Dealey Plaza doesn’t work. The gateway to downtown Dallas where John F. Kennedy was assassinated is a dangerous mess that fails its critical functions as a site for civic memory and essential transportation corridor. A new plan, developed in collaboration with Stoss Landscape Urbanism, MPdL Studio, and Delineator Landscape, would rectify these flaws, and finally bring a dignified connection to adjacent Martyr’s Park, dedicated to victim’s of lynching in Dallas. Among its key elements would be the closure of Elm Street to traffic, the lighting of the Triple Underpass, placing memorial pools at the points of assassination, the creation of a memorial overlook and promenade linking Dealey Plaza to Martyr’s Park, and the creation of a multi-modal boulevard leading to the Trinity. The plan would maintain the historic integrity of Dealey Plaza, touching only the spaces at its fringes, such that it will appear virtually unchanged since 1963. You can hear me chatting about it here and here.
In other news, my series on the buildings that define Dallas continues with the Adolphus and NorthPark Center. Also: why everything looks the same (aka “The Flattening“), the 50th anniversary of the Kimbell, and my thoughts on Prop A.