Hemming Plaza has always been regarded as the center of downtown Jacksonville. It was the first and oldest park in the city. It once contained bandstands, fountains, rest rooms, and a tourism bureau. In October of 1960, presidential candidates John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon both gave speeches here a few hours apart, and President Lyndon Johnson also spoke here in 1964. Over the years, major stores lined the adjoining streets. The park was in the news all though the 60s, as race riots erupted during civil rights protests. During the following years, the city was integrated, and the park had changed forever. The city converted it to a paved square, changing its name to Hemming Plaza, retailers left the area, and their empty store fronts attracted the homeless, who now congregate both in the park and around the new city library across the street. I made this ironic image of a person incongruously dozing at the base of a monument to Kennedy. The formality of the brass tablet, and the historical context it provides, contrasts strongly to the circumstances currently facing the man who sleeps in front of it.