Center is a one-story brick building north of the School Book Depository extending along N. Houston St. toward Pacific Ave. The building, constructed in 1989, is designed to mimic the materials and architectural elements of the School Book Depository from which it is connected with a stone and glass hyphen. A free-standing brick elevator tower connects the center to the Sixth Floor Museum in the depository building. The building is out of view from the assassination site, but it does have an open porch overlooking the Grassy Knoll.<ref name="nrhpinv2"/>{{rp|17}}
*Railroad Office/Shed, near Pacific Ave. east of Interlocking Tower – This is a small one-story brick building constructed after the 1989 demolition of a predecessor that was erected at some point between 1930 and 1950 near the same location.<ref name="nrhpinv2"/>{{rp|24}} The previous structure was listed as a compatible, but not a contributing property within the Westend District.<ref name=Westend/>{{rp|12}}

==History==
[[File:Dealey Plaza (1969).jpg|thumb|Dealey Plaza in 1969. The [[Texas School Book Depository]] can be seen in the background.]]
Dealey Plaza was built on land donated by early Dallas philanthropist and businesswoman [[Sarah Horton Cockrell]]. It was the location of the first home built in Dallas, which also became the first courthouse and post office, the first store, and the first fraternal lodge. It is sometimes called the "birthplace of Dallas".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fetzer |first1=James H. |title=Murder in Dealey Plaza: What We Know that We Didn't Know Then about the Death of JFK |date=2013 |publisher=Open Court |isbn=978-0812698657 |page=30 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8xGNAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA30 |access-date=25 October 2017}}</ref>

The plaza was completed in 1940 as a [[Works Progress Administration|WPA]] project<ref>{{cite web |title=12 WPA Projects that Still Exist |work=How Stuff Works |date=16 September 2007 |publisher=Publications International, Ltd. |url=http://people.howstuffworks.com/12-wpa-projects-that-still-exist.htm |access-date=2009-03-11 |archive-date=2009-03-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302174734/http://people.howstuffworks.com/12-wpa-projects-that-still-exist.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> on the west edge of downtown Dallas, where three streets converge, [[Main Street, Dallas|Main Street]], Elm Street, and Commerce Street, to pass under a [[railroad]] bridge known locally as the "triple underpass."

The plaza is named for [[George Dealey|George Bannerman Dealey]] (1859&ndash;1946), a civic leader and early publisher of ''[[The Dallas Morning News]]'', who had campaigned for the area's revitalization. Monuments outlining the plaza honor previous prominent Dallas residents, and predate [[President John F. Kennedy]]'s visit by many years. The monument honoring President Kennedy, in the form of a [[cenotaph]], is one block away.
{{clear}}

==John F. Kennedy assassination==
[[File:Dealey Plaza.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Warren Commission diagram of plaza]]
[[File:Dealey-plaza-annotated.png|thumbnail|The path used by the motorcade. North is almost directly to the left.]]
{{Main|Assassination of John F. Kennedy}}
Dealey Plaza is bounded on the south, east, and north sides by buildings at least {{Convert|100|ft|m|0}} tall. One of those buildings is the former [[Texas School Book Depository]] building, from which, both the [[Warren Commission]] and the [[House Select Committee on Assassinations]] concluded, [[Lee Harvey Oswald]] fired a [[John F. Kennedy assassination rifle|rifle]] that killed President Kennedy. 30 minutes after the shooting, Kennedy died at [[Parkland Memorial Hospital]]. There is also a grassy knoll on the northwest side of the plaza. At the plaza's west perimeter is a triple underpass beneath a railroad bridge, under which the motorcade raced after the shots were fired.
[[File:Dealeyplazaplaque.jpg|thumb|National Historic Landmark plaque at Dealey Plaza.]]

Today, the plaza is typically visited daily by tourists. [[The Sixth Floor Museum]] now occupies the top two floors of the seven-story former Book Depository. Since 1989, more than six million people have visited the museum.

The [[National Park Service]] designated Dealey Plaza a [[National Historic Landmark District]] on November 22, 1993, the 30th anniversary of the [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|JFK assassination]], roughly encompassing the area between Pacific Avenue, Market and Jackson streets and the former railroad tracks. Therefore, nothing of significance has been torn down or rebuilt in the immediate area. A small plaque commemorating the assassination is located in the plaza.

Visitors to Dealey Plaza today will see street lights and street signs that were in use in 1963. Some have been moved to different locations and others removed entirely. Buildings immediately surrounding the plaza have not been changed since 1963, presenting a stark contrast to the ultra-modern Dallas skyline that rises behind it.

Over more than half-a-century, Elm Street has been resurfaced several times, street lane stripes have been relocated, and sidewalk lamp posts have been moved and added. Trees, bushes and hedges have grown, and some traffic sign locations have been changed, relocated or removed. On November 22, 2003, the 40th anniversary of the assassination, the city of Dallas approved construction project plans to restore Dealey Plaza to its exact appearance on November 22, 1963. The first phase of the restoration, which cost $700,000 for repair work and plumbing along Houston Streets, was completed on November 22, 2008, the 45th anniversary.

==Grassy knoll==
{{redirect|Grassy knoll||Grassy Knoll (disambiguation)}}
{{More citations needed section|date=December 2014}}
[[File:Grassy Knoll 2003.jpg|thumb|The Grassy Knoll and Bryan pergola on the north side of Elm Street]]
The '''grassy knoll''' is a small, sloping hill inside the plaza that became of interest following the [[assassination of John F. Kennedy|assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy]]. The knoll was above Kennedy and to his right (west and north).

This north grassy knoll is adjacent to the former [[Texas School Book Depository]] building along the Elm Street abutment side street to the northeast, Elm Street, and a sidewalk to the south, a parking lot to the north and east and a railroad bridge atop the triple underpass convergence of Commerce, Main and Elm streets to the west.

[[File:JFK Wooden Fence.jpg|thumb|The wooden picket fence atop the grassy knoll, and the Triple Underpass with the highway sign, which at the time of the assassination read "Fort Worth Turnpike Keep Right", as similarly seen in the [[Zapruder film]]. The knoll is where many conspiracy theorists believe another gunman stood.]]
Located near the north grassy knoll on November 22, 1963, there were several witnesses, three large traffic signposts, four sidewalk lamp posts, the [[John Neely Bryan]] north [[pergola]] concrete structure including its two enclosed shelters, a tool shed, one concrete wall {{convert|3.3|ft|m|adj=off|0}} high connected to each of the pergola shelters; ten tall, wide, low-hanging live oak trees; a {{convert|5|ft|m|adj=mid|-high|spell=in}}, wooden, cornered, stockade fenceline measured at approximately {{convert|169|ft|m}} long; six street curb sewer openings, their sewer manholes and their interconnecting large pipes; and several {{convert|2 to 6|ft|cm|5=|adj=off|round=10|6=}} tall bushes, trees and hedges.

The term "grassy knoll" was first used to describe this area by reporter [[Merriman Smith|Albert Merriman Smith]], known as Smitty, of [[United Press International|UPI]], who was riding in the press "pool car" following {{convert|150|to|200|yd|m}} behind Kennedy's car and had use of the car's radio-telephone.<ref name=NYPost05112016>{{cite news |last=Sanderson |first=Bill |url=https://nypost.com/2016/11/05/how-this-forgotten-journalist-scored-the-20th-centurys-biggest-scoop/ |title=How this forgotten journalist scored the 20th century's biggest scoop |work=[[New York Post]] |date=5 November 2016 |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=11 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311044033/https://nypost.com/2016/11/05/how-this-forgotten-journalist-scored-the-20th-centurys-biggest-scoop/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In his second dispatch from the car just 25 minutes after the shooting, he said, "Some of the Secret Service agents thought the gunfire was from an automatic weapon fired to the right rear of the president's car, probably from a grassy knoll to which police rushed." These words were then repeated on national television by [[CBS News]] anchor [[Walter Cronkite]] in his second CBS bulletin on the shooting.<ref>Pages documenting this are held by Gary Mack, Curator of [[The Sixth Floor Museum]] at Dealey Plaza. [http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/gk_name.htm The Man Who Named the Grassy Knoll] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040725234953/http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/gk_name.htm |date=2004-07-25 }} at the museum's website, page found 2012-12-07.</ref><ref name=GaryMackGrassyKnoll>{{cite web |last=Mack |first=Gary (curator) |url=https://www.jfk-assassination.net/gk_name.htm |title=The Man Who Named the Grassy Knoll |work=[[Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza]] |date= |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=11 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511015628/https://www.jfk-assassination.net/gk_name.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Mack |first=Gary (curator) |url=https://www.jfk.org/assassination-faq/ |title=Assassination FAQ: What is the grassy knoll? |work=[[Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza]] (jfk.org) |date= |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=11 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311010030/https://www.jfk.org/assassination-faq/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Mack |first=Gary (curator) |url=https://www.jfk.org/?s=grassy+knoll |title=Grassy Knoll |work=[[Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza]] (jfk.org) |date= |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=11 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311010921/https://www.jfk.org/?s=grassy+knoll |url-status=live }}</ref>

