John F. Kennedy, the 35th U.S. president, was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963. The tragedy struck Americans so hard that monuments and memorials were established in his honor shortly after his death. National facilities, institutions and schools now bear his name.
Perhaps the people of Dallas where the young president was shot were affected more than others. The shock left a dark cloud over Dealey Plaza, the site of that fateful day, for a few years.
In 1970, the John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza was dedicated between Main and Commerce streets near the president's last ride and the book depository where the assassin took his life.
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The open structure, designed by architect Philip Johnson, stands 30 feet high and 50 feet wide, surrounded by walls and concrete columns. The monument lights up at night. So many visitors appreciated the simple yet artistic structure that historians and local officials decided to renovate the Sixth Floor Museum at the old book depository to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the assassination,
according to JFK.org.
Kennedy's devotion to the U.S. space program led his successor, President Lyndon B. Johnson, to announce six days after the assassination that Cape Canaveral, site of NASA launches, would be renamed Cape Kennedy.
The U.S. Board of Geographic Names confirmed the name change, but changed it back to Cape Canaveral 10 years later after residents requested restoration of the original name. NASA then officially changed the name of its space facility to the John F. Kennedy Space Center.
The Eternal Flame that burns continuously over Kennedy's grave at Arlington National Cemetery remains a living memorial to people who visit the gravesite. Mrs. Kennedy lit the flame during the funeral. The flame relights in case of rain or wind in an apparatus created by the Institute of Gas Technology of Chicago.
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The memorial at the burial site was completed in 1967 by the architectural firm of John Warnecke and Associates. Two of Kennedy's children, who preceded him in death, were reinterred alongside him.
Congress dedicated the National Cultural Center in Washington, D.C. as a living memorial to Kennedy two months after his death. The name was changed to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which opened to the public in 1971.
Shortly after Kennedy's death, the New York International Airport, which had been known as Idlewild Airport, was renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport, and people often refer to it as "JFK."
Many schools have honored the late president, including Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government and even those around the world, such as the John F. Kennedy School in The Hague in the Netherlands.
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