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JFK GeoTour
#5 Texas School Book Depository
411 Elm St, Dallas, TX 75202

President Kennedy’s motorcade entered Dealey Plaza around 12:30 by turning north off Main Street onto N. Houston, then turning sharply to the left onto the undulating curves of Elm Street. The plan was for the President to take Elm Street down the hill towards the triple underpass then turn north onto Stemmons Freeway to the Trade Mart. That plan never fully materialized.
 
The crowds were heavy on that Friday, as many people were on their lunch breaks and excited to see the first U.S. President to visit Dallas in 15 years. The crowd was estimated at 200,000. As the President was heading down Main Street, an employee of the Texas School Book Depository, who was hired just two months earlier, was preparing for his arrival.

Lee Harvey Oswald was one of only three people on the 6th floor that day. Two other workers were repairing the old wood floor that was in bad disrepair. Oswald was a well-trained and experienced marksman who twice in two years earned awards for his marksmanship with the Marines. He had carefully arranged stacks of boxes to conceal his position from others on the floor, to steady his aim, and to allow him to swivel along the Elm Street motorcade route. The view afforded from the sniper’s nest allowed a clear view of the entire street just above several live oak trees that gave him additional cover from those gathered below. He brought his rifle to work that day in a brown paper wrapper that he told others at the Book Depository was a package of curtain rods. As the Presidential motorcade turned off N. Houston, he was well ensconced at his position, and well-hidden from others.

JFK GeoTour
#4 Craddock Park
4600 Lemmon Ave, Dallas, TX 75219

Even at the start of the 9.5 mile route through downtown Dallas and then to the Trade Mart, the Kennedy’s are overwhelmed by their warm welcome.

After leaving Love Field through the airport’s south entrance, the motorcade turned left onto Mockingbird, then right onto Lemmon Avenue, where the crowds were not as heavy as at Love Field. Still, spectators positioned themselves along the entire route, sometimes 8 to 10 rows deep, to catch a glimpse of the President and his wife. As Lemmon Avenue intersected with Lomo Alto, several boys playing in the park jumped up and down with their hand-lettered sign trying to catch the President’s attention. Their sign read, “Mr. President, please stop and shake our hands”. He saw their sign; brought the car to a halt; and did just that: he shook hands with each of the boys and wished them well. The site of this exchange was Craddock Park, right along Lemmon Avenue. After exchanging pleasantries, President Kennedy ordered the motorcade forward for several more blocks, where he saw a nun with Catholic schoolchildren. As the first Catholic President of The United States, Kennedy again ordered the motorcade to a halt and greeted them. After this final stop, the motorcade was on its way, headed downtown. This southward route took them along the beautiful and winding creekside park and large secluded homes of Turtle Creek Boulevard; the shopping district along Cedar Springs Road; and finally North Harwood Street which transitions from residential and commercial areas to taller municipal and business building complexes that form the recognizable skyline of downtown Dallas.

Picture is of some interesting tree sculptures near the park where this exchange took place.

JFK GeoTour
#3 Dallas Love Field
7201 Lemmon Ave, Dallas, TX 75209

On the morning of November 22, 1963, Air Force One flew from Carswell Air Force Base, in Fort Worth, to Dallas’ Love Field. Early on that cold and rainy morning in Fort Worth, President John F. Kennedy delivered the final two speeches of his life. He gave his first speech that day outside the Fort Worth Hotel to a rain-soaked crowd of several thousand people who gathered to hear the first President to visit Dallas/Ft. Worth since Truman in 1948.

After his rainy morning outdoor speech, President Kennedy and his party retreated back into the warm and dry confines of the Fort Worth Hotel for a Chamber of Commerce breakfast, where he delivered his last ever speech. He was clearly in great spirits with his wife, Jackie, by his side.

Upon their arrival at Dallas’ Love Field, they were greeted by the Dallas Mayor and his wife, along with an overflow crowd lining every street and hanging off buildings and lampposts, all excited to catch a glimpse of the famous First Couple. At Love Field, the City of Dallas had put its best foot forward.

The Presidential limousine is gassed up and ready at Love Field. Since the rain had cleared and the weather was nice, President Kennedy elected to stow away the clear plastic bubble top that could keep them dry if needed. Regardless, the clear top was not bullet-proof.

As a happy President Kennedy is whisked away from the tarmac, he has already taken his last steps on earth.

JFK GeoTour
#2 The Egyptian Restaurant - Campisi’s
5610 E Mockingbird Ln, Dallas, TX 75206

Carlos Campisi and his wife, Antonina Cammarata, emigrated from Sicily to the United States by boat in 1907. After starting in New Orleans, Louisiana to be with Antonina's brother, they moved to Dallas in 1916 and eventually had six children. In 1946, Carlos opened the Idle Hour Bar where he used a small kitchen in the back of the bar to make pizzas.

The current facility on Mockingbird Lane was founded as The Egyptian Lounge in 1946 by Johnny Brazil Grisaffi. Originally founded as a piano bar, Carlos purchased The Egyptian Lounge in 1950 and left most of the decor intact. Without enough money for a new sign, "Lounge" was removed and replaced with "Restaurant". According to a family member, Carlos purchased the business in order to get his sons Joe and Sam started in business after World War II and they were the ones who worked and developed the business.

While the restaurant was the first to serve pizza in Texas, much of their charm continues to be the not so subtle reminders of it's history as a mob hangout, like this faux speakeasy door with privacy window and the low lighting maintained during business hours.

Jack Ruby frequently ate at this restaurant, including on the night before Kennedy was shot. He was friends with the owner. The two of them had enjoyed evenings out together at different clubs around Dallas. The owner of the restaurant was identified by the FBI as the head of the organized crime family in Dallas. While many of Dallas’ elite entertainers, athletes, and politicians were wined and dined here, it was the mystery as a mob hangout that attracted many curious diners. The ties were of significant concern such that the owner was questioned both by the Warren Commission, and later by the House Select Committee on Assassinations. He acknowledged his association with Jack Ruby, but attempted to minimize that connection when questioned under oath. To this day, the alleged mob association provides much of the charm and mystery surrounding the restaurant.

Photo of the Neely House 🏠