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Sixth Floor Museum At Dealey Plaza
Rating Details »
Categories: Landmarks & Historical Buildings, Tours, Museums [Edit]
411 Elm StDallas, TX 75202
(214) 747-6660
Museum Host Free Screening Nov. 18
The Sixth Floor premieres The Lost JFK Tapes: The…
Announced 1 week agoMore »
- Hours:
Mon. 12:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Tue-Sun. 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
42 reviews for Sixth Floor Museum At Dealey Plaza
John F. Kennedy descended from one of the wealthiest and most influential families in America; Lee Harvey Oswald from one of the poorest and lowliest. Their lives intersected, and ended, in Dallas.
Theodore Dreiser would have loved that shit.
Maybe the SFM can't boast shards of JFK's skull (which, admittedly, would be way cool), but to stand in the very spot (or damn near) where some inbred, half-retarded, fully insane white trash fuck squeezed off the rounds that arguably altered the course of American history (and thereby the course of world history), well, it's something that I still haven't fully processed. And that alone, my funky friends, is well worth twice the price of admission.
And don't even get me started on that conspiracy theory bullshit.
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If you are a JFK fan and want to know about the history and conspiracies of the JFK murder, this is the place for you.
First and foremost the best place to park is the 6th floor lot not the lot behind it. They charge $2.50 for parking with a ticket stub, while the other lot is $4.
The cost was $13.50 but it was quite educational. You are given headphones with an audio recording for your tour. I learned a lot about JFK and Oswald.
The biggest disappointment was the no photograph and water allowed in the 6th floor museum. It would have been nice if I could have taken a picture where Oswald shot JFK.
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I went to the Sixth Floor Museum on free museum day. I've wanted to go in the past, but I just couldn't justify spending $12 to go to a small, one-floor museum about death. Even the DMA is only $10! I'm glad I waited for the free day, because it's most definitely not worth $12.
The museum was well-organized and clean, and the people working there were nice. The audio tour is very informative. My main issue with this "museum" is that it doesn't actually contain any historical artifacts. It's just a bunch of pretty displays of text and reproduced photos, nothing you couldn't get from basic internet research. It's educational, but I don't need to pay $12 for the information there.
Maybe my standards are just too high. Maybe I'm spoiled because I just moved from Washington, D.C., where you can go see shards of Abraham Lincoln's skull and the bullet that killed him....for free. Sorry, but the Sixth Floor museum gets a solid two stars from me.
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The Sixth Floor Museum is the perfect place to take out of town visitors, especially those who have a sense of JFK's history. The audio tour provides the perfect narrative to each display, while the short movie clips show a glimpse into what was going on in the nation at the time of JFK's assassination. The displays show a great timeline of the events of that day, in addition to the mood of the country and Dallas leading up the event.
I didn't expect to spend a couple hours here, but everything was just so interesting that I had to look and read everything. The best (or most chilling) part was reaching the corner of the 6th floor where Lee Harvey Oswald pulled the trigger. While the exact spot is behind glass walls, just being in the same area and looking out the window down on Elm St. was very eerie.
Even if you're not a history buff, the Sixth Floor Museum is well worth the visit.
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killer. Go there if you havn't.
Self explainatory museum.
This place was the highlight of a brief business trip I took to Dallas. In fact, it's actually the only thing I particularly remember about the city (I found the place to be fairly nondescript otherwise). I liked it as much for its informative presentation of the life, presidency, and death of JFK as for the presentation of life in the 50s and 60s.
It's a relatively small museum, and you could probably take in every last exhibit in about two hours.
Very interesting stuff, I took my dad and he loved it. I love that little diorama of the assassination they have, its awesome. If you've seen Bubba Ho-Tep. The art director made a replica for the movie to put in the room of JFK. Great merch store, they have tons of little creative merchandise.
To me this is the place to go in Dallas, its right next to Dealey Plaza where they killed JFK, so make the effort its worth it, they kept the area where Lee Harvey Oswald supposedly shot Kennedy from intact.
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Plan on spending at least a few hours here. When we stopped by it was on a whim, not planned, but considering that we would have spent that time in traffic anyway, it was a great place to park and enjoy some history.
