John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza – Dallas, Texas
The John Fitzgerald Kennedy Memorial is a monument to United States President John Fitzgerald Kennedy in the West End Historic District of downtown Dallas, Texas (USA) erected in 1970, and designed by noted architect Philip Johnson.
Renowned American architect Philip Johnson’s design is a cenotaph, or “open tomb,” that symbolizes the freedom of President Kennedy’s spirit. The memorial, a square, roofless room, 30 feet high and 50 by 50 feet wide, sits in the middle of the block with narrow openings facing north and south. The walls consist of 72 white pre-cast concrete columns, most of which seem to float with no visible support 29 inches above the ground.
Eight columns extend to the ground, acting as legs that seem to hold up the monument. Each column ends in a light fixture. At night, the lights create the illusion that the light itself supports the structure. These vertical elements, rigorously separated from each other and individually poured, seem held together by an unseen, invisible force. The architect once called it a “magnetic force” and suggested a connection to the charisma of the living John F. Kennedy.
The John F. Kennedy Memorial was the first memorial by famed American architect and Kennedy family friend Philip Johnson and was approved by Jacqueline Kennedy. Johnson called it “a place of quiet refuge, an enclosed place of thought and contemplation separated from the city around, but near the sky and earth.”Dallas raised $200,000 for the memorial by August 1964, entirely from 50,000 individual donations contributed by private citizens.
A much-needed restoration of the memorial occurred at the end of the 20th century and, to accommodate the public’s desire for an interpretation of the Kennedy assassination, the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza was established in order to chronicle Kennedy’s legacy and untimely death. Located on floors six and seven of the former Texas School Book Depository building, the museum features both permanent and changing exhibitions. The sixth floor is also the location of the sniper’s perch, a spot that is an integral part of the permanent exhibition. Its view can also be accessed from the museum’s website via the “Dealey Plaza Cam”.
This simple monument to the slain president was built on a plaza adjacent to the Texas School Book Depository building. Simple but profoundly moving, the John F. Kennedy Memorial in Dallas comprises a granite slab bearing the assassinated president’s name etched in gold. The slab is surrounded by soaring concrete walls that appear to be free-floating, capturing the feeling of loss felt around the world following Kennedy’s assassination on November 22, 1963.