The Ruth Paine Home at 2515 W. 5th Street in

Irving, Texas Irving is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. Located in Dallas County, it is also an inner ring suburb of Dallas. The city of Irving is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. According to a 2019 estimate from the United States Census Bureau, ...

, United States, is the location where

Lee Harvey Oswald Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963. Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at the age of 12 fo ...

spent the night before he allegedly

assassinated Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

United States President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United State ...

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

on November 22, 1963, at

Dealey Plaza Dealey Plaza is a city park in the West End Historic District of downtown Dallas, Texas. It is sometimes called the "birthplace of Dallas". It was also the location of the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963; 30 minutes after the shooting ...

. It was from the house's garage that he removed the rifle he used for the assassination, which he had previously concealed there. The house was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on November 16, 2014.

History

Located in the

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

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 Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

and

Ruth Paine Ruth Hyde Paine (born September 3, 1932) was a friend of Marina Oswald, who was living with her at the time of the JFK assassination. According to four government investigations, Lee Harvey Oswald stored the 6.5 mm caliber Carcano rifle that ...

, served as a temporary residence for

Marina Oswald Marina Nikolayevna Oswald Porter ( Prusakova; russian: Марина Николаевна Прусакова; born July 17, 1941) is the Russian-American widow of Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of US President John F. Kennedy. Early life Porte ...

and her children. The Paines were separated and living apart, so Ruth had offered her home to Marina. Marina's husband, Lee Harvey Oswald, was living at a

rooming house A rooming house, also called a "multi-tenant house", is a "dwelling with multiple rooms rented out individually", in which the tenants share kitchen and often bathroom facilities. Rooming houses are often used as housing for low-income people, as ...

at 1026 N. Beckley in Dallas to be near his newly acquired job at the

Texas School Book Depository The Texas School Book Depository, now known as the Dallas County Administration Building, is a seven-floor building facing Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. The building was Lee Harvey Oswald's vantage point during the assassination of United Sta ...

in Downtown Dallas. Oswald visited Marina and the children customarily on Fridays and spent the weekend at the Paine home, then returned 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 commuted together daily to Downtown Dallas. Lee stated that Marina had made him some new curtains for his apartment and he wanted to retrieve them. 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. 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. Restoration began in 2011, and the Ruth Paine Home was opened as a museum on November 6, 2013.Fleck, Deborah (November 4, 2013).
Irving opening museum at house where Oswald stayed before JFK killing
, ''Dallas Morning News''. Retrieved November 10, 2015. File:Ruth Paine Kitchen.JPG, Kitchen File:Ruth Paine Breakfast Nook.JPG, Breakfast Nook File:Marina Oswald (Guest Room).JPG, Marina Oswald (Guest) Room File:Ruth Paine's Garage.JPG, Garage File:Ruth Paine Living Room.JPG, Living Room

References

External links

Ruth Paine Home - museum websiteSixth Floor MuseumCity of Irving Press Release
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paine, Ruth, Home Buildings and structures associated with the assassination of John F. Kennedy Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas National Register of Historic Places in Dallas County, Texas Museums in Dallas County, Texas Historic house museums in Texas Buildings and structures in Irving, Texas Houses in Dallas County, Texas

History

Purchase by City of Irving and museum

See also

References

External links