The entire tour, while being about twice as expensive as it should be, was well organized. Headsets for every language and if you follow the tour, you're gonna learn something. If you have any remote interest in US history, you'll like this.
I was a little annoyed that I could not take photos and there is security standing there that will obviously stop any yahoo with a camera if you get one out that they can see....
I think I know why.... This whole thing of the President being killed by a gunshot from this building, is really hard to believe. I mean really hard. It just doesn't seem possible that Lee Harvey Oswald could have gotten that clear of a shot. But you know what, that was before I was born, I don't know what things were like then, I think it's a terrible shame that the man died, but I don't think he was killed in the way that history states. Cause I have seen the window that he was supposedly shot from.
There was more to it. We may never know. But this is a great place to visit to occupy your mind, learn more about President Kennedy and his family and spend as long as you like there.
The gift shop downstairs is fun, low prices for some cool stuff and believe it or not they have real COKE from Mexico with sugar instead of Corn Syrup! hahah. I will bet the Coke company LOVES that! :)
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This place is a piece of history. You should make it a point to visit here if you ever come to Dallas. The Museum is small but superbly organized and presented. The audio guide is very informative with films and photographs interspersed throughout the tour with just enough frequency to keep hold of your attention. The audio tour is so well done that you hardly notice just how much knowledge is being dropped on you. Beware no photographs are allowed from the windows facing the street where JFK was shot. However, I managed to sneak a photo and will be uploading it shortly.
Overall, this is a great place to educate your kids and yourselves on one of the most charismatic presidents we have ever had.
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Great museum. The audio tour is fantastic, the historical context they give you about Kennedy's presidency is great, and then it is so surreal to read about and watch the footage of Kennedy's assassination WHILE LOOKING at the spot it happened. The location really makes this museum incredible. I totally recommend a visit if you like history and/or museums.
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I think everyone has a basic understanding of the Kennedy assassination just from TV & movies, but the museum really brings it all together. It's well presented on the sixth floor and the headphones/audio tour is a nice touch if you have the time to let it guide you.
Some of the news coverage from 11/22/63 - the Western Union teletype, for example - was fascinating, and the FBI scale model of Dealey Plaza is neat. The gift shop is tastefully done and they don't beat up with gaudy merchandising, which is nice. You are visiting a murder site, after all, and it would be easy for them to have slipped into that. I did buy a reprinted copy of the Dallas Morning News from 11/24 for $4.95.
My only complaint was the agents dispatched to make sure you don't photograph anything. My cell phone buzzed with a text message and one pounced on me to make sure I didn't dare take it out of my pocket again. Completely unnecessary.
Make sure you give yourself several hours for this museum. On the day I chose to visit I had several other things planned, but I ended up canceling most of them due to being so absorbed in the whole Dealey Plaza experience.
I came into the museum without very high expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of detail put into all the displays that lead you through a history of the time era as well as the event itself. The audio guide added to the experience. I first went through just reading the displays, taking it all in, and the second time around I let the audio guide carry me through. It was all quite worth the entry price.
Living in the DFW metroplex myself, I was no stranger to Dealey Plaza before. However, after the museum visit, it took on a whole new meaning for me. I began to see the area for the historical importance it really carried. Looking out the windows from the sixth floor down to where all the chaos began puts a certain weight in your heart that becomes difficult to shake off .
If you're in Dallas and you love history, this is the place to go. The grassy knoll is also just a pleasant place to be.
Conveniently close to the DART rail, so getting there can be just a train ride away.
And just as a side note, you're bound to find a few conspiracy theorists outside of the building eager to talk with you.
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This a great place that has been restored to teach others about history! My mom is a JFK fanatic and she's a bit loopy with it, so taking her here was a must.
It's really neat to be able to go into the building and see the view from where Oswald saw things, and to just feel a part of history, even though the particular act was very sad.
In front is the grassy knoll and on the street there 2 large X marks people stand on and take pictures from. (Seemed kind of dangerous as it is a street with,you know, cars!) But, it's a piece of history and I'm so glad to have seen this museum!