Smitty, who was the main UPI reporter covering the presidential motorcade and was seated in the front seat of the sixth car known as the White House Pool car or the ''wire car'',{{efn|The wire car was the sixth car in the procession and was 150 to 200 yards behind Kennedy's car, followed by a Secret Service car which was followed by Vice-President Johnson's car, then another Secret Service car, the last car in the presidential motorcade.<ref name=NYPost05112016/> The White House reporters vehicle was the first vehicle following the presidential motorcade.<ref name=NYPost05112016/>}} used a radiotelephone to file his report with the UPI office when shots had been fired at President Kennedy. Smith popularized the term "grassy knoll" and received the 1964 [[Pulitzer Prize]] for his reporting.<ref name=NYPost05112016/><ref name=Observer22112013>{{cite news |last=Sanderson |first=Bill |url=https://observer.com/2013/11/how-the-assassination-story-broke/ |title=Fifty Years Ago This Minute: How the Assassination Story Broke |work=[[The New York Observer|Observer]] |date=22 November 2013 |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=28 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128064948/https://observer.com/2013/11/how-the-assassination-story-broke/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=SmithPulitzer1964>{{cite news |last=Sanderson |first=Bill |url=https://www.pulitzer.org/article/merriman-smiths-account-jfks-assassination |title=Merriman Smith's account of JFK's assassination: Smith might have been the unhappiest reporter in President Kennedy's motorcade in Dallas on November 22, 1963. He had split from his wife, he was broke, and United Press International, his employer, wouldn't pay an advance for the trip because he was behind on his expense reports. |work=pulitzer.org |date= |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=8 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208125437/https://www.pulitzer.org/article/merriman-smiths-account-jfks-assassination |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Sanderson |first=Bill |title=Bulletins from Dallas: Reporting the JFK Assassination |publisher=[[Skyhorse Publishing]] |date=1 November 2016 |isbn=978-1510712645}}</ref>

After he filed his report, which took several minutes, the radiotelephone went dead before the main [[Associated Press]] reporter Jack Bell, who was seated in the back seat near Smith, could file his own report.<ref name=SmithPulitzer1964/> [[Robert MacNeil]], a White House reporter for NBC News who exited one of the two press buses immediately after the shots were fired, ran with some police officers up the grassy knoll and over the fence but found no one there.<ref name=Observer22112013/>{{efn|Bobby Hargis, a Dallas policeman who was riding a Harley-Davidson as a police escort, dismounted his motorcycle and ran up the grassy knoll where he believed shots had been fired.<ref name=GaryMackGrassyKnoll/> [[Gordon Arnold]] stated that he was on the grassy knoll filming the motorcade as the shots were being fired near him but, later, officials had confiscated his film.<ref>{{cite web |last=Reitzes |first=Dave |url=https://www.jfk-assassination.net/arnold2.htm |title=Nowhere Man: The Strange Story of Gordon Arnold. Part Two |date= |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=11 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511170949/https://www.jfk-assassination.net/arnold2.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Mack |first=Gary (curator) |url=https://www.jfk.org/oral_histories/gordon-arnold/ |title=Gordon Arnold |work=[[Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza]] (jfk.org) |date= |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=11 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311005632/https://www.jfk.org/oral_histories/gordon-arnold/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=p05DAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ga0MAAAAIBAJ&pg=4483%2C2129913 |title=Men Posing as Imposters at Assassination |work=[[United Press International|UPI]] |via=Frederick Daily Leader |date=28 August 1978 |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=11 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311053702/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=p05DAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ga0MAAAAIBAJ&pg=4483,2129913 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Mack |first=Gary (curator) |url=https://emuseum.jfk.org/objects/32554/wollensak-73-8mm-magazine-turret-camera-and-box |title=Gordon Arnold's Wollensak 73 8mm magazine turret camera and box (2006.003.0001) |work=[[Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza]] (jfk.org) |date= |access-date=10 March 2022}}</ref>}} He then entered the nearby book depository building to find a telephone with which to file his report.<ref name=Observer22112013/>

