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Kent Barker Collection / The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

JFK ENTERS THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE

Senator Kennedy announces his candidacy for President of the United States.

Listen to an excerpt from the oral history interview with Jacques Lowe, the Kennedys' personal photographer for many years, by clicking "Find out more."

Image: Kennedy's presidential campaign button features his face on a background of red, white and blue stripes.

• John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza
• Dealey Plaza Interactive Guide
• Interactive Motorcade Map
• Dealey Plaza Live Cam

The Texas School Book Depository building and Dealey Plaza

The seven-story building commonly known as Texas School Book Depository building, was originally built in 1901 on the foundation of an 1898 five-story structure which had burned down after being struck by lightning. Between 1901 and 1963 the building served first as a warehouse for plows and other agricultural equipment and then housed a grocery wholesaler. In 1963 the building was leased to the Texas School Book Depository Company and served as a distribution hub for school textbooks with regional offices for education publishers.

After the assassination, the building remained leased to the company until 1970. Then, after much community discussion, Dallas County acquired the building and undertook a major restoration project. Finished in 1981, the exterior of the building was restored to its 1901 appearance and the first five floors were used for administrative and government functions. During this time, the top two floors, including the infamous sixth floor, remained empty.

After a decade of development and community soul-searching, on Presidents Day (February 20, 1989), The Sixth Floor Exhibit opened as a response to the many visitors who come to Dealey Plaza to learn more about the assassination.

Read more about this history of the building and Dealey Plaza at dealeyplaza.jfk.org .

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The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

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First Timer's Guide to the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

Understanding the enduring legacy of JFK.

On November 22, 1963, the world was shocked when news agencies around the world began reporting about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Since that fateful day, JFK and Dallas have been forever linked, as truth and conspiracy weave together in one of the most compelling mysteries in history.

To set the facts apart from fantasy, as well as understand JFK's enduring legacy, the sixth floor of the infamous Texas School Book Depository was transformed into the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in 1989.

The museum boasts one-of-a-kind multimedia displays and timeless artifacts, films and photographs that explore the life, assassination and legacy of JFK in history and culture.

Featured Exhibits

A time for greatness: the 1960 kennedy campaign..

With the first televised presidential debates, the 1960 presidential campaign between Kennedy and Richard Nixon was one of the most tightly contested elections in American history. This exhibit displays campaign promotional items, including postcards, pins and posters.

Civil Rights

With a wide variety of materials related to the civil rights struggle both nationally and locally, this exhibit explores JFK's impact on equality and the men who continued the fight in the years after his assassination.

Cold War, Communism and Cuban Missile Crisis

The tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union almost resulted in nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis. From the threat of Communism to the creation of fallout shelters, see the impact of the Cold War on Kennedy and America.

Lee Harvey Oswald

One of the most infamous men in American history, Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested and charged with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Unfortunately, he was murdered by Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby just two days after JFK's death. Learn more about the man who allegedly assassinated the 35th American president.

Parkland Memorial Hospital

After President Kennedy was shot, he was rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital. See the original administrative reports, doctor summaries and correspondence files related to the unsuccessful attempt to save him.

Mourning a President

Just three days after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the world united in sorrow as the fallen president was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery. The funeral and mourning rites left impressions on those who attended or watched on television which still exist today.

Just outside the museum, the lingering effect of that terrible day can still be seen and felt.

• On Elm Street, a white "X" on the street permanently marks the spot where JFK was fatally shot.
• The Grassy Knoll, the small sloping hill next to the museum, is the site where many conspiracy theorists believe a second gunman fired on the president.
• Dealey Plaza, the birthplace of Dallas, is where the motorcade passed through as JFK was shot and where modern conspiracy theorists still gather to tell stories and speculate on who really killed JFK.
• The John Fitzgerald Kennedy Memorial, located just past the Old Red Museum of Dallas County History & Culture, is a somber reminder of what was lost on that tragic November day.

The Sixth Floor Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $18 for adults (19-64), $16 for seniors (65+), $14 for children (6-18). Children age 5 and under are admitted free. The museum currently follows timed entries and encourages you to plan for your self-guided tour to take approximately 90 minutes.

Purchase Tickets

Additionally, the Sixth Floor Museum is part of the Dallas CityPASS. For more information on this program, click here.

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Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

The Sixth Floor Museum chronicles the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, through exhibits and programming presented within the former Texas School Book Depository building. The main exhibit, JFK and the Memory of a Nation, is on the 6th floor. Temporary exhibits and public programs are presented on the 7th floor. While visiting, stop by the Museum Stores + Café.

• The Sixth Floor Exhibit

Cost of Admission

Exhibits on the seventh floor, around dealey plaza, jfk conspiracy theories, final thoughts.

After you purchase your tickets there is an elevator that takes you up to the sixth floor and drops you off at the start of the exhibit. From there you twist and turn through a maze of information that covers everything from JFK’s life before being elected, his presidency, his death, the investigation and even some of the conspiracy theories.