It gets very busy on holiday weekends and you may have to stand in line while. Also, no cameras allowed.
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I haven't reviewed this? I swear I did. Anyways - I went to the 6th floor museum again this weekend and it was pretty much exactly as I remembered it. It's obviously historical and has a lot of info about the Kennedy's, the nation, the controversy, the effect on the world and nation. It's kind of eerie to be able to look out the window next to "the window" (the real window is glassed off). The 7th floor has a rotating exhibit that may or may not be interesting. The oddest thing that we say while we were there.. on the 7th floor you can look out the window right above "the window" and as we stared out at the x's in the road we noticed that 90% of the cars that drive by avoid driving over the x's. Odd, but interesting to me for some reason.
Make sure you check out the grassy knoll area - but watch out for the people trying to peddle stuff around that area - I'm not sure how I feel about them, but I think they aren't to be trusted.
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Maybe I'm just morbid, but standing inside the museum and looking out from the sixth floor at the X's on the pavement was about as cool as it gets as far as I'm concerned. Historically speaking I guess. I mean, really, where else can you stand and close your eyes and think about that moment in history after having walked through the entire museum full of wonderful facts and pictures and not try to get a sense of what really might have happened.
Went once with the husband and a second time when my parents came to visit. My father loved it (being a child of the era) and the audio that we listened to this time around was well worth it (free!).
I would go again not to visit the museum, but just to hang outside on the grassy knoll. It is in a lovely area after all. Despite what happened.
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Whoa. This museum is definitely worth the time and money. I spent less than $20 bucks here, and I learned a tremendous amount about the assassination of JFK and the conspiracy theories. Incredible.
The replica sniper's nest and the X's that mark the spot on the street where the 2nd (non-fatal) and 3rd (fatal) shots were fired is humbling.
Check out the video that details how the world reacted to JFK's assassination - whew.
Also, I didn't realize where exactly where the "grassy knoll" was - I thought it was across the street from the museum, so the theory of another shooter from the grassy knoll never made sense to me. But now, I know that the grassy knoll is actually just down the street from the Book Depository, so that theory makes sense now. Totally makes me want to read more conspiracy theories!
Definitely recommend this place if you are in the Dallas area - a must!
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This was one place I really wanted to see while visiting Dallas and I'm so glad I did. The museum is awesome and totally blew me away.
The tour is very informative and well put together and the audio piece is an added treat, for some reason I was not changed extra for it so bonus for me I guess.
The museum not only presents the happenings of November 22, 1963 but it also examine the life of President John F Kennedy through interesting artifacts, great photographs, amazing film, and eyewitness accounts. I really was impressed by the museum and even shed a tear or two watching the footage of Dan Rather confirming JFK's death.
If you make it there before the end of October 2008 be sure to head up to the 7th floor and watch Filming Kennedy: Home Movies from Dallas it's was pretty cool to see so many people's home movies of JFK.
If you drive parking in their lot is $5.00 and if you have a AAA card be sure to show it because the museum offers a AAA discount on admission in case you didn't know. The cashier saw my card in my wallet and offered me the discount I never would have thought to ask.
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Beyond the emotional impact, this is a showcase of archiving at its best. I'm a museum devotee and enjoy learning as much as I can about preserving data for posterity. This is a great place to see this in action. Not only with pictures and video, but the cameras used to film the horrific events, the telegrams informing the news stations of what had happened, and the preserved corner of the building where shots were fired from.
Anyway, what's with the macabre smile-smirk on Oswald's face in the mug shots? Sick!
One omission that rather surprised me was the segment of Zapruder film that is included in the Oliver Stone JFK movie -- if you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about -- which is most horrifying/disgusting but I thought it would be included in a museum collection like this. At least, I didn't see it. Maybe I missed it. It's usually left out of regular television features on the Kennedys for obvious reasons.
It was educational to finally see what is meant by "grassy knoll". Nothing like seeing it in person. Now the possible explanations of where the other shot/s came from make more sense to me.
