JFK Limousine License Plates To Be Auctioned

Above, the JFK limousine durng the assassination. 

Sometimes, one finds the oddest things in Japanese news websites.

The Mainichi Shimbun has an article (from the Associated Press) stating that the license plates that were on the limousine (SS-100-X) President John F. Kennedy was riding in when assassinated are to be auctioned.

The article states:

DALLAS (AP) -- The license plates that were on the limousine carrying President John F. Kennedy when he was assassinated in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963 -- saved from the trash more than half a century ago -- are going up for auction. 

The opening bid for the plates being offered by Heritage Auctions on Saturday in Dallas is $40,000.

The limousine was retrofitted in 1964 with armor and other modifications by the builder, Hess & Eisenhardt of Cincinnati, Ohio. During this process, new license plates were installed and the old plates were tossed into the trash.

However, company owner Willard Hess retrieved them and kept them.

To read more, go here.

Kennedy Limo Served Other Presidents After Assassination

Above, the limousine in 1972 at the Century Plaza Hotel.  I am in the crowd (arrow).  National Archives Photo.

The Presidential Lincoln President John F. Kennedy was riding in when he was assassinated served several presidents that followed. Upon hearing this, many people are stunned.

This subject has been blogged here before, but CBS News.com has a new story on the limousine.

It begins with:

(CBS News) One of the most historic pieces of evidence from the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated 50 years ago was the limousine he was riding in. What happened to it after the assassination is yet another incredible chapter in the story. 

The tragic Lincoln limousine is now at the end of the road in the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich.

Presidents Nixon and Ford rode in it as did Lyndon Johnson, who was two cars behind Kennedy that day in Dallas.

Before being put back into use, it had been extensively modified with a hard roof, armor, bullet-proof tires and other modifications. It was finally retired from service during the presidency of Jimmy Carter.

I saw the limousine in 1972 at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles during President Nixon's re-election campaign.

To read the full story, which also has a video of the limousine at the Henry Ford Museum, go here.

SS-100-X

Above, President and Mrs. Nixon in the SS-100-X limousine in 1972 at the Century Plaza Hotel.
National Archives photo.

Since this year marks the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, there will be many articles and stories in the major news media.

One such story appeared yesterday in the Dallas Morning News (I first saw it in the Los Angeles Daily News). It is on the 1961 Lincoln Continental that the President was riding in when he was shot.

The article has many interesting facts about the car:

...the open-top car that President John F. Kennedy waved from on a sunny day in Dallas, Nov. 22, 1963, could not have been more different. That car was fashioned from a stock 1961 Lincoln Continental four-door convertible — retail price $7,347 — that had rolled off the assembly line at parent company Ford’s plant in Wixom, Mich.

The White House leased it from Ford for a token $500 a year and sent it off for $200,000 in modifications by elite custom coachbuilder Hess and Eisenhardt in Cincinnati, Ohio. (The firm’s other high-profile clients included the Queen of England.) In the process, the car gained Secret Service codenames — SS-100-X and X-100 — and the grille of a 1962 model, so it appeared right up to date.

Kennedy’s Lincoln, sensationally dubbed the “Death Car” in a 1964 Associated Press story, was hastily rebuilt after the assassination. Project name? The Quick Fix. The logic was straightforward, according to Henry Ford [Museum] curator Anderson. “It takes four years or so to get one of these done, from the original planning to its delivery to the White House. They simply didn’t have the time to build a new car.

 The final price tag for project Quick Fix was an estimated $500,000.

Improbably, the car stayed in service through President Richard Nixon’s administration and into 1977, Jimmy Carter’s administration’s first year. It was retired late that year and returned to Ford. The automaker donated it to The Henry Ford museum, where curator Anderson says it remains one of the museum’s most popular exhibits.

Above, President Nixon shakes hands from the roof opening.  I am at the arrow.
National Archives photo.

I saw the car in 1972 when President Nixon arrived at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles for a fundraising dinner.  I was in the parking lot near where the President was driven alongside the crowd of supporters.  It didn't occur to me that the limousine was the Kennedy SS-100-X until I saw photos of it on display at the Henry Ford Museum and compared them to the photos I have of the Nixon Century Plaza visit.

In 1984, I was a member of the California Reagan Delegation to the Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas.  While there, I stopped by the assassination site in Dealey Plaza and took photographs of the scene from several angles.  I will post a detailed article on this in November.

To read the full article, go here.

Richard Nixon Centennial

The celebration of the Centennial of President Richard Nixon's birth has started.

The Nixon Foundation reports:

The 100th anniversary of the birth of President Nixon was commemorated with a spectacular ceremony at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library on January 6. 

The celebration comes in advance of a birthday gala in Washington, D.C. on January 9, what would have been President Nixon’s 100^th birthday. 

The program began with a patriotic Presentation of the Colors and playing of the “National Anthem” by the 3^rd Marine Aircraft Wing Band followed by a Harrier squadron flyover provided by Marine Aircraft Group-13.

