Panel Seven

This panel is about the darkest day in the history of Dallas -- the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. On first observing this artwork, one struggles to see the connection of the old mural to the new information.

The Hogue/Bywaters mural, entitled "1890 - 1900 - Artesian well gushes on the courthouse grounds," shows a water well shooting a geyser. A man holds an umbrella upright. The assassination scene also shows a man raising an umbrella -- the famous "Umbrella Man" linked to the assassination by many conspiracy theories. Before hearing the Umbrella Man's testimony to the Senate Select Committee investigating the assassination, theorists assumed his raising of the umbrella was a signal to the gunmen. In fact, it was the man's personal protest of a particular Kennedy Administration policy. Artist Philip Lamb is depicted as the Umbrella Man in this mural. The assassination scene shows the motorcade just after it turned from Houston Street onto Elm, and in front of the now infamous Texas Schoolbook Depository.

The detail shows President and Mrs. Kennedy, close to actual size in the mural.

The quote, "Shall we deal adequately with the future or be run over by it," is attributed to then Mayor Erik Johnsson. It was drawn from a speech Mayor Johnsson made outlining his urban planning program called "Goals for Dallas." This initiative was a direct reaction to the negative publicity and damaged self-image of Dallas following the assassination. Goals for Dallas proposed civic projects for the future, among them the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.