It is a strange, sunny Friday in Dallas. You are standing on the corner of Elm and Houston, and if you look down at the asphalt, you will see them. Two white "X" marks painted onto the middle of the street. These aren’t official city markings. In fact, the city of Dallas has tried to pave over them multiple times, but like clockwork, they reappear.
They mark the exact spots on Elm Street where the shots hit.
If you've ever wondered where did jfk get shot, the answer is both a simple street address and a complex web of geometry that changed American history forever. The location is Dealey Plaza, a 3-acre park on the western edge of downtown Dallas. It’s often called the "Front Door of Dallas," but since November 22, 1963, it has been known for only one thing.
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The Sniper’s Nest on the Sixth Floor
The first piece of the puzzle is the building. You can’t miss it. It’s a seven-story, red-brick structure originally known as the Texas School Book Depository. Today, it’s the Dallas County Administration Building, but the top floors house the Sixth Floor Museum.
Lee Harvey Oswald was perched in the southeast corner window of the sixth floor. He had built a "sniper’s nest" out of boxes of school books to hide himself from other employees. From that window, he had a clear, downward view of the motorcade as it turned from Houston Street onto Elm Street.
It’s a tight angle.
When you stand in the plaza today and look up at that window, it feels surprisingly close. The motorcade was moving slowly, roughly 11 miles per hour, making it a target that was, tragically, not as difficult to hit as some might imagine.
The Exact Sequence on Elm Street
The motorcade didn't just drive straight through. It followed a specific, zig-zagging route.
- The limo turned right from Main Street onto Houston Street.
- It traveled one block north.
- It made a sharp, 120-degree left turn onto Elm Street.
This turn is crucial. It forced the car to slow down significantly, right in front of the Depository. As the limousine passed a large live oak tree and began heading toward the Triple Underpass, the shots rang out.
The first shot likely missed. Some witnesses, like James Tague, who was standing hundreds of feet away near the underpass, were actually injured by a piece of concrete kicked up by a stray bullet. The second shot—the "single bullet"—hit Kennedy in the upper back and exited through his throat before striking Governor John Connally.
The third shot, the fatal one, hit the President in the head. This happened right in front of the Grassy Knoll.
The Grassy Knoll and the Pergola
You’ve heard the term. It’s arguably the most famous piece of landscaping in the world. The Grassy Knoll is a small, sloping hill on the north side of Elm Street, topped by a wooden stockade fence and a concrete pergola.
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Abraham Zapruder, the man who captured the most famous footage of the event, was standing on a concrete pedestal at the edge of this pergola.
A lot of people think the "Grassy Knoll" is where the shooter was. While the Warren Commission concluded all shots came from the Depository, the House Select Committee on Assassinations later suggested a "high probability" of a second gunman behind that wooden fence on the knoll, based on acoustic evidence that has been debated for decades.
If you walk up the hill today, you can stand behind that fence. You’ll see how it offers a direct line of sight to the "X" on the street. It’s easy to see why so many witnesses pointed toward the smoke they thought they saw coming from the trees there.
Why the Location Still Confuses People
Honestly, when you visit Dealey Plaza, it feels smaller than it looks on TV. The distance from the 6th-floor window to the street is about 265 feet at the time of the final shot. That’s less than the length of a football field.
One big misconception is that the motorcade was on a highway. It wasn't. Elm Street leads to the Stemmons Freeway, but at the moment of the shooting, the President was in a city park.
Another thing? The Triple Underpass. This is where the three streets—Main, Elm, and Commerce—converge under a railroad bridge. The limousine raced through this underpass immediately after the shots were fired, heading toward Parkland Memorial Hospital.
Exploring Dealey Plaza Today
If you are planning to visit the site where did jfk get shot, there are a few things you should know. The area is a National Historic Landmark, which means it looks almost exactly as it did in 1963.
- The Sixth Floor Museum: You have to book tickets in advance. You can see the actual corner window, though it is glassed off to preserve the "sniper’s nest" exactly as it was found by investigators.
- The "X" Marks: Be careful. These are in the middle of a live, busy street. People frequently risk their lives to run out and take a photo on the "X." Don't be that person; the cars coming down Elm Street are moving fast.
- The John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza: This is actually a block away from Dealey Plaza. It’s a "cenotaph," or empty tomb, designed by Philip Johnson. Many tourists get confused and think this is where the shooting happened, but it's just a place for reflection.
Final Takeaways for Your Visit
Understanding the geography of the JFK assassination helps clear up a lot of the "impossible" theories. When you see the physical layout—the height of the window, the slope of the road, and the proximity of the Grassy Knoll—the events of that day feel much more real and much more haunting.
To get the most out of a visit, start at the intersection of Houston and Elm. Walk the path of the motorcade toward the underpass. Look up at the red brick building. Then, walk up the Grassy Knoll to the wooden fence. You'll quickly see why this small patch of Dallas remains the most analyzed crime scene in human history.
For those looking to dive deeper into the technical side, researching the Warren Commission's Exhibit 354 provides a detailed map of the motorcade's trajectory and the specific timing of the shots relative to the landmarks in the plaza.