A bit gruesome to be deposited in a gargantuan gift shop based on a person's grisly assassination, on the way out! That's marketing for you, and I don't begrudge them making a buck, it was just weird. The poster they have that compares Lincoln's and Kennedy's assassinations was fascinating.
So yes, if you have the chance (as I did on my last trip from CA) to go, it's worth it if you're interested in this historical event. Bring kleenex!
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Although the museum takes a few hours to walk through, it was a great refresher on the events surrounding the assassination and to experience the areas where the events of the assassination took place. Those that really want to study JFK may need a few hours for the museum, but 2 hours might be ideal for just a visit to get an overview of the history and finish the guided tour.
They also have the 7th floor now open for Bob Jackson, the photographer that won the Pulitzer prize for the picture of the Oswald assassination. His exhibit not only shows the great pictures he took of JFK, but also has some more uplifting shots of other areas from his portfolio.
Additionally it was great to walk around the grassy area and get an idea of all the distances. A few blocks away is North Market Street with a wide variety of food and a few tourists shops.
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I didn't actually realize this was a museum my friend was taking me too, I had more of a restaurant/bar in mind, given the name: "The Sixth Floor @ Dealey Plaza". Sounds sexy...
However, I was oddly surprised by this incredible museum. So, before this visit, all I knew was that JFK was shot. After 2 hours in here and guided audio tour, I felt like a history professor ready to spread my knowledge of all sorts of often boring but possibly interesting facts. Luckily, the content of this museum was very interesting and educational. It goes through the entire Dallas trip of the JFKs and nitty-gritties of the assassination, the shooter, the weapons, photography, videos and other interesting and related facts. Definitely worth seeing! Though, I am not sure $13 is a justified entrance fee but I come from the school of thought where museums ought to be free.
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The Seattle yelper post actually stirred my brain...I was just at the 6th Floor Museum not too long ago and totally spazzed and didn't do a review!
The Kennedy Assassination has always been egg on the face of Dallas. That and "Who Shot J.R." are pretty much what we are known for. I hadn't gone to the museum because the once a year mini-series/documentary fest was plenty for me.
However, a friend from out of town wanted to go, so I went. I'm really glad I did. The museum is awesome. It really makes you think differently about the event. You get to see it from so many perspectives. I'm a huge cry baby and got tears in my eyes at one point. And they handle that footage we see over and over with such dignity. (Meaning they edit out the icky part.)
Note they also have a rotating exhibit upstairs. When I was there it was a study on Andy Warhol's Jackie O's. Also, amazing.
The best part, and this is just me being a freak, is standing and looking at the grassy knoll. In Dallas, at all times, there will be someone standing on the grassy knoll pointing back up to the 6th floor. There are people who make their living standing down there telling the story for tips. I counted 5 pointers when I was up there.
If you live in Dallas and you've not been there, you should go. If you are visiting Dallas and want to see the sights, before hustling out to South Fork and off to Six Flags, you should go. Bring a Kleenex and sign the guest book.
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I won't say much because most of it has already been said.
It's a chilling, very thorough museum.
My advice is to go during a weekday when it's fairly quiet. It's extremely chilling, and very humbling.
Leave the weekends for the kids and tourists.
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I know the story. I've heard the controversy. I've listened to the debates. I've watched the documentaries. But this exhibit still blew me away. The artifacts, the photos, the clippings, all of the video were all composed in an incredible way which made you really feel like you understood what it was like to live during the era of Kennedy's assassination. I could really appreciate how well the curators executed the flow of the exhibit and I highly recommend the audio tour.
The moment my husband and I stood at the window of the book depository where Oswald allegedly shot JFK was unforgettable. We stood there silently, hand in hand as we looked down at the grassy knoll while the hairs on the backs of our necks stood on end.
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When you go to Dallas Texas make sure this museum is on your list of must see.....This is one of the best historical preservation's that I have ever witnessed. Everything from 1963 is in pristine condition from pictures to film.
When you're even first driving to the museum you catch a little deja vu because you're almost taking the same route that JFK did when he was in the motorcade of 1963.
Then you park in the $5 lot and pay $12.50 and then go to audio headphone section and pick up the equipment for the audio tour guide that walks you thru the whole museum. Now you can pause and start the recording at your own pace so you don't feel rushed.
