The 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy is just a few days away. Today, reader Blair explains how a innocuous-looking mid century modest house — the Ruth Paine House Museum, above — came to be associated with this tragic event. Blair visited the house this weekend and submitted this report and photos:
Frankly, there’s nothing particularly noteworthy about the 1,300-square-foot ranch home at 2515 W. Fifth Street in the Dallas suburb of Irving. Built in 1956, it is otherwise indistinguishable from hundreds of other two-bedroom post-war homes constructed during the post-World War II housing boom in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. But this home, recently opened to the public after two years of restoration to its appearance 50 years ago, holds a place in history few Mid-Century residences can claim — a link to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy 50 years ago this week, November 22, 1963. And this connection saved not only a piece of history, but allowed for the preservation of a classic Mid-Century “modest” dwelling.
Accused assassin Lee Harvey Oswald spent his last night of freedom here before rising early, retrieving what many believe was a rifle rolled up in a blanket in the one-car garage, and catching a ride into Dallas to his job in the Texas Schoolbook Repository. It was from a window in the building’s sixth floor, the Warren Commission concluded in 1964, that Oswald fired the shots that killed the president and wounded Texas Governor John Connolly.
The home belonged to a young housewife, Ruth Paine, who had befriended Oswald’s Russian-born wife, Marina, early in 1963. When the Oswalds returned after several months in New Orleans, Lee took a job in Dallas, where he rented a room in a boarding house; a pregnant Marina and their first daughter moved in with Paine and her two children in September that year, with Lee visiting on weekends. In this house, Ruth and Marina learned of the assassination and Oswald’s subsequent arrest.
Joined by Oswald’s mother, Marguerite, and brother Robert, Police and Secret Service agents searched the house and questioned Marina. “Did Oswald have a rifle?” they asked. “Yes,” she replied, then took them to the garage, where they discovered it missing. An enterprising writer/photographer team from Life Magazine tracked Marina to the Paine home and arranged for the Oswald family to relocate to a Dallas hotel away from media competitors.
Paine, separated from her husband Michael at the time, sold the home in 1966. Ownership passed to several subsequent owners, each of whom had to deal with curious onlookers driving by, stopping, and peeking into the windows of the residence. Aware of its historic significance, the City of Irving purchased the property for $175,000 in 2009, and upon departure of renters in 2011, set about to restore the home to its 1963 appearance in time for the 50th anniversary of the JFK killing.
Under the direction of Kevin Kendro, Irving archives coordinator, everything from the front door and garage door to kitchen appliances, correct linoleum tile, and period-correct furnishings were replaced. A proper 1950’s roof was added. A near-match of a living room sofa was located and reupholstered a vibrant blue to match the original.
A camera, family photographs, garage tools, dishes, and glass baby bottles and rubber nipples are arranged to properly recreate the era. Correct General Electric oven/range and refrigerator were added, along with a strictly-50s behemoth washing machine. Thankfully, the period-specific knotty pine paneling and cabinets are original! The home’s only bathroom was restored to its pink-with-brown-trim-tiled goodness, accented with minty green walls!
Interpretive text and photo panels guide visitors through the home; in both bedrooms and the garage, actor’s images are holographically projected on transparent screens, reenacting events in the house from that historic day. The effect is quite amazing, and brings the home to life.
The City of Irving, Kevin Kendro and his staff are to be commended for the exhaustive research and attention to detail and “getting the little stuff right” in bringing the home back to the past. Its preservation is significant, not only as an artifact from that dark day in Dallas 50 years ago, but as an example of an everyday mid-50s Ranch home saved for future generations to see how post-war America lived.
City of Irving’s website
Tours begin at the Paine Home visitor’s center, 3rd floor Irving Central Library, 801 W. Irving Boulevard, Irving, for a brief background before a van trip to the home; tours offered Tuesday-Saturday at 10 a.m., noon, 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Adults, $12; free for ages 11 and younger.
Wow. To me, this entire week of remembrance has been so chilling. Did you know that the “glory days” of the 1950s — what historian Thomas Hine has famously dubbed the “Populuxe” years — are generally recognized as beginning around 1953 and ending with President Kennedy’s assassination? It’s so interesting — and I think, fair to say ” ironic” — to see this mid-century modest house — which itself represents the epitome of the mid-century American Dream — turned notorious as part of the Nov. 22, 1963 tragedy — a tragedy that marked the end of one memorable American era, and the start of another.
Taking a look at our map of 59 Historic Mid-Century Houses You Can Visit, I also think this is one of the very few mid-century modest houses completely restored and open to public tours.
Thank you, Blair. I greatly appreciate your story. It is a wonderful, wonderful addition to our archive of mid century homes — modern and modest alike — and their fascinating place in American history. xoxo
Jeff says
Excellent pictures, and I love the historical accuracy of the house’s 1963 appearance. The only issue I have is with the photo of the black Western Electric telephone. Modular phone jacks weren’t around in 1963, they weren’t developed until 1975. In 1963 the phone would either have been hardwired or connected with those clunky, four-pin plugs.
