Acreage: 0.09
Category: National Historic Site
Date Established:
05/26/1967
What can we learn by visiting the birthplace of a president?
In 1914, the neat, two-story home at 83 Beals Street in Brookline looked much like its neighbors. Solid. Inviting. Unpretentious. A good place to raise a family.
Joe and Rose Kennedy purchased the home for $6,500 and spent six happy years living here. Four of their nine children were born in the master bedroom, including second-born John, who would one day become the nation’s 35th president.
Rose Kennedy donated the property to the American people in 1967 after restoring the home to the way she remembered it on the day her son John was born.
You can take a guided tour of JFK’s birthplace led by a docent, or by Mrs. Kennedy herself. The audio tour features Rose Kennedy’s stories about the family’s “many happy memories” of Beals Street, back when “life was so much simpler.”
The home includes memorabilia from the president’s youth, including family photographs, his bassinette, and a porringer bearing his initials. The audio tour brings these mementos to life, as Rose talks about what they meant to her and to the young future president.
Guided tours of the neighborhood are also available.
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