National Park Service
83 Beals Street
Brookline, MA 02446
(617) 566-7937
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JOHN FITZGERALD KENNEDY NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
preserves the birthplace in 1917 and early boyhood
home of the 35th President of the United States. The modest frame house at 83 Beals Street in Brookline,Massachusetts, was the first home shared by the president's father and mother, Joseph P. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, and represents the social and political beginnings of one of America’s most prominent families.
Four of the nine Kennedy children were born while the family resided at 83 Beals — Joe Jr., John, Rosemary, and Kathleen. When John Kennedy was 3 1/2 years old, his parents sold the house and moved to a larger residence nearby, where they lived until 1927. A commemorative plaque was placed on the site by the Town of Brookline in 1961, the year of President Kennedy’s inauguration. In 1965, the house was designated a National Historic Landmark and was later repurchased and restored by the Kennedy family as a memorial.
Today the National Park Service presents guided tours of the house with its display of household furnishings, photographs, and significant mementos personally collected by Mrs. Kennedy. Many pieces in the museum collection are
original to the 1914- 1920 historic period, reflecting the lifestyle and various pursuits and
interests of the Kennedys. A narrative audio tour produced by Mrs. Kennedy provides visitors with an evocative glimpse of family life in the early Brookline years. Park Rangers also offer tours of the nearby neighborhood, including the second Kennedy home, schools, and Saint Aidan’s Roman Catholic Church where the family worshipped.
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