Yeah, I know. Picky, picky. 🙂
JKaye says
I’m glad you were picky and explained about the phone. I looked at that phone jack for awhile, wondering if I could remember seeing those as far back as 1963. I didn’t think so. (I’m also wondering about that soap dispenser on the bathroom sink. Maybe that’s just there for the museum staff to use?)
Allen says
Well if you want to get really picky again, houses of that time would have also had two prong outlets rather than three prong. But they probably had to update the electrical to make it a museum.
Sandra says
I don’t have air-conditioning, but that looks authentic to me.
My house, in California, was built in 1956 and has the same vent over the doors. Each of the rooms coming off the hallway has a vent, as the ducts are short and run only atop the hallway to the heater unit in a closet off the hallway.
I, too, remember the day, and how it changed everything, especially as the president had children the age of my siblings. Now, of course, I know he was a disloyal husband and suffered from all the political entanglements of any D.C. official, but at the time, it was a personal tragedy.
We were really cheated not to have a trial of Oswald and the public investigation that would have prompted. One of the great things about mid-century is that we still pretended we had due process and impartial journalism, though I suspect even that was a fiction for some people.
Tom says
We once owned a house built in 1952 in Dallas; it definitely had central heat from the start and may have also had central air, but the way the freon lines were run made it appear that the cooling was added later. Our return vents were at the top of the walls just like this, and the supply air was through vents at baseboard level, generally under windows.The vent being in the wall in the photo above instead of the ceiling definitely points to a central unit, if only heat to begin with. (These vents would be difficult to fit in after-the-fact due to having to cut into the wall.) The cover may or may not be period; the pic isn’t big enough to tell.
The thing I see that screams “not authentic!” are the modular phone jacks. Those should have been 4 prong. That, and the three prong electrical outlets, but current code probably required those. I’m an electrical engineer so I guess stuff like that jumps out at me more than other folks. Also, the bathtub fixtures appear more 70’s than 50’s. I’m not trying to be whiney and nit picky, “just sayin…” 🙂
But all in all, they really did a bang-up job with this; we will have to go check it out. Only 2 hours from home!
Mary Elizabeth says
Just showed the photo of the phone and wall jack to DH, a retired phone man. You are so right! No modular plug-in jacks in those days. However, if they want their phone to actually work, they need to connect it with the current technology. We have a dial phone (red, wall-mount) from the 1960s that he installed in our knotty-pine kitchen, and it is hung over the jack, so you can’t see the jack doesn’t match the phone in period. When the power goes out, this is the only phone in the house that works.
And yes, the three-pronged outlet with the ground is required by code now, probably everywhere. I’m sure they could not take people inside the museum if the wiring wasn’t up to code. We do have to make some concessions to modern safety and convenience in our desire to be authentic.
Katie says
I agree that the vents look original. My house was built in 1960, and still has the original vents, which look identical to the ones in the picture. My house didn’t have central A/C, but it did have central evaporative cooling. Later on, an A/C unit was added, but it was tied into the original duct work.
Abigail Grotke says
What a cool museum… thanks for sharing! I’ve got one of those grease cans – it’s got a strainer that I assume is to catch gunk as the grease drips through… i tried it once but was a bit sloppy…
Robin, NV says
The wonderful restoration of the Paine house really underscores what a terrible turning point JFK’s assassination was for this country. Imagine what it must have been like to be in that house on that day – a modest, post war home that was similar to thousands of homes across the country – only to find out that you were connected to one of the greatest tragedies of our times.
nina462 says
Lovely redo! simply lovely – I could move right in and be at home. I have a grease jar by my stove too – comes in handy for bacon grease remants.
Last week, I had company over and the gentlemen (in their 50’s & 30’s) and the 4 year old boy were playing with Lincoln Logs and having the time of their life. Us women were putting together a jigsaw puzzle. Simpler times.
I was only 1 yr old when he was shot, so I was taking a nap. My mom was watching her ‘story’ and doing the ironing.
Mary Elizabeth says
My mother had a grease jar just like the one pictured by the stove. It had a screen under the lid that screened out all the solid pieces of bacon, etc. She told me that she had had the same grease jar since World War II, when saved grease was brought to the grocery store to be sent to the munitions companies as part of the war effort. I have no idea what they did with the grease.
One day in 1944, she saw a sign up in the grocery store window: “Ladies, please do not bring your fat cans in on Tuesday.” With my father away in the Pacific, that was one of the few laughs she had all week, she said.
pam kueber says
As I recall, my grandmother cooked with old bacon grease. We did not have a fat can (haha) – used old jars and the like.
June Cahill says
You made my morning!hehehe
Kate says
My Grandma also saved/used her grease. She had a canister set with four canisters for Flour, Sugar, Coffee and Tea but she must not have been a tea drinker because she used a label maker to type out “GREASE” and stuck it over the word “tea”. It still makes me giggle.
Robin, NV says
There’s something very American about that story, Kate.
