| John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
  | |
| General information | |
| Location | Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States |
| Coordinates | 42°18′57.21″N71°2′2.71″W / 42.3158917°N 71.0340861°W /42.3158917; -71.0340861 (John F. Kennedy Presidential Library (Suffolk County, Massachusetts)) |
| Named for | John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917–1963) |
| Construction started | August 1977; 48 years ago (August 1977) Groundbreaking: June 12, 1977; 48 years ago (June 12, 1977) |
| Inaugurated | Dedicated on October 20, 1979; 46 years ago (October 20, 1979) Rededicated on October 29, 1993; 32 years ago (October 29, 1993)[1] |
| Cost | $20.8 million[2] |
| Management | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Technical details | |
| Size | 10 acres (40,000 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | I. M. Pei |
| Website | |
| jfklibrary.org | |
TheJohn F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is thepresidential library andmuseum ofJohn F. Kennedy (1917–1963), the35th president of the United States (1961–1963). It is located onColumbia Point in theDorchester neighborhood ofBoston, Massachusetts, next to theUniversity of Massachusetts at Boston, theEdward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, and theMassachusetts Archives and Commonwealth Museum. Designed by the architectI. M. Pei, the building is the official repository for original papers and correspondence of the Kennedy Administration, as well as special bodies of published and unpublished materials, such as books and papers by and aboutErnest Hemingway.
The library and museum is part of thePresidential Library System, which is administered by the Office of Presidential Libraries, a part of theNational Archives and Records Administration.[3]
The library and museum were dedicated in 1979 by PresidentJimmy Carter and members of theKennedy family.
During a weekend visit toBoston on October 19, 1963, President Kennedy andJohn Carl Warnecke, the architect who designedKennedy's Tomb of the Eternal Flame atArlington National Cemetery[4][5] viewed several possible locations offered byHarvard University as a site for the library and museum. At the time, there were only four otherpresidential libraries: theHoover Presidential Library, theFranklin D. Roosevelt Library, theTruman Library, and theDwight D. Eisenhower Library. They were all scattered around the country in small towns fromNew York toIowa. Kennedy had not decided on any design concept yet, but he felt that the existing presidential libraries were placed too "far away from scholarly resources."[4]
Kennedy chose a plot of land next to theHarvard Graduate School of Business Administration.[4] The building would face theCharles River which was a few feet away, and on the other side of which, the dormitories that includedWinthrop House where Kennedy spent his upperclassman days.[4]
Since Kennedy encouraged hisadministration to save effects of both personal and official nature, the complex would not just be a collection of the President's papers, but "a complete record of a Presidential era." Therefore, the building would have the word "museum" appended to its name as the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.[4]
AfterPresident Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963, hisfamily and friends discussed how to construct a library that would serve as a fitting memorial. A committee was formed to advise Kennedy's widowJacqueline, who would make the final decision. The group deliberated for months, and visited with architects from around the world includingPietro Belluschi and others from the United States, Brazil'sLucio Costa, and Italy'sFranco Albini. Mrs. Kennedy and others met with the candidates together at theKennedy Compound inHyannis, Massachusetts, and visited several in their offices. The committee also conducted a secretive process whereby the architects voted anonymously for the most capable of their colleagues.[6]
After the assassination,Cambridge residents actively opposed theKennedy family's efforts to build apresidential library at Harvard Square due to traffic concerns.[7] On January 13, 1964,Attorney GeneralRobert F. Kennedy announced that a tapedoral-history project was to be undertaken for inclusion in the library. The project would feature administration staff, friends, family, and politicians from home and abroad. The Attorney General also announced thatEugene R. Black Sr. agreed to serve as chairman of the board of trustees and that $1 million of Black's $10 million goal had been given to the trust by theJoseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation.[8]
By March of that year $4.3 million had been pledged, including 18,727 unsolicited donations from the public.[9] Large donations came from the Hispanic world withVenezuela pledging $100,000 andGovernor of Puerto RicoLuis Muñoz Marín offering the same. The oral-history project also began recording, starting with Jacqueline Kennedy and Robert Kennedy. Originally projected to consist of interviews with 150 people, 178 had agreed to participate and the total number of expected participants doubled to 300.[9]
