The door to the hotel room where President John F. Kennedy spent his last night on Nov. 21, 1963, is one of the top offerings at the Fort Worth Show of Antiques & Art, running now through March 5 at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth.
The door to Suite 850, a special door design known as a “Valet Door” that opens from both sides, from the former Hotel Texas in Fort Worth has been in storage for 37 years. Although Suite 850 was not the best suite in the hotel, the Secret Service selected it for the well-documented reason that it had only one door.
The historic door is on exhibit and for sale at the show. Along with the door, its buyer will receive documentation including the original receipt from the wrecking company that removed it from the hotel in 1979, the door keys, original newspaper clippings that reference the door and its removal from the hotel, and November 1963 newsreel footage of the door at the time the Kennedys stayed there.
Coincidentally, the Fort Worth Show of Antiques & Art traces its beginning to the spring of 1963. Along with the historic Kennedy door at this year’s 53rd annual show are 150 exhibitors from around the world. The show offers art, including contemporary art and photography; art furniture; art jewelry; antique and vintage furniture from France, England, America and Italy; and lighting, design and accessories from early to Mid-Century Modern.
This year’s charity booths benefit The Parenting Center and Saving Hope Foundation, which is offering adoptions of pets.
Admission to the show is $8; children 16 and under are free. The show continues March 4 until 7 p.m. and March 5 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. For information and discount coupons, visit www.fortworthshow.com.