JKaye says
My grandmothers fried everything in bacon grease — potatoes, chicken, eggs, and so on. They used it to make gravy, and put a dollop of bacon grease in a pot of green beans to add flavor. When we moved to the Cincinnati area, our neighbors with German ancestry treated us to wilted lettuce salad and a warm potato salad, both which depended on bacon grease for flavoring. All of these cooks had grease cans on the stove, or kept the grease in a glass jelly jar.
pam kueber says
YES! That is exactly what my grandmother did! We had bacon and sausage every Sunday for breakfast — and all the grease was saved — and reused throughout the week.
My other grandmother: The bacon grease was saved and poured over her world-famous potato dumplings. My thighs live to tell the story.
Kate says
Grandma (and that whole side of the family) is German. I’m very familiar with the wilted lettuce salad, also german potato salad…
Grandma never threw away anything that might be useful — yet her house was not cluttered or messy looking. She only bought what she really needed.
Ada says
That’s a German thing? Huh. Never knew that’s where it originated. It’s a super duper old school recipe here in the Appalachians for sure….only it’s called ‘Kilt Lettuce and Onions’, as in KILLED Lettuce. 😉 My mom has a specific deep, lidded crock that she’s always made it in. She serves her ‘Kilt Lettuce’ with soup beans and hoe cakes. In the words of the Hee Haw cast, “Yuuuuuuuum, Yum!!” 😀
Dave says
I agree with Sarah – I NEED to know how the living room drapes were made to match the originals.
pam kueber says
Fabric appears to be Boomerang charcoal by Melinamade
Just turn them into pinch pleats….
Atomic Livin Home says
It is, indeed, a MelinaMadeFabrics.com barkcloth. Unfortunately, she is going out of business!! What a huge loss to the retro loving world!
pam kueber says
Fortunately, there still is Full Swing Textiles.
Atomic Livin Home says
Suzanne at Full Swing told me a month ago that she doesn’t have plans to print anything!
I say, get what you can from both FullSwingTextiles.com and MelinaMadeFabrics.com while you can! There is still some of the charcoal boomerang and a bit of some of the other fabrics at Melina Made, as of today. The website still shows all of her fabrics, but, most of them are actually sold out.
I know I’m buying what I can!! Let’s hope that things change, somehow, for these wonderful ladies and they are in a place to have more of their fabulous retro patterns printed again!
Roundhouse sarah says
I saw once where a lady was restoring her grandmothers old quilt. Some of the panels were falling apart so she was able to scan an intact piece with a handheld scanner and then printed it onto muslin. She then cut out the shape and sewed it in. Amazing!
Mary Elizabeth says
Having been a junior in high school and just becoming politically aware when Kennedy was assassinated, I was very much affected by that event. I count it as one of the saddest days of my life. This week has been hard for me, as all the media are showing films of that time leading up to the assassination. This house is a perfect setting for what has been called “the day America lost its innocence,” as Ruth Paine was harboring a murderer without knowing it, and her life in that idyllic little house was shattered.
The box TVs in the photos really got to me. The one in the Irving Library looks almost exactly like the one on which my family and I watched the news clips from Texas and later the funeral cortege.
That being said, Blair has done a tremendous service to the readers on this site by documenting her visit. Seeing his son play with the Fisher Price toys was a ray of sunshine, and I’m glad she photographed it. Thank you, Blair, for that light note.
And by the way, I think the drop-in stainless steel sink is period correct, as are the faucets. It was one of the types you could get back then and similar to the original sink in my 1959 ranch (except mine was a double sink). The other type common then was an enamel on cast iron sink in white or colors, with the Hudee ring in chrome.
pam kueber says
Note: Blair is a “he” – I edited your comment.
Mary Elizabeth says
Oops! Sorry, Blair. I should have known better. Our family is full of people with the gender-ambiguous names–Tiffany is both a boy’s and a girl’s first or middle name, as is Avery, Brook, Morgan and Taylor.
Anyway, thanks so much for sharing the photos and your narrative about the house.
Roundhouse Sarah says
I want to know Kevin Kendro’s secrets! Where was he able to source all of these period materials?! I most want to know about the flooring and the bathroom tile. We need an interview with Kevin! I wonder if he visited this site while doing his research…
It’s a tragic story but wow, what an amazing restoration!
Allen says
It looks like they did a fantastic job! I love how the doors and TRIM throughout the house are restored back to their “medium tone” goodness! Does anyone know exactly what is used to get that look? (Lacquer, Varnish, Shellac, Stain and Clear Varnish etc.)
Robin, NV says
In the case of the knotty pine panelling, shellac is the traditional finish. I don’t what they would have used on the wall and door trim though.
starving painter says
Doors and frames were probably a cured soft wood (porous) coated with orange shellac. There were two types of shellac commonly used then, white (clear) and orange (tint added). Coating trim with orange shellac was considered cost efficient, however didn’t really hold up well over time.
Puddletown Cheryl says
I was sitting in my 5th grade classroom when the principal announced over the intercom that President Kennedy had been assassinated. I knew something terrible had happened but I didn’t know what the word assassinated meant. Mrs. Martin, my stern old-fashioned teacher shocked the class by bursting into tears. She got her transistor radio, pulled her chair in front of the desk facing the children and we listened to the news. I figured out the meaning and was chilled.
When I got up that morning I was cocooned by small town life. By the afternoon I was aware, for the first time, of history being made.