Fourteen architects were named to serve on a design advisory committee:[9]
| Americans | Base |
|---|---|
| Pietro Belluschi | Dean of theMIT School of Architecture |
| Louis Kahn | University of Pennsylvania Architecture School |
| I. M. Pei | New York City |
| Mies van der Rohe | Chicago |
| Hugh Stubbins | Cambridge |
| Paul Thiry | Seattle |
| Benjamin C. Thompson | Cambridge |
| John C. Warnecke | Washington |
| Overseas | Base |
| Alvar Aalto | Finland |
| Franco Albini | Italy |
| Lucio Costa | Brazil |
| Sven Markelius | Sweden |
| Sir Basil Spence | England |
| Kenzo Tange | Japan |
Over the following months pledges continued to funnel in for the building still being conceptualized by the various architects. Some notable donations include $900,000 handed over toPostmaster GeneralJohn A. Gronouski on July 9, 1964. It was the sum of a campaign encompassing 102 Federal agencies. Gronouski said many of the Federal employee contributions were in the form of a $5 withholding each payday for a period of three years.[10] The next day theIndian ambassador to the United States,Braj Kumar Nehru. presented Black with a check for $100,000 during a ceremony at the River Club. Nehru said that the Indian people were hit by a "sad blow" when the President died, and that they held him "in the highest regard, esteem and affection." He desired forIndian students abroad in the United States to use the library, then still planned for construction at Harvard along the banks of the Charles River.[11]
On December 13, 1964, the Kennedy family announced thatI. M. Pei was unanimously chosen by a subcommittee as the architect of the library.[12][13] Even though Pei was relatively unknown amongst the list of candidates, Mrs. Kennedy, who viewed him as filled with promise and imagination and after spending several months inspecting the many architects' offices and creations, selected him to create the vision she held for the project.[14] Pei did not have a design yet, but the idea as described by Robert Kennedy was to "stimulate interest in politics". Meanwhile, the suggestion that Harvard may not be a suitable site for the library had begun cropping up. When asked if Pei may have had to start from scratch, he said this was the case. With an "encouraging grin" Robert Kennedy simply wished Mr. Pei "Good luck".[12]
Mrs. Kennedy chose Pei to design the library, based on two considerations. First, she appreciated the variety of ideas he had used for earlier projects. "He didn't seem to have just one way to solve a problem", she said. "He seemed to approach each commission thinking only of it and then develop a way to make something beautiful."[15] Kennedy made her choice based on her personal connection with Pei. Calling it "really an emotional decision", she explained: "He was so full of promise, like Jack; they were born in the same year. I decided it would be fun to take a great leap with him."[16]
Not long before Pei was selected, the $10 million goal set by Black had been reached.[12] By 1965, fundraising was suspended when the contributions reached $20 million.[17]
In January 1966, whenMassachusetts governorJohn A. Volpe signed a bill allowing the state to purchase the land for the site—an old train yard belonging to theMassachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA)—it was expected that the project would be complete by 1970.[18] The original design was a large complex comprising the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, theJohn F. Kennedy School of Government, and anInstitute of Politics.[2] The project faced many delays. The MBTA would not agree to remove the heavy machinery from the land until 1970. By that time construction costs had risen to over $20 million.[19] Only now could Pei prepare a six-month study of the site's soil, and he said the "money we had six years ago, today will barely pay for 60 percent of the original plans."[19]
Robert Kennedy, by then a senator from New York, had been serving as president of the John F. Kennedy Library Corporation until he wasassassinated in 1968. Weeks before,William Manchester andHarper & Row donated $750,000 to the library.[20] The first in a series of installments expected to total $5 million, came from the profits of the 1967 bookThe Death of a President which caused a bitter feud between the Kennedys and Manchester. Mrs. Kennedy remarked "I think it is so beautiful what Mr. Manchester did. I am glad that Senator Kennedy knew about it before he died."[20] The youngest of the Kennedy brothers, SenatorEdward M. Kennedy, stepped down as vice president of the corporation to fill the newly vacant position.
By 1971, construction had still not begun; researchers and scholars were forced to work out of the Federal Records Center which was temporarily housing some of the 15 million documents and manuscripts. Pei said there was finally "a clear way ahead". He was asked to save on construction expenses by using inexpensive materials.[17] This would translate into Pei working with concrete instead of his preferred stone.[21]
On May 22, 1971, PresidentLyndon B. Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy as president, saw the dedication of theLyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum inAustin, Texas.
