WFAA’s Film of the Motorcade Run to Parkland Hospital Stabilized

[Steve Barber]

Here's a PNG. image I made from the 1964 "Four Days In November" of Parkland Hospital:   

[Charles Collins]

  I do not believe that the motorcade turned right.  I think they disappeared from sight once they went over the railroad tracks at the top of the hill, and turned left just as J.W. Courson mentioned to Larry Sneed, as published in "No More Silence". Here is a 1968 aerial photo of Stemmons, showing Parkland, the Trade Mart, the railroad crossing which we see the LBJ car and his SS car along with several motorcycles drive over so fast that the wheels left the ground according to some of the occupants in the film, the TSBD in top right of photograph, and where the limousine was located, having just exited Stemmons Freeway, and in front of an underpass(Circled in redon the photograpgh) and about to make a right turn.

That’s a great photo Steve. Just what we needed to see. It shows where Parkland is in relation to the Trade Mart.
Before I saw your post, I found this photo, which doesn’t cover as much territory but shows how the road “fans out” approaching the intersection just after crossing the railroad tracks. From the camera position somewhere in the parking lot of the Trade Mart (blue circle), it would appear that the vehicles were turning right (as they followed the right curve) just before they turned left onto Harry Hines.



https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth20058/m1/1/

[Charles Collins]

I found another aerial photo looking from the other direction. This was during the construction of the Stemmons Freeway and before the Trade Mart building was built. Parkland Hospital is circled in yellow. The route of the motorcade run is in red. And the blue circle is where the parking lot for the Trade Mart (also camera location) would eventually be.

[James Hackerott]

I found another aerial photo looking from the other direction. This was during the construction of the Stemmons Freeway and before the Trade Mart building was built. Parkland Hospital is circled in yellow. The route of the motorcade run is in red. And the blue circle is where the parking lot for the Trade Mart (also camera location) would eventually be.

That's a great view. BTW, I found your left moving object. Not sure what it is yet.

[Steve Barber]

That’s a great photo Steve. Just what we needed to see. It shows where Parkland is in relation to the Trade Mart.
Before I saw your post, I found this photo, which doesn’t cover as much territory but shows how the road “fans out” approaching the intersection just after crossing the railroad tracks. From the camera position somewhere in the parking lot of the Trade Mart (blue circle), it would appear that the vehicles were turning right (as they followed the right curve) just before they turned left onto Harry Hines.



https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth20058/m1/1/

  Thanks very much, Charles.  Your photograph is a greater find!   It shows the area up close, and was taken much closer to 1963 than the one I found!
 The white building that appears in the top right background of the WFAA footage had me confused, and thanks to your pic, problem solved.We can that the building was torn down and replaced with a one story building.  Great work, Charles!     

[James Hackerott]

  Thanks very much, Charles.  Your photograph is a greater find!   It shows the area up close, and was taken much closer to 1963 than the one I found!
 The white building that appears in the top right background of the WFAA footage had me confused, and thanks to your pic, problem solved.We can that the building was torn down and replaced with a one story building.  Great work, Charles!     

Great ID for the white background building! The multi-winged (now Holiday Inn Express) was probably in progress, at only a few floors at that time. Can we agree on that? Then that leaves a building next to the hotel with a top structure that reminds me of Parkland . However, I can't see any windows. Was there a side to Parkland (facing Trade Market) that did not have widows?

[Charles Collins]

Great ID for the white background building! The multi-winged (now Holiday Inn Express) was probably in progress, at only a few floors at that time. Can we agree on that? Then that leaves a building next to the hotel with a top structure that reminds me of Parkland . However, I can't see any windows. Was there a side to Parkland (facing Trade Market) that did not have widows?

Here’s a view from google maps from 3-years ago as one is in the intersection just past the railroad tracks where Industrial fans out at the junction to Hines Blvd. I have drawn a red arrow pointing out the old Parkland Hospital (the one which existed in 1963) which is currently being demolished. I drew a blue arrow to the new Parkland hospital. And a yellow arrow to the Holiday Inn Express. (No, I didn’t sleep there last night.  ) This appears somewhat similar to the direction of the view from the WFAA footage of the motorcade run. So, if I am looking at things correctly, the stacked image from that footage shows some of the Parkland Hospital at the left side of the image at the top of the hill. There are quite a few telephone poles grouped closely between the camera and the hospital.



Someone please correct me If I am wrong. If this is close to being correct, we should be able to use this information to help locate the general area of the camera location in the parking lot of the Trade Mart.

[James Hackerott]

Here’s a view from google maps from 3-years ago as one is in the intersection just past the railroad tracks where Industrial fans out at the junction to Hines Blvd. I have drawn a red arrow pointing out the old Parkland Hospital (the one which existed in 1963) which is currently being demolished. I drew a blue arrow to the new Parkland hospital. And a yellow arrow to the Holiday Inn Express. (No, I didn’t sleep there last night.  ) This appears somewhat similar to the direction of the view from the WFAA footage of the motorcade run. So, if I am looking at things correctly, the stacked image from that footage shows some of the Parkland Hospital at the left side of the image at the top of the hill. There are quite a few telephone poles grouped closely between the camera and the hospital.



Someone please correct me If I am wrong. If this is close to being correct, we should be able to use this information to help locate the general area of the camera location in the parking lot of the Trade Mart.

Thanks, that looks good to me. I've been using the camera position between the two parking areas close to the side doorway. That puts a line of sight very close to yours. The more I look at the stacked image the less I think it is due to the hotel, and is maybe just windows or something part of the white building.