Visit These Landmarks of the Kennedy Family in Massachusetts

Photos Clockwise: JFK Statue at the State House in Boston; Kennedy Park in Holyoke; Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the Senate in Boston; John F. Kennedy Birthplace in Brookline; Kennedy Museum in Hyannis; Rose F. Kennedy Garden in Boston; and JFK Library + Museum in Boston.

The family of President John F. Kennedy has deep roots in Massachusetts, dating to 1848, when all eight of JFK's eight grandparents arrived in Boston, escaping the Irish Famine that was devastating Ireland. From Boston, Cambridge and Brookline to beautiful Cape Cod and the cities of Springfield and Holyoke in western Massachusetts, the Kennedy legacy is an integral part of Massachusetts.

The Boston Irish Tourism Association has included these landmarks in its Irish Heritage Trail, which celebrates its 30th anniversary in summer 2024 as way to discover the rich Irish history of Boston and Massachusetts. 

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum
Dorchester, Boston
The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum sits on a ten-acre, waterfront parcel on Columbia Point overlooking Boston Harbor. Since it opened on October 20, 1979, the JFK Library has hosted millions of visitors from throughout the world, making it one of Boston’s most popular tourist attractions and a major educational center for the study of mid-20th century American history. The Kennedy Library is administered by the National Archives and Records Administration and supported, in part, by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, a non-profit organization. It is the only presidential library in New England and one of thirteen in the United States.

Rose F. Kennedy Rose Garden
Downtown Boston
The Rose Kennedy Garden is located at Christopher Columbus Park on Atlantic Avenue, not far from Rose Fitzgerald’s birthplace at 4 Garden Court in the North End. The small enclosed rose garden is encircled by an iron wrought fence, with a granite fountain as the centerpiece. The Garden was officially dedicated on July 22, 1987 by Rose’s family, including Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who called his mother “the greatest teacher and most wonderful mother that any child could ever have.” Just steps from the Rose Garden is the Rose F. Kennedy Greenway, a 27-acre park which opened in 2008 and runs from the North End to Chinatown.

The John F. Kennedy Museum
Hyannis, Cape Cod
Located at 397 Main Street in downtown Hyannis, the John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum opened in 1992, to celebrate President Kennedy’s deep love for Cape Cod. Filled with photographs, videos and memorabilia, the museum provides an endearing look at JFK’s life playing touch football, sailing, enjoying his family and the unique beauty of Cape Cod. Outside the Museum is a statue of JFK by local sculptor David Lewis, unveiled in 2007. Senator Edward Kennedy spoke at the unveiling, saying, “President Kennedy loved this community, he loved Cape Cod. He was proud of the National Seashore Park. He read Thoreau’s Journals of Cape Cod, and (knew) the walks from Monomoy to Provincetown.”

Kennedy Legacy Trail
Hyannis, Cape Cod
The John F. Kennedy Memorial Park along Ocean Street in Hyannis, Cape Cod, overlooks Lewis Bay, where the president spent so many summers as child and adult. In 1966, the park was designed by a local architect and built by local contractors as a tribute to the 35th president of the United States.  The park is part of the Kennedy Legacy Trail that begins at the JFK Museum and passes by several landmarks relevant to the Kennedy family experience on the Cape, including St. Francis Xavier Church, where Rose attended daily mass, and the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port, summer home of the Kennedy family. 

John F. Kennedy Birthplace
Brookline
John F. Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917 in his family home at 83 Beals Street in Brookline Massachusetts. He and the family recalled many pleasant memories of growing up there. When John F. Kennedy was elected president in 1960, the Town of Brookline decided to memorialize his birthplace. In 1961 they erected a marker commemorating his birth on a tablet in front of the house. The Kennedy family repurchased the home in 1966 and established the house as a historic site and turned it over the National Park Service, which has run the house since 1969. The House is undergoing renovations and is opening in spring 2023.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy Park

Cambridge

This five acre park at the corner of Memorial Drive and JFK Street near Harvard Square was first proposed in 1976 as a way to honor President Kennedy, who was a student at Harvard College. Texts of President Kennedy’s speeches are on the inside face of the park entry gate pillars and the fountain at the center. The park was designed by landscape architect Carol Johnson.  At the center  of the park is a granite memorial fountain, designed by John Gustafson, where a laminar flow of water runs over engraved quotations by Kennedy selected by the Kennedy family.

Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate
Dorchester, Boston
Before Senator Ted Kennedy died in 2009, he and his family and friends were planning to create a permanent legacy for the important work done by the U.S. Senate, which he was a proud member of for nearly 47 years. The outcome was the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, which formally opened on March 31, 2015. The Institute is dedicated to educating the public about the important role of the Senate in our government, encouraging participatory democracy, invigorating civil discourse, and inspiring the next generation of citizens and leaders to engage in the civic life of their communities. It is located right next to the JFK Library at Columbia Point.

John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza
Holyoke
In 1967, a memorial bust of John F. Kennedy was unveiled in Holyoke, Massachusetts, at the corner of Appleton and Suffolk Streets. The JFK bust sits in front of Our Lady of the Cross Parish. It was sculpted from Vermont granite. As a U.S. senator, JFK visited the city a number of times. In 1958, Kennedy was the first recipient National Citizen Award bestowed on a person of Irish descent by the Holyoke Saint Patrick's Day Parade Committee. In 1964, the award title was changed to the John F. Kennedy Memorial Award to honor the slain president.

The Eternal Flame at John F. Kennedy Memorial
Springfield
A memorial to President Kennedy at Forest Park in Springfield includes an eternal flame, the only one dedicated to JFK in addition to President Kennedy's gravesite at Arlington Cemetery in Virginia. Each year, a remembrance ceremony is held at the memorial on November 23. The eternal flame burns 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. At 735 acres is one of the largest city parks in the nation. It was designed by famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. 

Massachusetts State House

Beacon Hill, Boston

On January 9, 1961, President-Elect John F. Kennedy gave his famous "City on a Hill" speech before the joint session of the General Court.  In front of the Massachusetts State House on Beacon Hill stands an eight foot, two inch tall bronze depiction of President John F. Kennedy, purposeful and confident in full stride. The statue was created by sculptor Isabel McIlvain of Sherborn, and unveiled on May 30, 1990. Among those at the unveiling were US Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, US Representative Joseph Kennedy II, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and other family members and friends. Public access to the JFK statue was closed after 9/11, but it was reopened to the public in 2015. A wreath is laid at the JFK statue on the president’s birthday and inauguration date.

Read more stories on the Kennedy Family at IrishMassachusetts.com.

Research + Text, Michael Quinlin