Meanwhile, the Cambridge community was in fierce opposition to having the library being built in Cambridge at all. Although originally welcomed in 1965, the library was now seen as a great attractor of over a million annual tourists who would change the neighborhood with "hordes of tourists, automobiles, fast-food franchises and souvenir shops",[22][23] as well as cause a negative environmental impact. A neighborhood group filed a lawsuit in federal court demanding that theGeneral Services Administration study, which found that the great number of visitors would have "no adverse effect on the area," be reexamined.[24]
Stephen E. Smith, a Kennedy in-law who heads the John F. Kennedy Library Corporation decided that "we want the Kennedy Library to be a happy place. It would not be in keeping with the nature of this memorial for it to open in an atmosphere of discord and controversy."[24] In February 1975 the plans for having the library where President Kennedy would have wanted it, were dropped.[23][24]
In 1975, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library Corporation announced that it would locate the library on a 10-acre site offered by the University of Massachusetts Boston adjacent to its campus on theColumbia Point peninsula,[13] and was described as a group of "massive, blocky structures...in sharp contrast to the mellow and urbane atmosphere of the library's original site near Harvard Square."[25] The site was originally agarbage dump; Pei recalls finding old refrigerators and appliances under the soil. In all seriousness, he asserted that one could toss a lit match on the earth and watch the ground ignite as the soil emittedmethane gas.[21]
June 12, 1977, marked the officialgroundbreaking for the library with construction following in August.[13] The site overlooks Boston,Dorchester Bay and theocean. The area was covered in 15 feet (4.6 m) of earth andtopsoil.[14] Pei was particularly proud of the landscaping results.[21]
The design would be a simple geometric structure with a large glass pavilion. The concrete tower stands 125 feet (38 m) tall and houses offices and archives. A circular section contains two theaters and is connected to the tower by the 115 foot (35 m) grey-glass pavilion. Theconcrete finish of the building directly reflects the budget.[2] With more money Pei would have made the building with stone which he believes offers a nicer finish with more detail.[21] The materials chosen kept the costs within budget, in total costing $20.8 million.[2]
Over 30 million people contributed to the cost of construction, which more than 225 construction workers labored to complete before the end of 1979.[26]
The dedication was held on October 20, 1979.[13] Outside the building onthe green, on a blue-carpeted stage with a bank of yellowchrysanthemums sat the Kennedy family and those close to them. Among many others, PresidentJimmy Carter was in their company. The ceremony began with President Kennedy's daughter,Caroline Kennedy, introducing her brother,John F. Kennedy Jr., who read from theStephen Spender poem, "I Think Continually of Those Who Were Truly Great".
President Carter said of John F. Kennedy that he embodied "the ideals of a generation as few public figures have ever done in the history of the earth."[27][28] He spoke of openly weeping upon hearing about the death of Kennedy, something that he had not done since his own father died, ten years before. Afterwards, he accepted the library "on behalf of the American people"[27] and theNational Archives and Records Administration.[26]
SenatorEdward M. Kennedy, said of his brother's life, that it "was a voyage of discovery, a quest for excellence that inspired universal trust and faith. In that brief unfinished journey, he made us believe once more in the great historic purpose of this land. He filled America with pride and made the nation young again."[29]
Critics generally liked the finished building, but the architect himself was unsatisfied. The years of conflict and compromise had changed the nature of the design, and Pei felt that the final result lacked its original passion. "I wanted to give something very special to the memory of President Kennedy", he said in 2000. "It could and should have been a great project."[30] Perhaps the most important consequence of the Kennedy project for Pei was his elevation in the public's consciousness as an architect of note.[31] Pei considered the John F. Kennedy Library "the most important commission in my life."[30]
During thefederal mass layoffs, the library was closed until further notice on February 18, 2025, at approximately 2:00 PM. The reason given was "Due to an executive order".[32] The library reopened the next day with free admission.[33]
The library's first floor features a museum containing video monitors, family photographs, 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, and a third shows a documentary on theCuban Missile Crisis.
There are seven permanent exhibits:[34]
Among the library's art collection is a 1962 portrait of Robert F. Kennedy byLajos Markos,[44] a watercolor sketch of John F. Kennedy byJamie Wyeth,[45] a watercolor painting of theWhite House painted by Jacqueline Kennedy and given as a gift to her husband, who had it hung in the Oval Office,[46] afingerpainting byCaroline Kennedy as a child,[47] and a bust of John F. Kennedy sculpted byFelix de Weldon.[48]
Kennedy's 25-footWianno SeniorsailboatVictura is on display on the grounds of the library from May to October. Acquired by the family when Kennedy was 15, it played an important role in forging sibling bonds and, after the president's death, continued being sailed by other members of the family, especially race-enthusiast brotherTed.[49][50]
The library has a variety of temporary and special exhibits.[51]
Theaudiovisual archives contain over 400,000 still photographs taken from 1863 to 1984, over 7.5 million feet (2,300,000 m) of film shot between 1910 and 1983, and 11,000 reels of audio recordings from 1910 to 1985.[52]