It took me 2 hours to get thru because i look at and read everything. Now you're not allowed to bring cameras or phones inside but I did and i even snuck a few pics as well.
They even have the "sniper's perch" setup like they found it in 1963 and the boxes that occupied the building when it was The Texas Book Depository. The timelines and films are all there for you to completely see the assassination from all angles if you're really a history freak check out the actual camera that shot the Zapruder film that they didn't release until 1975! Trust me after you watch this film over and over it's no way that you can't say this was a conspiracy assassination.
If you're a real history buff this museum will definitely peek your interest and test your knowledge of what you heard and know about the JFK assassination.
The gift shop also has little jewels of history including replicas of the paper announcing JFK's death.
Now I had the unlikely luck of going out to the "Grassy Knoll" too take pictures of the motorcade root and finding the author Robert J. Groden who in 1963 was the photographic consultant to the House Committee on assassinations and the tech advisor for the movie JFK directed by Oliver Stone. He was primarily there to hustle money from his fading celebrity on the issue but he had a lot of insight on the assassination plus i found out by talking to him that when Jackie O climbed on the back to the limo after her husband was shot she was retrieving a piece of his skull which she later gave to the doctor and said "This might help" WOW! , so when you go outside you'll see him and his apprentice on the grassy knoll.
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About 20 minutes before arriving by coincidence here I was asking my cousin, "What's historic about Dallas-anything interesting to see?". As we rounded the corner of Houston and Elm Streets I glanced over at the tall pillar when at the stop sign, and immediately recognized the historic name "Dealey Plaza"...and felt REALLY stupid for not remembering this significant place in American history. Of course I immediately pulled over, and after strolling through the Dealey Plaza memorial (to the original house that stood there that marked the first settlement of Dallas) we moved to the adjoining 6th Floor Museum, located - guess - on the 6th floor of the former Texas Book Repository. The entry fee of $13/adult goes to the ongoing preservation of the Museum.
As the doors to the elevator opened and the automated audio-tour began, I felt humbled by the events unfolding in my ears. This happened before I was born, but I've heard so many of the older generation talking about the assassination of our 35th President as being so formative in US history.
The tour is well put together, with a good setup of the social and political climate of the times, as well as a sense of the culture that the Kennedy family brought into the White House. As I moved along viewing the huge diagrams and pictures I could almost feel like a bystander on that fateful day. The tour wound around to the glass-enclosed corner window, and I stood looking down onto the street, almost seeing the motorcade passing below as I stared down at the "X" painted on the street where the fatal shot killed JFK, and I could begin to understand how profound an impact this singular moment had on our nation.
Afterwards we walked over to the "grassy knoll", and joined the hundreds of thousands worldwide that have speculated if there were additional shooters here, and stood on the sidewalk where history was made. Humbling, and definitely a must-see if you are in Dallas. Posted up two pictures I took at the site. The sniper's window is the 2nd from the top, right side.
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Do you remember where you were when J.F.K. was shot? I don't, wasn't born yet. But I'm as proud as any other Dallasite that it happened here so we'd have sometime to do when relatives come in for a visit. On my list of things to do in Dallas the Sixth Floor Museum is on the top, the second, Ripley's Believe It Or Not and Louis Tussaud's Palace of Wax Museum. I just wished it happened on the first floor, those stairs are a killer! HA! I'm kidding they've got elevators and everything thing in this place.
But there's are a lot of fun things to do at the museum, even if you don't want to pay the $13.50 for Adult, $12.50 for Senior, $12.50 for Youth and free for children five and under. Unless you get your kid an audio guide, then it's $3.50 and I'd love to see a three year old listening intensely to the conspiracy theories of an assassination of a U.S. president. "Mommy, Lyndon B Johnson pulled the trigger, juice box, juice box!"
NOTE: The entire children's tour is narrated by none other then Bob West the voice of TV's Barney the purple anthropomorphic dinosaur from Barney & Friends. Not really but wouldn't that be great to hear Barney quoting " Back and to the left, back and to the left."
