About This View

You are looking into Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas from the "sniper's perch" at The Sixth Floor Museum -- the southeast corner window of the sixth floor in the former Texas School Book Depository. This is the view the assassin of President John F. Kennedy would have had on November 22, 1963 as he fired shots onto the motorcade on Elm Street. See the photograph above to locate certain landmarks:

Dealey Plaza
Houston Street
The Kennedy motorcade turned right off of Main Street onto Houston approaching the Texas School Book Depository, before turning left onto Elm Street. While Houston Street is currently one-way going south away from the building, it was a two-way street in 1963.
Window sill
The bright object at the lower edge of the view is the bottom of the window frame and exterior window sill. The webcam is placed inside one of the replica boxes in the sniper's perch window; the boxes inside the re-created perch are arranged as they appeared when investigators first arrived on November 22, 1963.
Elm Street
The curved road on the right is Elm Street, leading southwest and west out of downtown Dallas. It is also the direct route to enter Stemmons Freeway (Interstate 35), which leads to the Dallas Trade Mart where President Kennedy was to address a luncheon crowd.
Grassy Knoll
This area, now mostly hidden by trees from this angle, was referred to as "a grassy knoll" minutes after the assassination by United Press International journalist Merriman Smith. Smith, riding five cars behind President Kennedy, noticed that is where police first ran after the shooting. The knoll is topped by a five-foot high wooden stockade fence, which has been repaired or rebuilt to the same specifications several times since the Kennedy assassination.
Triple Underpass
Elm, Main and Commerce streets all travel underneath several railroad tracks serving both passengers and freight lines. Just beyond the underpass to the right is the entrance ramp to Stemmons Freeway.
Oak Cliff
Accused assassin Lee Harvey Oswald lived in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas just two miles from Dealey Plaza in this direction. He rode a city bus to and from work at the Book Depository almost every day, but on some days he rode with a co-worker to suburban Irving where his wife Marina lived with their two daughters. The morning of the assassination, Oswald arrived at work with a package estimated to be up to three feet long.
Federal Building Annex
Known as the Terminal Annex in 1963, the building was a major postal center that included post office boxes. At the time of the assassination, Lee Harvey Oswald held box 6225, which was located just 12 feet from box 5475, which was owned by his killer, club owner Jack Ruby.

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