Photo: National Archives

I saw President Nixon twice.  First, at Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles when he and Mrs. Nixon arrived for a campaign fundraiser in September 1972 (photo above, I am at the arrow).  The second came at the opening of the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace in Yorba Linda.  He and I exchanged correspondence several times.

To read more, go here.

JFK Death Car At Century Plaza Hotel

Above, the 1961 Lincoln Continental limousine during the Kennedy years.

Here's a little bit of historical trivia for you.

In September 1972, President Richard Nixon was running for re-election. On September 27, Nixon was scheduled to give a fundraising speech at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.

I was fortunate to be able to attend the welcoming of the President at the Century Plaza. (I covered this story a while ago on this blog.) Those of us with the Young Voters for the President were bused to the Century Plaza and were herded into roped-off areas in the parking lot for President Nixon's arrival via his Marine One helicopter.

After the Nixons exited Marine One, they were led to a presidential limousine which would then drive along the crowd, allowing them to shake hands with the throngs.

Until last night, it never occurred on me that the limousine Nixon was riding that day was the 1961 Lincoln Continental that President John F. Kennedy was riding in when he was assassinated in Dallas. That is, until I looked at a contact sheet of photos from the National Archives of that day in 1972 and compared them to photos of the car today at the Henry Ford Museum in Greenfield Village in Detroit.

Above, the 1961 Lincoln Presidential limousine at
 the Henry Ford Museum. Note the changes to the top.

After the assassination, the Lincoln was re-fit with armor and had the top modified with a permanent one so that it was no longer a convertible. The 1961 Lincoln, during the Kennedy years, had previously been modified with a 1962 Lincoln Continental grille. The car was equipped with a removable "bubble top" that wasn't used in Dallas. President Lyndon Johnson rarely used the car during his White House years. It was retired during the Carter Administration.

While the 1962 grille is still on the car, the front bumper on the car during the Nixon Administration and today is a different one. Also, the limousine had been repainted black. It was a dark blue during the Kennedy years.

Above, President and Mrs. Nixon greet the crowd in the
 Century Plaza Hotel's parking lot on September 27, 1972.

Below, the Limousine in front of the crowd at the Century Plaza Hotel. I am at the arrow.



When Nixon was first inaugurated as president in 1969, a new presidential Lincoln limousine awaited him. It went into service in the waning months of the Johnson Administration.

It is interesting that the limousine I saw President and Mrs. Nixon riding in was the same one that President Kennedy was killed in.  The limousine had the Secret Service code designation of SS 100 X.

UPDATE (10/18/09): A friend, attorney Tom Cotrel, sent me this photo link of the limousine's display sign:

http://www.geocities.com/tcotrel/im000511.jpg

President Nixon At The Century Plaza Hotel

President Nixon At The Century Plaza Hotel

Thirty-six years ago on September 27, 1972, I had the chance to see in-person a president of the United States.

In 1972, President Richard Nixon was campaigning for re-election. I was a campaign volunteer in the Nixon campaign at our local Hawthorne, California headquarters. In September 1972, it was announced that the President and Mrs. Nixon will be attending a campaign dinner in Los Angeles at the Century Plaza Hotel on September 27th. The notice came from the main California campaign office and it was that the Young Voters for the President (YVP) organization needed some young voters to greet the Nixons upon their arrival at the Century Plaza. Transportation was provided (bus).

It is not too often that one gets the chance to see a president in person, so I signed up to go. I was at the ripe old age of 18 at the time and was attending El Camino College.

On the day of the visit, September 27, we were bused to the Century Plaza's parking lot and were herded into roped-off areas. President Nixon and Mrs. Nixon (Pat) would be helicoptered to the parking lot and then would get into the presidential Lincoln limousine. They would be driven along the crowd of YVPers and shaking hands.

I remember that it was a warm September day and clear out. There was excitement in the crowd when Marine One was seen in the sky on its approach. I remember I was a few feet from the front of the crowd. I didn't get to shake the president's hand as he was driven by, but it was fun to be there and, also, we got a free meal that evening at the Century Plaza courtesy of the Committee To Re-Elect The President!

The photos below were taken from a photo negative contact sheet provided by the National Archives. These are made available to the public for purchase. I made screen captures of two that I'm in. I added arrows to point to where I am at.

Click on photo to view larger.

UPDATE: After posting this, I found that a developer is planning to demolish the Century Plaza and replace it with two 600 foot towers. The Los Angeles Conservancy is trying to stop the wrecking ball with help from actress Diane Keaton. For the story on this, go here.

UPDATE:  The presidential limousine Nixon used at the Century Plaza was the JFK death car, Secret Service Code designation SS-100-X.  The limousine was rebuilt, repainted, armored and modified with a permanent top after President Kennedy's assassination in 1963.  For more, go here.