The image of our neighborhood’s most famous assassin now adorns a wall in our most famous district.
A new mural of JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald went up at the corner of Seventh and Madison about a week ago. Oswald once lived about a block from where the mural is, and this infamous photo of him was taken about three blocks away.
The artist is Ponchaveli, who painted the JFK mural at the South Dallas Alamo Draft House as well as Selena and Prince murals on his West Dallas studio, just off of Sylvan.
Christian Avanti, who owns the new barber shop Members Only commissioned the mural. The new shop is an extension of Avanti’s shop across Madison, the Kings Club. He says there are plans to add the words, “Forgive your enemies but never forget their names.”
He figures some older people might not like the mural, but many younger people don’t even know who Oswald is.
“We’re not trying to idolize him,” Avanti says.
A JFK tour recently added the mural to its Oak Cliff stops; offensive or not, it will bring tourists to the Bishop Arts District.
