News Release
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Contact: Jason Atsales, 617 566 7937 X10
On May 29, the birthday of President John F. Kennedy, his birthplace hosted a naturalization ceremony led by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Wednesday was also the 55th anniversary of the founding of John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site (NHS) as well as the opening day for the site's 2024 season. The 100 candidates came from 46 countries: Albania, Angola, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Canada, China, Colombia, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, France, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Kosovo, Lebanon, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Serbia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine and Vietnam.Congressman Jake Auchincloss and Special Envoy to Northern Ireland Joesph P. Kennedy III welcomed the new citizens and shared stories of their own family’s experiences as immigrants who found success in the United States. President Kennedy, a descendent of Irish immigrants, recognized the importance of immigration in America’s history and in this spirit, staff thought that this would be a truly uplifting way to begin the site’s 2024 visitor season.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy NHS is open for public visitation through Wednesday, October 30, 2024. This will be the site’s first full open season since 2019 and follows a period of renovations and accessibility updates. Among the newly completed renovations are a new visitor center with a wheelchair lift for access to the ground floor, an accessible restroom, and improved retail space. The renovations were scheduled to begin in early 2020 but, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated complications, the work began in early 2022 and finished in late 2023. Last year, the site softly reopened to the public from September 30 through November 18. You can learn more about the recent renovations via a staff-authored article available on our website: https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/2024-jofi-reopening.htm
Visitor hours in 2024 are from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., Thursday through Sunday. Guided tours of JFK’s birthplace will be available on the hour and the half-hour from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 to 3:30 p.m. From 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 to 5:00 p.m., self-guided options are available. Visitors are welcome to follow along with the voice of the president’s mother, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, on a self-guided audio wand tour through the first and second floors of the house at these times. Audio wand tours are also available in English, French, German, Spanish, and Japanese. Printed materials are available in Chinese, English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Russian, Hungarian, Spanish, and Vietnamese. A ranger-guided virtual tour is also available. Virtual tours can be accessed via the NPS App and the web at https://jofi.stqry.app/1. Children of all ages can participate in the site’s Junior Ranger program. Admission is free and available on a first-come first-served basis.
There will be two other regular program offerings during the summer: a 45-minute long “Neighborhood Tour” which explores the Brookline neighborhood where John F. Kennedy spent the first ten years of his life, offered Thursday through Sunday at 2:15 p.m., staff and weather dependent; and a 90-minute long “Origins Tour,” which covers areas of the North End and downtown Boston relevant to the president’s Fitzgerald and Kennedy ancestors, offered Wednesdays from June 26 through August 28 at 10:15 a.m., staff and weather dependent. The Sam Adams statue outside of Faneuil Hall is the starting point for the “Origins Tour.” Both tours are free, but we encourage visitors to call the site the morning of these tours to confirm their availability.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy NHS preserves the birthplace (1917) and early boyhood home of the 35th president of the United States. The modest house was the first home shared by the president’s parents, