(This is the second of two posts on historic presidential sites in the Boston area. Part one covered the historic homes of John and John Quincy Adams.)
John F. Kennedy was president of the United States for less than three years back in the 1960s, but even today he maintains an iconic hold on the political imagination, driven in large part by the way his charisma and promise have been frozen in time for more than half a century. If you’re interested in exploring Kennedy’s life and legacy, there are numerous Kennedy-related sites in and around Boston, the city that shaped the former president.
A tour of the Kennedy sites is an ideal complement to a trek through historic homes linked to John and John Quincy Adams, which are also near Boston and which I covered in a previous piece. These locations can all be reached via subway, if you’re so inclined.
John Kennedy’s birthplace
A perfect place to begin a Kennedy tour of Boston is the president’s birthplace at the John F. Kennedy National Historic Site. Located at 83 Beals Street in Brookline, it’s less than two miles from Fenway Park (where JFK’s grandfather, then-Mayor John “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald threw out the first pitch when the baseball stadium opened in 1912).
When Joseph and Rose Kennedy moved to this nine-room home in 1914, it was on the outskirts of Boston. In Rose’s narrated tour of the house, she notes there were no houses across the street or to the right and that the family moved there so they could enjoy the space and air. The Kennedy domicile still sits on a quiet, tree-lined street of residential homes, but the neighborhood is now firmly ensconced in metropolitan Boston, just minutes away from the bustle of Commonwealth Avenue and Beacon Street.
Four of the nine Kennedy children were born here, including the second son, John Fitzgerald, on May 29, 1917, in a bed by a second floor window. In 1967, four years after President Kennedy’s death, Rose had the interior restored to its 1917 appearance. The bed in which Kennedy was born is in its original location. In his childhood bedroom, there is a teddy bear and a collection of some favorite books. In the kitchen, there is a cast iron stove with a pot for baking beans. Behind the house is a small grassy yard where the children played.
In 1920 , as the clan grew and Joseph Kennedy increased his wealth in the banking industry and stock market, the family moved to a larger home a few blocks away at 51 Abbotsford Road. This is where Robert Kennedy was born. It’s a pleasant five-minute walk to the second Kennedy residence, but the house is privately owned and can only be viewed from the street. Nevertheless, it’s worth the trip.
A local stroll can also take you past the former Saint Aidan’s Catholic Church, where the family worshiped and the future president was baptized, and an elementary school attended by the Kennedys. As I wandered the neighborhood, children were playing in the sun and people were walking their dogs. It was strangely soothing to imagine a young Jack Kennedy roaming these streets and it helped bring his famous family down to earth a bit.
Walking tour of Kennedy sites in Boston
From the Kennedy birthplace, you can walk to Coolidge Corner and hop on the Green Line to downtown Boston. Ten stops later, at Park Street, you’ll be on the edge of Boston Common and just steps away from the Massachusetts State House. Here, you can begin another walking tour that will take you past other sites important to Kennedy’s life.
There is a tour that leaves from Boston Common, but you can also take in the main sites on your own. Your first stop should be at the State House, where there is a Kennedy statue on the front lawn. Kennedy never served in the state legislature but his two grandfathers did and the president-elect delivered his City on a Hill speech there prior to his 1961 inauguration.
Just east of the State House is the former Bellevue Hotel at 21 Beacon Street (now a condominium complex), where a young Jack Kennedy lived in a two-room suite when he first ran for Congress. Two blocks down Beacon Street is the Omni Parker House Hotel, where Kennedy announced his Congressional candidacy in 1946. It’s also where he celebrated his 1953 bachelor party before marrying the former Jacqueline Bouvier.
The hotel has many other claims to fame, including inventing the Boston cream pie. In the mid-19th century, it also hosted the Saturday Club, a monthly gathering of local thinkers — from Ralph Waldo Emerson and Oliver Wendell Holmes to Nathaniel Hawthorne and others — which was eventually the launching pad for The Atlantic Monthly magazine.
On the same block is Boston’s Old City Hall, where JFK’s grandfather served as Mayor in 1906-07 and 1910-13. Rose Kennedy’s father was the first Irish Mayor of Boston. A few feet further down the road is the Irish Famine Memorial, honoring the many immigrants who left Ireland in the mid-19th century in the face of famine, including Patrick Kennedy, John’s great-grandfather.
From here, it’s about a five-minute walk to Faneuil Hall, a touristy marketplace that is also home to an historic meeting hall and the site of many notable speeches. George Washington, Samuel Adams and Daniel Webster all spoke here and it was the site of JFK’s final speech during his 1960 campaign, as well as Ted Kennedy’s kick-off speech for his 1980 presidential race, and John Kerry’s concession speech after losing the 2004 contest.
Next to Faneuil Hall, at 41 Union Street, is the Union Oyster House, a National Historic Landmark that has been in business since 1826. It was a favorite Kennedy dining spot, particularly as a young Congressman. Table 18 was his regular seat and is now known as the Kennedy Booth.
A few minutes east of Faneuil Hall is the Rose Kennedy Greenway, a long swath of gardens, plazas, and public art that is named after Kennedy’s mother. If nothing else, it’s a way to see how Boston reconnected the downtown area to the waterfront after burying part of I-93 underground and replacing it with an urban park.
If you have time, you can also take a quick detour to Boston’s North End to see the Paul Revere House or the Old North Church, or grab a coffee and cannoli at one of the famous Italian bakeries there.
The JFK Library and Museum
Finally, hop back on the subway to your final stop, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum (on the Red line at JFK/UMass station). The JFK Library is a striking I.M. Pei-designed building that sits astride the sea with a panoramic view of the Boston skyline and harbor. Just make sure to leave plenty of time to explore the museum, which closes to new visitors at 3:30 pm and has 21 exhibits about the Kennedy presidency.
The museum has displays about the 1960 presidential campaign, televised excerpts from the Kennedy-Nixon debates, a film about the Cuban Missile Crisis, a replica Oval Office, tributes to the Peace Corps and the space program, and a poignant tape of Walter Cronkite delivering the news about President Kennedy’s 1963 assassination.
The self-paced museum tour ends at a dramatic glass pavilion overlooking the water. Outside, you can enjoy a stroll through the 10-acre waterfront park or simply relax on a bench and watch sailboats glide by at the end of your day exploring John Kennedy’s Boston.
(Photos: All photos by Bob Riel.)