Presidential Places: The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum
As the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy nears, the JFK Presidential Library and Museum sounds like an exciting Presidential Place to visit in 2013. The facility is located on Columbia Point in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, next to the University of Massachusetts Boston and the Massachusetts Archives. It was designed by the architect I. M. Pei. The library serves as the official repository for original papers and correspondence of the Kennedy Administration. The library and museum were dedicated in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter and members of the Kennedy family. It can be reached from nearby Interstate 93 or by shuttle bus from the JFK/UMass stop on the Boston subway's Red line.
On October 19, 1963, a month before his death, President Kennedy viewed several locations offered by Harvard as a site for the library and museum. Kennedy told the design committee that he felt that the existing presidential libraries were placed too "far away from scholarly resources. He selected a plot of land next to the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. After President Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963, a committee was formed to plan the facility with final decisions left up to Jacqueline Kennedy. A series of delays occurred and an alternate site was ultimately selected. Official groundbreaking took place on June 12, 1977. Construction was completed in 1979 and the official dedication took place on October 20, 1979.
The library's first floor features a museum containing video monitors, family photographs, and political memorabilia. Visitors to the museum begin their visit by watching a film narrated by President Kennedy in one of two cinemas that show an orientation film. A third cinema shows a documentary on the Cuban missile crisis. The museum has seven permanent exhibits:
1. Campaign Trail – an exhibit on the presidential campaign of 1960 and New Frontier, featuring 1960 Democratic National Convention memorabilia, and a replica of a Kennedy campaign office.
2. The Briefing Room – an exhibit on Kennedy's speeches and press conferences.
3. The Space Race – an exhibit on the Space Race and the U.S. space program during Project Mercury. It features the Mercury-Redstone 3 "Freedom 7" space capsule in which astronaut Alan B. Shepard became the first American in space. The capsule will return to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., in 2016.
4. Attorney General's Office – an exhibit on Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, which features information on RFK's role in fighting organized crime as chief counsel for the Senate McClellan Committee, and the Department of Justice's role in the American civil rights movement during RFK's time as attorney general. The centerpiece of the exhibit are items that RFK had in his office at the Department of Justice Building.
5. The Oval Office – this exhibit features information on the American civil rights movement during the Kennedy presidency, and items that Kennedy kept in the Oval Office.
6. First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy – an exhibit on the life of First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy; features footage of the First Lady and artifacts from her life, include several pieces of clothing.
7. The Kennedy Family – an exhibit on the Kennedy family, featuring a number of artifacts, including Kathleen Kennedy's Red Cross uniform jacket, a commemorative cup, a blackthorn walking stick, and a replica of the Great Mace of Galway, Ireland.
Among the Library's art collection is a 1962 portrait of Robert F. Kennedy by Lajos Markos, a watercolor sketch of John F. Kennedy by Jamie Wyeth, a watercolor painting of the White House painted by Jacqueline Kennedy and given as a gift to her husband, who had it hung in the Oval Office, a fingerpainting by Caroline Kennedy as a child, and a bust of John F. Kennedy sculpted by Felix de Weldon. Kennedy's 26-foot Wianno Senior sailboat Victura is on display on the grounds of the Library from May to October.
Begun in 1964, the oral-history project was a unique undertaking to document and preserve interviews with those associated with Kennedy. Initially expected to have about 150 participants, today it contains over 1,100 interviews and continues to this day.
The library keeps a wide range of artifacts, many of which can be found in their respective exhibits. One is the original coconut on which a rescue message was inscribed by Kennedy to rescue the crew of the PT-109, and which was delivered by Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana, natives of the Solomon Islands. The library is also home to a collection of documents and belongings from Ernest Hemingway. The collection was established in 1968 following an exchange of letters between Hemingway's widow Mary and Jacqueline Kennedy that confirmed that Hemingway's papers would be archived there.
On April 15, 2013, a fire occurred in the library. The fire appears to have started in a mechanical room and is still being investigated. Despite some initial suspicion, the fire appears to be unrelated to the Boston Marathon bombings that occurred several hours earlier.
