Ruth Paine Home

The Ruth Paine Home at 2515 W. 5th Street in Irving, Texas, United States, is the location where Lee Harvey Oswald spent the night before he assassinated United States President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963 at Dealey Plaza. It was from the house's garage that he removed the rifle he used for the assassination, which he had previously concealed there.

Paine House
Paine House in 2019
Paine House
Paine House
Location2515 W. Fifth St.,
Irving, Texas
Coordinates32°48′35″N 96°58′45″W
Area0.20 acres (0.081 ha)
Built1956 (1956)
Built byC.B. Hardee
Architectural styleModern Movement: Ranch Style
NRHP reference No.14000963[1]
Added to NRHPNovember 26, 2014

The house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 16, 2014.[2]

History

Located in the Dallas suburb of Irving, the Paine home was a key location in the John F. Kennedy assassination saga of 1963. The house, owned at the time by Michael and Ruth Paine, served as a temporary residence for Marina Oswald and her children. The Paines were separated and living apart, so Ruth had offered her home to Marina.[3]

Marina's husband, Lee Harvey Oswald, was living at a rooming house at 1026 N. Beckley in Dallas to be near his newly acquired job at the Texas School Book Depository in Downtown Dallas. Oswald would visit Marina and the children customarily on Fridays and spend the weekend at the Paine home, then return again to Dallas for work on Monday.

After his shift on Thursday, November 21, 1963, Oswald surprised co-worker Buell Wesley Frazier in asking for a ride back to Irving on Thursday instead of the following day. Frazier, a nearby neighbor of the Paines, also worked at the Texas School Book Depository, and he and Oswald would commute together daily to Downtown Dallas. Lee stated that Marina had made him some new curtains for his apartment and wanted to retrieve them.[4]

On the morning of November 22, 1963, Oswald retrieved his rifle from the garage, where it was concealed in a blanket on the garage floor. Leaving early before anyone was awake, and leaving cash and his wedding ring on a bedside table, Oswald reportedly then wrapped the rifle in some bulk brown wrapping paper and proceeded a half block to the home where Frazier stayed. He placed the package in the back seat and began the commute to the Texas School Book Depository.[5] Hours later, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated as his presidential motorcade passed directly in front of the building.

Purchase by City of Irving and museum

In 2009, the City of Irving purchased the property and began plans to restore the home. In an effort to return the home to its 1963 appearance, the city spent an estimated $100,000.[6] Restoration began in 2011, and the Ruth Paine Home was opened as a museum on November 6, 2013.[7]

  • Kitchen
  • Breakfast Nook
  • Marina Oswald (Guest) Room
  • Garage
  • Living Room

See also

References
  1. National Register of Historic Places Program (2014). "Paine House". National Park Service. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  3. Warren Commission Hearings Vol II Pg 433 Testimony of Mrs. Ruth Paine
  4. Warren Commission Hearings, Volume II Pg 226 Testimony of Mr. Buell Wesley Frazier
  5. Warren Commission Hearings, Volume II Pg 227 Testimony of Mr. Buell Wesley Frazier
  6. Lee, Christine (February 6, 2013) "Historic House Connected to JFK Tragedy Being Restored to 1963 Look", Dallas Morning News.
  7. Fleck, Deborah (November 4, 2013). "Irving opening museum at house where Oswald stayed before JFK killing", Dallas Morning News. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.