For a few bucks you can stand on Elm Street and listen to a conspiracy theorist, these guys are great to screw with as well. No matter what they say, you ask "Yeah, but what about Ronald Reagan and that whole thing?" They won't know what you're talking about and then explode because they think you know something they don't. Have fun exploring the Grassy Noel and every now and then pick up something off the ground and say "Hey, I think I found the magic bullet!"
The actual museum I chalked full of all the information that you need to spend a few hours learning of this tragic event, but if your going to exploit something why not make it fun for the whole family and set up what I call the "Oswald Challenge" where you the guest can get behind and exact replica of a 6.5 mm Mannlicher-Carcano bolt-action sniper rifle and see if you can beat Oswald's time by taking three pop shots at the "Grassy Noel Players" while they reenact the drive on that fateful day form the very sixth floor window that Lee Harvey did. If you do beat his time, you're going home with a 100% preshrunk cotton t-shirt that says "No Conspiracy About It! I Could Of Shot J.F.K."
Remember after your visit; don't forget to visit the Historic West End to see the wonders of the night life of Dallas that once was!
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I'm not a huge history buff and I find it a little morbid to visit a place that commemorates the assassination of anyone, but I am really glad I went here. I paid a few dollars extra to get the audio tour, which I recommend. It helped me to tune other people out and really experience the museum for myself. I was able to linger at the displays I was most interested and soak it all in.
I enjoyed the tv and radio broadcasts the most and choked up at the footage of Dan Rather confirming the death of JFK. It was also fascinating to watch Lee Harvey Oswald being shot on live television.
A great educational experience for everyone. Very tasteful, informative and non-biased. Definitely a must see.
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Wow. I've read a lot on the assassination of JFK and understand all the controversy surrounding the event. The museum is well worth seeing and contains a lot of very interesting information. It's a little eerie being right in the middle of where this all took place, even though it happened so many years ago. I was really fascinated and moved by the experience, even though it all happened when I was much too young to remember any of it.
Beware of the self appointed tour guides out and about the grounds. I found them to be overly opinionated, pushy and obnoxious.
Oh, and the gift shop is great. I love any place that sells 'Jackie ala Andy Warhol' refrigerator magnets! For real!
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I feel like such an ass for doing this, but 3 stars. Seems like I'm the only one who rated this place less than a 4.... Does that make me ignorant and stupid and uneducated for not enjoying this museum? Probably not. But maybe just a little bit more ignorant, stupid, and uneducated than the average person I guess.
Don't get me wrong, I think it's a nice museum. It's incredibly thorough with it's presentation of JFK's assassination and the aftermath. But at the same time.... it gets a little stale after awhile. I can only look at so many black and white photos and old newspaper clippings before my eyes start to hurt. I need some color! Maybe my color blind friend would enjoy it more.
But if you are a history buff, or if you are more educated and less ignorant than I, then you will probably enjoy it.
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It took me living here for 27 years before I actually went to this museum. It's just not something you think about when you're from here . . . but this place is amazing. It takes a lot out of you and it's sort of difficult to realize the change the JFK assassination had on the nation. They do an amazing job of conveying the sentimentality of the events. This is a haven for history buffs and a must see for Dallasites. If you haven't been, you should go and realize that there are 3 things that the world thinks about when they hear Dallas . . . the TV show, our football team, and JFK.
It's surreal.
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Great historical sight. Very thorough and balanced look at the event. Parking was easy. I couldn't determine where the proposed Oswald shots were taken from. The audio tour didn't work for me. The mix of headphone and tv/audio wasn't ideal.
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This is another great place to bring out-of-towners who want to see some unique Dallas attractions. While this museum commemorates a devastating moment in American history, it is tastefully done and allows each visitor to intimately experience this moment and the aftermath. There are historical artifacts and timelines, movies, radio broadcasts, and they do a fair job of presenting all the theories about how and why this happened.
It is an eerie feeling to drive down the street adjacent to this building and pass the grassy knoll just as JFK's motorcade did when he was shot, but it is equally eerie to stand on the grassy knoll and imagine being there among the crowd as it happened. It's always a bit morbid for me to see tourists posing for a photo op here with smiles on their faces, forgetting that this is a place of mourning.
