JFK Remembered: X-100 After Kennedy Administration

Loading the Post-"Quick Fix" 1961 Lincoln Continental Presidential Limousine into an Airplane, 1964

Photographic print

Around 1960, the United States Secret Service began using one of Lockheed's versatile C-130 Hercules transport aircraft to carry presidential vehicles. This was faster and more direct than shipping state cars ahead of the President via railcar or boat -- though loading lengthy automobiles into the plane's cargo compartment was a persistent challenge.

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1961 Lincoln Continental Presidential Limousine at the South Portico of the White House, 1964

Photographic print

A radically changed 1961 Lincoln Continental Presidential Limousine waits outside the White House in October 1964. Nearly a year before, President Kennedy was riding in the midnight-blue, unarmored, open convertible when he was assassinated. The vehicle was updated with a permanent roof, bullet-proof glass, and extensive armor-plating. It continued to serve Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon as front line transportation.

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1961 Presidential Lincoln Limousine at the South Portico of the White House, October 5, 1964

Photographic print

A radically changed 1961 Lincoln Continental Presidential Limousine waits outside the White House in October 1964. Nearly a year before, President Kennedy was riding in the midnight-blue, unarmored, open convertible when he was assassinated. The vehicle was updated with a permanent roof, bullet-proof glass, and extensive armor-plating. It continued to serve Presidents Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon as front line transportation.

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1961 Lincoln Continental Presidential Limousine during Richard Nixon's Inaugural Parade, 1973

Photographic print

President Richard Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon waved to the crowd during the January 20, 1973, inaugural parade in Washington, D.C. The Nixons stood through a door cut into the roof of the 1961 Lincoln Continental presidential limousine. This hatch was one of several modifications made after the car's rebuild in the wake of President John F. Kennedy's assassination.

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1961 Lincoln Continental Presidential Limousine during Richard Nixon's Inaugural Parade, 1973

Photographic print

President Richard Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon waved to the crowd during the January 20, 1973, inaugural parade in Washington, D.C. The Nixons stood through a door cut into the roof of the 1961 Lincoln Continental presidential limousine. This hatch was one of several modifications made after the car's rebuild in the wake of President John F. Kennedy's assassination.

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History of the Kennedy Limousine

Film clip

Arguably, no presidential limousine is as widely recognized as the 1961 Lincoln Continental in which John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. When originally constructed, the car had no armor. After the tragedy, it was thoroughly rebuilt with titanium plating, bullet-resistant glass, and a more powerful engine to handle the added weight. This film tells the limo's remarkable story.

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