5 fast facts about the new JFK installation in Downtown Fort Worth

by Rita Cook of The Assignment Desk, DFW

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It was more than 10 years in the making.

Photo by Rita Cook

The JFK tribute marks the morning he spent in Fort Worth on November 22, 1963, before driving to Dallas.

The JFK tribute, now open in Fort Worth, honors the ideals and themes of John F. Kennedy’s final speeches presented on the morning of Friday, November 22, 1963. Located in General Worth Square at the southeast corner of Main and 8th Streets, the exhibit is built where President Kennedy gave the first of his two speeches on that day. The president was assassinated in downtown Dallas hours later.

Here are five quick facts about the special JFK installation in Fort Worth:

Made by Lawrence Ludtke, it's an 8-foot bronze sculpture of John F. Kennedy, created in 2001, cast in bronze in 2009, and installed in 2012. It’s highlighted by 6-foot by 8-foot photographic panels adjacent to backdrops with selected quotes from a number of historic speeches and a water wall.

The idea for the tribute came about in 2000, but a number of factors delayed the project, including September 11. Andy Taft, president of the Downtown Fort Worth Initiative, says the installation is perfect timing since the city’s demolition of the JFK Theatre to expand the Expo Center.



Photo by Rita Cook

The statue is now unveiled and open to the public in Fort Worth.

Former Speaker of the House Jim Wright was the honorary co-chair and the guiding light for the JFK Installation, seeing the project through with his enthusiasm.

The installation also engages the Fort Worth ISD history curriculum, with self-study guides for elementary, junior high, and high school students around the themes of the president’s speeches and the importance of his ideas.

This tribute is the culmination of more than a decade of work to President Kennedy and the historical day when he spoke in downtown Fort Worth to a thousand rain-soaked spectators. The site is across the street from the Fort Worth Hilton Hotel, which in 1963 was known as Hotel Texas where the president and Mrs. Kennedy spent the night of November 21, 1963.

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