John F Kennedy National Historic Site

Address:83 Beals Street
Brookline, Massachusetts
Tel: (617) 566-7937

Commemorate the life of the 35th president at the John F. Kennedy National Historic Site in Brookline, Massachusetts. The John F. Kennedy National Historic Site served as Kennedy's childhood home, from his birth until the family's success encouraged them to move to a larger house a few blocks away. Today, visitors can enjoy tours of the home itself, as well as the surrounding neighborhood.

In 1914, Joseph Kennedy, father of future president John F. Kennedy, bought the house at 83 Beals Street which would serve as John's birthplace and childhood home. The future site of the John F. Kennedy National Historic Site would also be the birthplace and childhood homes of his sisters, Rosemary and Kathleen, until 1921, when the family moved a few blocks away. In 1967, Rose Kennedy, John's mother, restored the John F. Kennedy National Historic Site to its 1917 appearance, where thousands of visitors each year go to share what Mrs. Kennedy calls "many happy memories."

Today, visitors to the John F. Kennedy National Historic Site have a wide variety of options for tours. They can take half hour ranger-guided tours of the house, where Mrs. Kennedy personally arranged a collection of personal items for viewing. Visitors to the John F. Kennedy National Historic Site can also embark on self-guided audio tours, narrated by Mrs. Kennedy herself, who describes the nostalgic value of many of the personal mementos sprinkled throughout the house. Finally, visitors can enjoy a self-guided tour of the Coolidge Corner neighborhood in the footsteps of a young Jack Kennedy. After the tours, visitors to the John F. Kennedy National Historic Site can find dozens of restaurants within easy walking distance, with everything from Japanese to pizza to deli.

To get to the John F. Kennedy National Historic Site, visitors should take the "C" Cleveland Circle MBTA trolley to Coolidge Corner, then walk four blocks north along Harvard Street, then turn right onto Beals Street and continue to 83 Beals Street. Enjoy your trip to the John F. Kennedy National Historic Site and walking in the footsteps of one of our greatest presidents!