As the first shot was fired, [[Mary Moorman]], who was with her friend [[Jean Hill]] as the two watched the motorcade pass, took a [[Polaroid Corporation|Polaroid]] picture of the grassy knoll with President Kennedy in the second car in the foreground: Moorman and Hill were close, only about {{convert|10 to 15|ft|m|0}} away.<ref>{{cite news |last=Coffey |first=Laura T. |url=https://www.today.com/news/historic-jfk-grassy-knoll-jfk-photo-auction-friday-2D11599940 |title=JFK 'grassy knoll' photo fails to sell at auction |work=[[Today (American TV program)|The Today Show]] |date=15 November 2013 |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=10 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220310234154/https://www.today.com/news/historic-jfk-grassy-knoll-jfk-photo-auction-friday-2D11599940 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jfklancer.com/moorman_essay/moorman_essay_4.html |title=Interviews of Mary Moorman on 22 November 1963 |work=JFK Lancer |date=2009 |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=5 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090505040717/http://www.jfklancer.com/moorman_essay/moorman_essay_4.html |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Radel |first=Cliff |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/17/historic-kennedy-assassination-photo-to-be-auctioned-/3005335/ |title=Historic Kennedy assassination photo to be auctioned: Mary Ann Moorman Krahmer took the Polaroid photo just after President John F. Kennedy was struck by the first bullet fired by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas. |work=[[The Cincinnati Enquirer]] |via=[[USA Today]] |date=17 October 2013 |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=24 November 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131124155801/http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/17/historic-kennedy-assassination-photo-to-be-auctioned-/3005335/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=DMNHillObit10112000>{{cite news |last=Deshong |first=Rae D. |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=20001110&id=3rNRAAAAIBAJ&pg=6745,7390659 |title=Jean Hill: Eyewitness to JFK assassination |work=[[Dallas Morning News]] |via=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]] |date=10 November 2000 |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=11 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311044033/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1129&dat=20001110&id=3rNRAAAAIBAJ&pg=6745,7390659 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=ReutersHillObit09112000>{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2000/US/11/09/kennedy.hill.reut/ |title='Lady in Red' JFK assassination witness dies at 69 |agency=[[Reuters]] |via=[[CNN]] |date=9 November 2000 |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=11 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311043948/http://edition.cnn.com/2000/US/11/09/kennedy.hill.reut/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Hill |first=Jean |author-link=Jean Hill |url=https://www.jfk-assassination.net/images/jhill11-22.gif |title=Jean Hill Voluntary Statement |work=Sheriff's Department, County of Dallas, Texas |date=22 November 1963 |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=11 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511230721/https://www.jfk-assassination.net/images/jhill11-22.gif |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Mack |first=Gary (curator) |url=https://www.jfk.org/oral_histories/jean-hill/ |title=Jean Hill |work=[[Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza]] (jfk.org) |date= |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=11 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311005319/https://www.jfk.org/oral_histories/jean-hill/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=BrassArmadillo>{{cite web |last=Briddle |first=Dave |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shooter-of-grassy-knoll-photos-finally-shares-story-121344213.html |title=Shooter of Grassy Knoll Photos Finally Shares Story: Mary Moorman, JFK Assassination Photographer, to Break 48-Year Silence at Brass Armadillo® in Denver |work=[[The Brass Armadillo]] |via=prnewswire |location=[[Denver]] |date=5 May 2011 |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=11 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311015840/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shooter-of-grassy-knoll-photos-finally-shares-story-121344213.html |url-status=live }}</ref>{{efn|After the shots had been fired, Jay Skaggs photographed [[Jean Hill]] while she was on the grassy knoll near a tree.<ref>{{cite web |last=Skaggs |first=Jay |url=https://emuseum.jfk.org/objects/22057/image-of-dealey-plaza-taken-shortly-after-the-assassination;jsessionid=12375926984A9D1098A57B1BAADD4270?ctx=51a40b0d-d7d9-4a5b-8107-6c27153fa58d&idx=5 |title=Image of Dealey Plaza taken shortly after the assassination (2002.004.0006) |work=[[Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza]] (jfk.org) |date= |access-date=10 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Mack |first=Gary (curator) |url=https://www.jfk.org/oral_histories/jay-erma-skaggs/ |title=Jay & Erma Skaggs |work=[[Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza]] (jfk.org) |date= |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=11 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311035922/https://www.jfk.org/oral_histories/jay-erma-skaggs/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}} [[Abraham Zapruder]]'s [[Zapruder film|film]] contains footage of the two women near Kennedy's presidential motorcade but no footage of the grassy knoll.<ref name=DMNHillObit10112000/><ref>{{cite web |last=Mack |first=Gary (curator) |url=https://www.jfk.org/zapruder-faq/ |title=Zapruter film FAQ |work=[[Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza]] (jfk.org) |date= |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=11 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311010004/https://www.jfk.org/zapruder-faq/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The Associated Press used a copy of Moorman's Polaroid photo in its reporting of the events at Dealey Plaza during JFK's assassination.<ref name=DMNHillObit10112000/><ref name=ReutersHillObit09112000/>

