Dallas City Hall 1914 - 1978
N 32° 46.904 W 096° 47.643
14S E 706597 N 3629244
The Dallas City Hall, it was in the basement of this building that Jack Ruby shot accused presidential assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald.
Waymark Code: WMEW9
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 06/14/2006
Views: 105
On Sunday, November 24, 1963, Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President John F. Kennedy and Dallas Police Office J. D. Tippit was being moved from this building to a more secure building. As Oswald, who was handcuffed to Dallas Detective James Lavelle stepped from the elevator in the basement of this building, Dallas night club owner Jack Ruby emerged from the crowd of reporters, pressed a pistol into Oswald’s stomach and shot him. Oswald was taken to Parkland Hospital, where he died in surgery. Jack Ruby was arrested and died in prison.
Marker Number: 6664
Marker Text: In May 1910 Dallas officials determined that the City Hall, then situated on the northwest corner of Commerce and Akard Streets, had become too small to serve adequately the city's population of over 90,000. They sold the property to Adolphus Busch, who built the Adolphus Hotel at that site. A number of locations were considered for the new municipal facility before C. C. Slaughter suggested this site, which the city purchased in the fall of 1911. Voters approved a bond issue in an April 1912 election, and construction began in May 1913. The completed building opened on Oct. 17, 1914, to coincide with the start of the State Fair.
C. D. Hill and Co. of Dallas designed the five-story Beaux-Arts City Hall, constructed of Texas gray granite. Ornate Corinthian columns line the Classical facade. The interior of the structure, originally finished with marble floors and mahogany woodwork, has been remodeled periodically to provide additional office space. In 1956 the adjacent municipal building was erected to serve the growing city.
In the basement of this structure on Nov. 24, 1963, Jack Ruby fatally shot Lee Harvey Oswald, alleged assassin of President John F. Kennedy.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1978
Incise in base: A Bicentennial Project Junior League of Dallas 1976
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