page_title: Dealey Plaza
section_title: John F. Kennedy assassination
hierarchical_section_title: Dealey Plaza / John F. Kennedy assassination
caption_attribution_description: Dealey Plaza: National Historic Landmark
context_page_description: Dealey Plaza is a city park in the West End district of downtown Dallas, Texas. It is sometimes called the "birthplace of Dallas". It also was the location of the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy, on November 22, 1963; 30 minutes after the shooting, Kennedy died at Parkland Memorial Hospital. The Dealey Plaza Historic District was named a National Historic Landmark on November 22, 1993, the 30th anniversary of the JFK assassination, to preserve Dealey Plaza, street rights-of-way, and buildings and structures by the plaza visible from the assassination site, that have been identified as witness locations or as possible locations for assassin.
context_section_description: Dealey Plaza is bounded on the south, east, and north sides by 100+ foot (30+ m) tall buildings. 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 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.
  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 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, though 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; 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 JFK 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 spent $700,000 for repair work and plumbing along Houston Streets, was completed on November 22, 2008, the 45th anniversary of JFK assassination.
caption: National Historic Landmark plaque at Dealey Plaza.
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