Out of the 104 Dealey Plaza earwitness reports published by the Commission and elsewhere, 56 recorded testimony that they remembered hearing at least one shot fired from either the Depository or near the Houston/Elm Street intersection. Thirty-five witnesses recorded testimony of at least one shot fired from either the grassy knoll or the triple underpass. Eight stated that they heard shots being fired from elsewhere, and five testified that the shots were fired from two different directions.<ref>[http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/shots.htm Dealey Plaza Ear witnesses] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100702202638/http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/shots.htm |date=2010-07-02 }}. Two members of the Willis family who testified for the Commission reported in interviews with Nigel Turner for ''The Men Who Killed Kennedy'' that their testimony included witness reports of shots fired from the grassy knoll, but that these reports were omitted from the Commission's publication. However, it did include their reports of shots from the Depository building. They also reported that the fatal shot came from behind them.</ref>{{efn|Since the first national broadcast by a major television network of the Zapruder film on March 6, 1975, on the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] late-night television show ''Good Night America'' hosted by [[Geraldo Rivera]], most Americans believe there were at least two gunmen, not just Oswald; however, in January 2021, both [[R. James Woolsey Jr.|James Woolsey]] and [[Ion Mihai Pacepa]] wrote in their book ''Operation Dragon: Inside the Kremlin's Secret War on America'' that Oswald acted as a lone gunman.<ref>{{cite news |last=Carlson |first=Darren K. |url=https://news.gallup.com/poll/1813/most-americans-believe-oswald-conspired-others-kill-jfk.aspx |title=Most Americans Believe Oswald Conspired With Others to Kill JFK: Support for conspiracy theory increased sharply in the 1970's and has been high ever since |work=Gallup News Service |date=11 April 2001 |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=6 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706023511/http://www.gallup.com/poll/1813/most-americans-believe-oswald-conspired-others-kill-jfk.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Woolsey |first1=R. James Jr. |last2=Pacepa |first2=Ion Mihai |author1-link=R. James Woolsey Jr. |author2-link=Ion Mihai Pacepa |url= |title=Operation Dragon: Inside the Kremlin's Secret War on America |publisher=[[Encounter Books]] |date=23 February 2021 |isbn=9781641771450}}</ref> In November 2021, forensic pathologist Dr. [[Cyril Wecht]] published the book ''The JFK Assassination Dissected: An Analysis by Forensic Pathologist Cyril Wecht'' which questioned the lone gunman theory in which Oswald had acted alone.<ref>{{cite web |last=Mack |first=Gary (curator) |url=https://www.jfk.org/oral_histories/dr-cyril-wecht/ |title=Dr. Cyril Wecht |work=[[Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza]] (jfk.org) |date= |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=11 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311020801/https://www.jfk.org/oral_histories/dr-cyril-wecht/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Wecht |first1=Cyril H. |last2=Kaufmann |first2=Dawna |author1-link=Cyril Wecht |url= |title=The JFK Assassination Dissected: An Analysis by Forensic Pathologist Cyril Wecht |publisher=[[McFarland & Company|Exposit Books]] |location=[[Jefferson, North Carolina]] |date=8 November 2021 |isbn=9781476685113}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=McIntire |first=John |url=https://www.post-gazette.com/ae/books/2022/01/13/JFK-Assassination-Dissected-Cyril-Wecht-Dawna-Kaufmann-Oswald-conspiracy-review/stories/202201160006 |title=Cyril Wecht circles back to debunk the