blog@cliffdweller

So more fun with the trip to Dallas:

Yesterday, worldwide pablo and I went to "The Sixth Floor Museum". Yes, that sixth floor.

Oh wait, you're not as familiar with Dallas? I better explain why it's called "The Sixth Floor Museum". I think it's a tasteful name for a place that could have had a name like "JFK Assassination Museum".

You see, Lee Harvey Oswald chose a window in the corner on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository to point his rifle at JFK's head. Just as the motorcade turned the corner from Houston Street onto Elm Street, he fired the gun three times in rapid succession and killed the President of the United States.

That is, if you believe the Warren Commission, Single Gun Theory, and all that.

The museum is very tastefully done. It is presented with lots of photos and newspaper clippings and videos and it's easy to take an hour or two just to meander through it all. The have displays with cameras next to photos ("this photo was taken by so and so with a Poloroid A 800 Camera similar to the one below…" etc.) They even have a Bell & Howell movie camera with a similar serial number to show the camera used for the famous Zapruder Film.

The one thing that never seemed to be explained were the two white X's painted on Elm Street. The trees were trimmed back so you could see them from "the window" and they appear to line up with the Zapruder Film pretty well. The only thing that we could guess was these were the two places where JFK was actually struck in the head by the bullets. Somehow, saying that out loud at the museum seemed like blasphemy, so they just quietly mark the spots and let everyone draw their own conclusions.

Well done. I recommend going if you are ever in Dallas for a day or two. It only costs $10 to get in.