Fort Worth Halfway To Goal For Kennedy Tribute
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - To anyone passing by, General Worth Square is just a small green space nestled between the Hilton Hotel and the Fort Worth Convention Center.
But, if you guide a tourist to a small marker between the hotel and the convention center, the forgotten importance of this site sinks in.
"I just had no idea," said Susan Vardaman who was visiting from Oklahoma. "I had no idea it was over here. I had no clue."
The plaque tells the story of the last morning President Kennedy was alive. It was here President Kennedy made an impromptu speech to thousands of people waiting in the rain outside the hotel he'd stayed in the night before. The president would then address a Chamber of Commerce breakfast inside the hotel before heading to Dallas.
President Kennedy made the last public speeches of his life in a small plaza most people pass without notice.
"No, I had no idea," tourist Cleve Ledford said. "Interesting. You don't hear about it much."
"I guess they just moved on to other things in Fort Worth," said Dennis Fogerty of Dallas. "But its never too late to honor someone."
Downtown Fort Worth Initiatives Inc., a coalition of Fort Worth investors and businesses, agrees. Its working on a JFK tribute for the square. The display will feature pictures and history of the president's stay, downloadable audio of his speeches for mobile devices, and an eight-foot tall statue. The group has raised about half of the $1.5 million it will need for the project many consider long past due.
"Lesser people have had bigger things done for them," Vardaman said. "I think it would be great to have something more than that."
"I think a memorial to John F. Kennedy would be one of the greatest ideas anyone could come up with since this is the last place he was able to speak to a crowd outside," Fogerty said.
If its succesful, Downtown Fort Worth Initiatives, Inc. hopes to break ground the week of May 29 -- President Kennedy's birthday. To learn more about the planned tribute, click here.