There is a personal audio tour that is part of the admission fee. I call it a personal audio tour because it is a little remote that you wear around your neck which has a set of headphones plugged into it. As you move along through the exhibit each section is numbered, so once you’ve completed a section you can move on to the next or replay a previous section. The audio is helpful because it will explain the significance of so many of the different films, photographs and artifacts.

In the southeast corner of the sixth floor there is a section closed off with plexiglass walls. Inside this section is where they found the shell casings which they believe were used to kill President Kennedy. Inside the plexiglass walls they have kept all of the original flooring, walls and windows and set it up to look just as it did the day President Kennedy was killed.

The Sixth Floor Museum is located on the sixth and seventh floors of an early 20th-century warehouse at Dealey Plaza in 1963, which is one of Dallas’ best museums and most popular attractions. Since its opening day on Presidents Day 1989, the Museum has welcomed more than 6 million tourists from around the world. People of all ages come here to seek information and understand about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and much interesting information that they want.

The Museum at Dealey Plaza records the assassination and heritage of President John F. Kennedy; understands and supports the Dealey Plaza National Historical milestone District and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza, and presents modern culture within the perspective of presidential past. So if you want to know more about the life, death, and legacy of President John F. Kennedy then this is the place for you. With the help of artifacts, photographs, documentary movies, main evidentiary areas, eyewitness accounts and interactive educational programs offered on both the sixth and seventh floors all assist in providing an insight into the life & death of President John F. Kennedy. Get to discover the history through one of the world’s most important repositories of original photographs, film and tape footage, documents and artifacts all connected to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy—a repeatedly growing, versatile collection of approximately 35,000 stuff all depicting the past history.

When we visited the museum the cost was $16 per person, and as I mentioned before that includes the free audio tour. Of course, prices always change, so I would check the site if you plan to visit the museum . They also mention that you should consider purchasing tickets online because the museum can get crowded on weekends and holidays. I definitely agree with this because during our visit the line started outside the door and then wrapped around a couple times once we got inside. I’m pretty sure they can only allow a certain number of people into the exhibit for safety reasons, so that definitely slows down the line.

When we were visiting, there wasn’t really much to see on the seventh floor. One thing that you can do on the seventh floor that you can’t do on the sixth floor is take pictures. Even though there wasn’t a lot to take pictures of, it gave us the ability to look out the window in the southeast corner, just one floor above where the shots were fired. The photo below is taken looking out the window from the seventh floor. If you look in the middle of the street below you can see the white “X” which marks the spot where President Kennedy was fatally shot.

• Address: 411 Elm at Houston St., Dallas TX, 75202
• Website: Visit Website
• Phone: 214-747-6660
• Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 10 am – 6 pm; Monday 12 pm – 6 pm.
• Admission charged.

One of the great things about the museum is that it is set in the exact spot where everything happened. So once you take the time to see the photos and videos and experience everything there is within the museum, then you can walk right outside and stand in the exact spot where everything happened.

You can stand on the side of the road just as spectators did over 50 years ago and see the white “X” that is now painted in the middle of the road (which I mentioned previously). For us it was all so crazy to stand there and try to understand how something like this could ever happen especially with all of the security.

We ended up walking around Dealey Plaza and even took some pictures of the famous “Grassy Knoll” where many witnesses claim the fatal shot came from. In some videos you can see people running up the grassy knoll to see where and who the gun shots possibly came from.

I’m not really going to cover any of the conspiracy theories, but if you’re interested, go to Google and type in “JFK Conspiracy Theories” and you’ll get more information than you could possibly read or watch. Lynn and I have actually done this quite a few times and even spent a couple months watching movies that we rented through Netflix or found on YouTube.

If you do this, you’ll learn that there are numerous theories out there that include hired hit men from abroad, CIA cover ups, and a far right southern group that plotted to kill JFK. Another theory even believes that Lyndon Johnson (Vice President) knew of the assassination attempt and may have been part of it.

The interesting thing for me is that I never really thought about it before I visited The Sixth Floor Museum. To me it was all fact… Lee Harvey Oswald shot the President and Jack Ruby shot Oswald. That is what I was taught in school so I never thought of it any other way. The museum actually tells it this was as well, and for the most part you’ll believe this same story after walking through the Sixth Floor Exhibit. The museum makes you believe that the report put together by the Warren Commission cleared any doubt as to whether or not Oswald was the only shooter involved in JFK’s assassination. According to the report, Oswald was the only shooter.

I don’t know if I believe any of the conspiracy theories that are out there, but I do believe there are numerous things missing from the investigation. There are a lot of other people that have spent their entire lives researching the JFK assassination, so I’ll let them handle the conspiracy theories. One of them, Robert Groden, still sits in Dealey Plaza nearly every weekend and sells books, DVDs, and CDs based on his theories about the JFK assassination.