Following is more information about the Kennedy Library and Museum:
Webpage: http://www.jfklibrary.org/
Location: Columbia Point, Boston, Massachusetts
Hours of Operation: 7 days per week, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with the exception of New Year’s, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/JFKLibrary
YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/JFKLF
Twitter: @JFKLibrary
On October 19, 1963, a month before his death, President Kennedy viewed several locations offered by Harvard as a site for the library and museum. Kennedy told the design committee that he felt that the existing presidential libraries were placed too "far away from scholarly resources. He selected a plot of land next to the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. After President Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963, a committee was formed to plan the facility with final decisions left up to Jacqueline Kennedy. A series of delays occurred and an alternate site was ultimately selected. Official groundbreaking took place on June 12, 1977. Construction was completed in 1979 and the official dedication took place on October 20, 1979.
The library's first floor features a museum containing video monitors, family photographs, and political memorabilia. Visitors to the museum begin their visit by watching a film narrated by President Kennedy in one of two cinemas that show an orientation film. A third cinema shows a documentary on the Cuban missile crisis. The museum has seven permanent exhibits:
1. Campaign Trail – an exhibit on the presidential campaign of 1960 and New Frontier, featuring 1960 Democratic National Convention memorabilia, and a replica of a Kennedy campaign office.
2. The Briefing Room – an exhibit on Kennedy's speeches and press conferences.
3. The Space Race – an exhibit on the Space Race and the U.S. space program during Project Mercury. It features the Mercury-Redstone 3 "Freedom 7" space capsule in which astronaut Alan B. Shepard became the first American in space. The capsule will return to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., in 2016.
4. Attorney General's Office – an exhibit on Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, which features information on RFK's role in fighting organized crime as chief counsel for the Senate McClellan Committee, and the Department of Justice's role in the American civil rights movement during RFK's time as attorney general. The centerpiece of the exhibit are items that RFK had in his office at the Department of Justice Building.
5. The Oval Office – this exhibit features information on the American civil rights movement during the Kennedy presidency, and items that Kennedy kept in the Oval Office.
6. First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy – an exhibit on the life of First Lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy; features footage of the First Lady and artifacts from her life, include several pieces of clothing.
7. The Kennedy Family – an exhibit on the Kennedy family, featuring a number of artifacts, including Kathleen Kennedy's Red Cross uniform jacket, a commemorative cup, a blackthorn walking stick, and a replica of the Great Mace of Galway, Ireland.
Among the Library's art collection is a 1962 portrait of Robert F. Kennedy by Lajos Markos, a watercolor sketch of John F. Kennedy by Jamie Wyeth, a watercolor painting of the White House painted by Jacqueline Kennedy and given as a gift to her husband, who had it hung in the Oval Office, a fingerpainting by Caroline Kennedy as a child, and a bust of John F. Kennedy sculpted by Felix de Weldon. Kennedy's 26-foot Wianno Senior sailboat Victura is on display on the grounds of the Library from May to October.
Begun in 1964, the oral-history project was a unique undertaking to document and preserve interviews with those associated with Kennedy. Initially expected to have about 150 participants, today it contains over 1,100 interviews and continues to this day.
The library keeps a wide range of artifacts, many of which can be found in their respective exhibits. One is the original coconut on which a rescue message was inscribed by Kennedy to rescue the crew of the PT-109, and which was delivered by Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana, natives of the Solomon Islands. The library is also home to a collection of documents and belongings from Ernest Hemingway. The collection was established in 1968 following an exchange of letters between Hemingway's widow Mary and Jacqueline Kennedy that confirmed that Hemingway's papers would be archived there.
On April 15, 2013, a fire occurred in the library. The fire appears to have started in a mechanical room and is still being investigated. Despite some initial suspicion, the fire appears to be unrelated to the Boston Marathon bombings that occurred several hours earlier.
Following is more information about the Kennedy Library and Museum:
Webpage: http://www.jfklibrary.org/
Location: Columbia Point, Boston, Massachusetts
Hours of Operation: 7 days per week, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with the exception of New Year’s, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/JFKLibrary
YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/JFKLF
Twitter: @JFKLibrary