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a very well curated and well organized museum. the Audio Tour was extremely helpful in guiding the visitor through the maze-like exhibit. there is A LOT of information here and I can see it getting quite crowded due to the small space, I went on a Tuesday and it was irritating enough with the people that were there.
It's pretty cheap considering how informative it was. you learn a lot and despite the fact that i was born in 1984, I found myself feeling a little "verklempt" at times. Looking through the windows to see the "X's" on the road really drove the point home on how horrifying this event must have been for the onlookers and the nation.
One thing: I really wanted to go and see the grassy knoll and the X's close up, however I was prevented from doing so due to street peddlers, i didn't want to be bothered and it felt all kinds of wrong for these people to be benefitting from a sad event, however distant.
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Even though I've been to Dallas many times, I had never visited the former Book Depository in Dealey Plaza, which houses the Sixth Floor Museum. The museum chronicles the events leading up to John F. Kennedy's assassination with film, audio, photos, some Kennedy family history and other artifacts.
At first, I was resistent. I didn't see much beyond what I'd seen on countless TV specials and documentaries on the subject. But the museum does a very good job of placing the assassination in context. It includes a lot of stuff on what else was going on in the world at that time..."where people's heads were at." You get a feel for the deep impact felt by millions of people.
You can also see the sniper's perch, where police found piles of boxes where Lee Harvey Oswald allegedly hid and shot from. The Seventh Floor had an exhibit pertaining to Texas Law Enforcement, including the suits two of the detectives were wearing when Jack Ruby shot Oswald in the basement of police headquarters. Outside you can walk around the grassy knoll. All in all, an well-spent couple of hours.
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Only four reviews for the most visited tourist attraction in Dallas? Holy crap. I found the Sixth Floor Museum to be a really impressive and nicely-presented museum. If you're a museum geek or presidential history fan like me, you will probably like it. For those who don't enjoy history or JFK or know a lot about it already - this will probably be a snoozefest. Regardless though, everyone I was with was touched and wowed by the museum.
It is heavy on information and authentic documents/broadcasts and even delves into possible conspiracy theories, but the museum is done well so as not to offend the politically sensitive - but comes awfully close to being sterile in that sense.
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It's always amazing to see where history has taken place. This place gives you chills as you see the grassy knoll and the book depository in person. The museum does a great job of showing many perspectives on the assination. Must see if you're in the area!
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Hit the grassy knoll first. You're not experiencing what all of those people experienced in 1963 without going there first. . The chaos must have been thick. The only problem I have with the museum is that you can't take pictures. Why? Do you think that people won't come visit if they can find pictures online? I doubt that to ever be true. Actually being there kicks online pictures' ass! The pictures and chronology pasted on every wall imaginable helped my son understand how important JFK was not just to the U.S. but the entire world. He was able to sit and watch the incredibly moving funeral film which piqued his interest in knowing more about what happened that day. He even wanted to drive the route JFK took. He is convinced thru that museum and videos of the assassination that there was definitely someone shooting from the grassy knoll.
We did end up getting a picture of the window that Oswald shot from and standing up there looking down at the first X on the road brought an overpowering feeling of loss and speechlessness.
It's simply incomprehensible to think that this wonderful president was hated by anyone. Until you visit this place, it really won't sink in.
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Essential place to visit if you're in Dallas. The corner of the sixth floor of the book depository has been restored to how it looked in November 1963 when Lee Harvey Oswald used it to fire down on Dealey Plaza. Outside by the grassy knoll, conspiracy theorists stand around holding signs that say things like "9/11 - Inside Job".
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Well worth seeing, and a must for any trip to Dallas. Very well done and interesting and informative, whether you know just the basics or are pretty familiar with the details. It's like standing in a place of history and knowing you are there.
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Better than average museum, definitely a shrine to JFK and the time of his assasignation. Family safe exhibit and somewhat politically neutral. Great introduction for someone who has never been exposed to the subject. (I grew up in the area and have been exposed this subject quite a bit)
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