single-bullet theory |work=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]] |date=13 January 2022 |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=11 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311012959/https://www.post-gazette.com/ae/books/2022/01/13/JFK-Assassination-Dissected-Cyril-Wecht-Dawna-Kaufmann-Oswald-conspiracy-review/stories/202201160006 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Robinson |first=Heather |url=https://nypost.com/2022/02/05/jfk-assassination-expert-lone-gunman-theory-is-still-bulls-t/ |title=JFK assassination expert: Lee Harvey Oswald lone gunman theory is 'bulls–t' |work=[[New York Post]] |date=5 February 2022 |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=11 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311043948/https://nypost.com/2022/02/05/jfk-assassination-expert-lone-gunman-theory-is-still-bulls-t/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Reinherz |first=Adam |url=https://jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com/cyril-wecht-continues-to-challenge-warren-commission-in-new-book/ |title=Cyril Wecht continues to challenge Warren Commission in new book: 'The JFK Assassination Dissected: An Analysis by Forensic Pathologist Cyril Wecht' functions as report on the president's assassination and catalog of Wecht's travels. |work=[[The Times of Israel]] |date=3 January 2022 |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=11 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311013045/https://jewishchronicle.timesofisrael.com/cyril-wecht-continues-to-challenge-warren-commission-in-new-book/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="200px">
Image:View from Reunion Tower August 2015 01.jpg|Dealey Plaza (2015) as viewed from [[Reunion Tower]]. Shown are the [[Texas School Book Depository]] and the "grassy knoll" in the upper center, the seven-story [[Dal-Tex Building]], and the Dallas County Records Building.
Image:DealeyPlazaAbove.jpg|A similar view of Dealey Plaza from the mid-1990s also includes the [[Art Deco]] Terminal Annex Federal Building in the lower-right foreground, the former [[Dallas County Courthouse (Texas)|Dallas County Courthouse]] made of red [[sandstone]], and the Dallas County Criminal Courts Building adjacent to the Dallas County Records Building.
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[List of National Historic Landmarks in Texas]]
*[[National Register of Historic Places listings in Dallas County, Texas]]
*[[Assassination of John F. Kennedy in popular culture]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite book |last=Dealey |first=Jerry T. |year=2002 |title=D in the Heart of Texas |publisher=JEDI Management Group |isbn=0-9723913-0-4}} (includes history of Dealey Plaza).

==External links==
{{commons category|Dealey Plaza}}
*[https://www.earthcam.com/usa/texas/dallas/dealeyplaza/?cam=dealeyplaza live webcam], [[EarthCam]], from the southeast corner window of the sixth floor in the former [[Texas School Book Depository]]
*[http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/organ5.htm MU.edu: Dallas to Dealey: The History of Dallas and Dealey Plaza.]
*[http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/gk_name.htm MU.edu: ''The Man Who Named the Grassy Knoll''], by Gary Mack of the [http://www.jfk.org Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza].
*[https://i.imgur.com/8vSS1dp.gif Dealey Plaza: scaled map] by [https://droberdeau.blogspot.com/2009/08/1-men-of-courage-jfk-assassination_09.html Donald Roberdeau].
*[http://www.assassinationscience.com/johncostella/jfk/panorama3.jpg Assassinationscience.com], Composite panorama of Dealey Plaza, by John Costella, using Zapruder film frames, Dallas Police Department photos taken in 1963, and photos by Jack White.

{{Assassination of John F. Kennedy}}
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