Park Marks Kennedy Birthday And Site Anniversary

Today marks John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site’s 40th anniversary and the 92nd anniversary of the birth at this site of President John F. Kennedy. This weekend, the site celebrates these important anniversaries with an admission-free open house with birthday cake and New Hampshire pianist Deborah Wyndham performing on the piano once played by President Kennedy’s mother, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy.

The park preserves the birthplace (1917) and early boyhood home of the 35th president of the United States.  Located at 83 Beals Street in Brookline, Massachusetts, a near suburb of Boston, this house was the first home shared by the president’s father and mother, Joseph and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. Four of the nine Kennedy children were born while the family lived here from 1914 to 1920. John, the second of the nine children, spent his formative years in this house, then at a larger residence a few blocks away as his family began its rise to national prominence.

In 1967, Rose Kennedy returned to Beals Street to commemorate President Kennedy’s life, restoring the birthplace to her recollection of its 1917 appearance.  She and the Kennedy family donated the restored house to the National Park Service in a ceremony at the site on May 29, 1969.

Remaining today with little change from its historic era, the Kennedy house, grounds, collections, and the surrounding Brookline community allow visitors to experience the setting in which one of the nation’s leading political families began its family life. Here people can explore the early influences that helped shape the character and ambitions of President Kennedy.  A narrative audio tour produced by Rose Kennedy provides visitors with an evocative glimpse of family life in Brookline. Park rangers offer tours of the nearby Brookline neighborhood, which includes stops at the second Kennedy home on Abbottsford Road (1920 to1927), schools where the children studied, and Saint Aidan’s Roman Catholic Church, where the family worshipped.

Kennedy NHS recently launched publicly a strategic planning process that will result in the site’s first general management plan. This plan will address a range of questions and issues and plan for long-term preservation of the historic resource while supporting visitor use, expanding partnerships, and allowing the site to remain a responsible member of the local community. On May 3rd, the site held an open house, followed by a public meeting and discussion on May 6th to begin engaging the public in the planning process. The site’s general management plan newsletter is available on its website, www.nps.gov/jofi.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site is open through the month of September. Visitor hours are Wednesday through Sunday from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm. Guided tours are offered every 30 minutes beginning at 10:00 am, with the final tour at 3:00 pm. From 3:30 to 4:30, visitors are welcome to follow a self-guided tour through the first and second floors of the house.  Hand-held audio-players are available so that visitors may follow Mrs. Kennedy’s tour in English, French, German, Spanish, and Japanese. Admission is $3.00 for adults 18 and over and free to those under 18.  For further information, call 617-566-7937 or consult the website.