The Sixth Floor Museum was so much more interesting than I ever thought it would be. Not only that, it added hours of interesting research and entertainment to our lives well after we visited the museum. I still don’t think that Lynn and I are done researching the topic. It’s something that we both find very interesting and almost can’t believe that it’s still a hot topic among certain groups of people… even 50 years later!

I definitely recommend visiting The Sixth Floor Museum, especially if you’re in the Dallas area. The museum was definitely one of the highlights of our trip to Dallas. If you plan to visit the museum, I would also recommend taking a little extra time to walk around Dealey Plaza and explore the area where one of the most talked about events in United States history took place.

The Sixth Floor Museum and Dealey Plaza

Price & Hours

• Facilities 4.0
• Atmosphere 4.5

On Nov. 22, 1963, shots from Lee Harvey Oswald's gun echoed through Dealey Plaza as President John F. Kennedy's motorcade turned off of Houston Street onto Elm. Today, this scenic green space in downtown Dallas is visited every year by thousands who gather to honor the 35th president.

This tragic day in United States history has been immortalized on the sixth floor of the former Texas School Book Depository, where Oswald pulled the trigger 60 years ago. The Sixth Floor Museum (which actually occupies the sixth and seventh floors of the building) houses exhibits detailing JFK's life, presidency and assassination, as well as the history of the 1960s.

According to many recent visitors, one of the most fascinating exhibits is a recreation of Oswald's set-up at the southeast window, accompanied by touch screens that detail the events of that day. (If you're interested in seeing Dealey Plaza and Elm Street the way Oswald saw it that day, you can watch the live Dealey Plaza Cam, a streaming webcam set up at the very window through which Oswald tracked the presidential motorcade.) Reviewers say this is a must-visit when in Dallas, but also bemoan high ticket prices and caution that the museum can get quite crowded.

To reach the museum, you can hop on any one of the DART lines to West End station, which connects to all DART lines. The museum sits three blocks west of the station. You are free to visit and explore Dealey Plaza at any time; there is no admission fee. You can visit the museum Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum recommends setting aside at least 90 minutes to tour the exhibits. Admission to the museum costs $18 for adults, $16 for seniors ages 65 and older, and $14 for youths ages 6 to 18; kids 5 and younger enter for free. Advance timed ticket purchase is highly recommended. In addition to restrooms, there is a museum shop on-site. You can combine a visit here with several of the city's other top attractions by signing up for one of the best Dallas tours . To learn more about the museum and Dealey Plaza, visit the official  website .

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The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

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When President John F. Kennedy was shot in Dallas in November 1963, the world was introduced to the Texas School Book Depository building, which became the primary crime scene for the assassination. It was from a sixth-floor window in this brick warehouse that the shots are said to have rung out toward the Grassy Knoll and the motorcade along Dealey Plaza—and it’s that same floor that now houses this excellent museum dedicated to the event and its aftermath. The engaging permanent exhibits focus on everything from the political climate of the era and the actual assassination to the immediate chaos, the investigations, and even the conspiracy theories; you’ll also have the chance to watch and analyze the Zapruder film, and stand at the famous window itself. Rotating temporary installations may showcase topics like artwork inspired by the event, while a library and reading room offer opportunities for a deeper dive.

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Explore the sixth floor.

The former Texas School Book Depository is the site from which Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated president Kennedy on November 22, 1963. The Sixth Floor Museum now houses a permanent exhibition dedicated to the events surrounding JFK’s death, and is much more engrossing and thought provoking than I thought it would be. Many of the photographs and films on display are particularly gripping.

Dallas' Most Famous Historical Landmark

The famed and former Texas School Book Depository is a must-visit at least once for any visitor to Dallas. The permanent exhibit creates a portrait of the mood of the country during JFK’s presidency up until the time of his assassination. The walk-through culminates in an up-close view of the corner where Lee Harvey Oswald made his perch. Not to be missed.

Remembering Kennedy

Even if you weren’t alive when JFK was assassinated on November 22, 1963, the shots that rang out in Dallas’ Dealey Plaza that day have echoed down generations. Today, the entire Dealey Plaza District is registered as a National Historic Landmark. Next to the Grassy Knoll, the infamous location of the assassination, is the former Texas School Book Depository, now called The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. The building’s sixth floor is where shots were said to have rung out on that fateful day, and evidence of Lee Harvey Osward’s ammunition were also found here. What you’ll find on the sixth floor today is a state-of-the-art-interpretive center detailing the fateful events that ended the life of the 36th President of the United States. Stand at the windows Oswald fired from and you’ll have the unique and haunting experience of seeing the Plaza from the sniper’s point of view. But spend time with the Museum’s exhaustive materials on John F. Kennedy presidency and at the JFK Memorial nearby to remember the lasting legacy of one of our most beloved Presidents.

Sixth Floor Museum

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