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,[9] today it contains over 1,100 interviews and continues to this day.[53] It is modelled after a program by theColumbia University Oral History Research Office, the world's oldest, which began in 1948.[8] At its conception, while serving as Attorney General, Robert Kennedy speculated that some of the interviews, such as ones relating to the Cuban Missile Crisis, might have to be sealed for a while due to containing "highly classified material." He said that although the emphasis would be on releasing everything as soon as possible, some items might remain closed for 10 to 25 years.[8]
Because the interviewees are allowed to review their transcripts before the interviews are released for use by scholars, the audio may differ from the written record so that the interviewees may disambiguate any misunderstanding in their speech and make it clear in a written form.[53]
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 thePT-109, which was delivered to coastwatcherReginald Evans byBiuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana, natives of theSolomon Islands.[54]
The library is also home to a collection of documents and belongings fromErnest Hemingway. The collection was established in 1968 following an exchange of letters betweenHemingway's widow Mary andJacqueline Kennedy that confirmed that Hemingway's papers would be archived there.[55] In 1961, despite a U.S. travel ban to Cuba, President Kennedy had arranged to allow Mary Hemingway to go there to claim her recently deceased husband's documents and belongings.[55] A room for the collection was dedicated on July 18, 1980, byPatrick Hemingway and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.[55]
The Ernest Hemingway Collection spans Hemingway's career, and includes "ninety percent of existing Hemingway manuscript materials, making the Kennedy Library the world's principal center for research" on his life and work.[56] It includes:[56]
In 2013, a fire occurred in the library. Reports initially stated that the fire appeared to have started in a mechanical room.[57] The fire was unrelated to theBoston Marathon bombing, which occurred simultaneously.[58]
In 2022, a window washer fell to his death in the building's pavilion.[59]
The project for the Harvard location was for a much larger, three-part complex which was to include the library-museum, the John F. Kennedy School of Government and an Institute of Politics. Only the School of Government has been built at Harvard." "A 125-foot (38 m) high, nine-story, white concrete tower housing offices and archives, and a low circular section containing two theaters are connected by a truss-walled, gray glass pavilion that rises a full 115 feet (35 m) to form the ceremonial heart of the structure." "Finishes are neither luxurious nor special; standard components have kept the cost to $20.8 million raised from public gifts and the Kennedy family.
away from scholarly resources." "a complete record of a Presidential era.
Mr. Gronouski said the Federal employee contributions included pledges of $5 each pay day for three years and an individual donation of $5,000.
Mr. Nehru said that the people of India held the late President "in the highest regard, esteem and affection." It was a "sad blow" to the Indian people when Mr. Kennedy was slain, the Ambassador added. He said he hoped that Indian students in the United States would make great use of the library and the accompanying institute that will be built on the banks of the Charles River in Boston.
"The idea of the institute is to stimulate interest in politics," Robert Kennedy said. "Good Luck, Mr. Pei," Mr. Kennedy said, with an encouraging grin.
At an early meeting in 1964, Mr. Pei explained to Mrs. Kennedy, somewhat apologetically, that as a relatively young architect he had not worked on monumental projects. Though relatively unknown and obscure at the time, Mrs. Kennedy nevertheless selected Pei from a list of candidates that included of some America's best-known architects. He seemed to her so filled with promise and he had the imagination and temperament to create a structure that would reinforce her vision of the goals of the library." "The Kennedy Library was erected on a landfill site overlooking Boston, Dorchester Bay, and the ocean beyond. To overcome existing conditions, the site was raised 15 feet (4.6 m).
A major obstacle to the construction of the library and its related buildings on the Harvard University campus was removed three weeks ago when the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority agreed to vacate its subway-train yards on the proposed 12.2-acre (49,000 m2) construction site in Cambridge, Massachusetts
In acknowledging the contribution, Mrs. John F. Kennedy said: "I think it is so beautiful what Mr. Manchester did. I am glad that Senator Kennedy knew about it before he died. All the pain of the book and now this noble gesture, of such generosity, makes the circle come around and close with healing."
But in recent years, the project has met with sharp criticism from residents from surrounding neighborhoods who feared it would attract hordes of tourists, automobiles, fast food franchises and souvenir shops into the already congested Harvard Square area.
We have tried to be responsive to the wishes of the people of Cambridge," Mr. Smith said in his statement. He added: "But the fact is that a segment of the Cambridge community seems likely to remain opposed to our plans. We want the Kennedy Library to be a happy place. It would not be in keeping with the nature of this memorial for it to open in an atmosphere of discord and controversy.
The out-of-the-way site, called Columbia Point, houses the massive, blocky structures of a commuter campus of the University of Massachusetts, and it is in sharp contrast to the mellow and urbane atmosphere of the library's original site near Harvard Square in Cambridge.
It was a grievous personal loss Mr. Carter said "My President. I wept openly for the first time in more than 10 years — for the first time since the day my own father died." – "On the blue-carpeted stage, set off by a bank of yellow chrysanthemums, the Kennedys dominated the scene. The late President's widow, Jacqueline Onassis sat cool and composed next to her children, Caroline and John F. Kennedy Jr.,...
Related articles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
