I was there in '77 and was, as you say, amazed at how small the whole area was.  The museum was there already, but it was pretty sparse at the time.  I do remember a notice posted on a wall, advertising for people to be interviewed on some TV talk show (Donahue?  Not sure, can't remember.)  The notice wanted people who were still upset about the assassination, and at then bottom of the notice, in bold print (as I recall), it said, "especially interested in those who might cry on camera."  Yeah, there's your reality TV.

Also, I saw this week on TV that the X's on the street are no longer there.  Dallas repaved some of the street and covered them up.  The report also said that no one knows who painted them there in the first place.

If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to.                                                                                     Dorothy Parker