American Notes DALLAS

For many in Dallas, the Texas School Book Depository has been a monument to the most shameful day in the city's history. For years tourists have trekked to the red-brick building where Lee Harvey Oswald fired the shots that killed President John F. Kennedy. But the structure was closed to the public until 1981, when it was declared a Texas historic site, and visitors still are not allowed near Oswald's sixth-floor sniper perch.

Now Dallas has decided to acknowledge the continuing interest in the site. The city's landmark commission gave approval for a 60-ft. elevator tower that will run to the building's sixth floor, where a historical exhibit will detail the President's murder. The $3 million project is scheduled to open by the fall of 1988, the 25th anniversary of the assassination. "Dallas has come to terms with worldwide curiosity," declared Dallas County Chief Executive Lee Jackson. "We'll present the building to the world and let people draw their own conclusions."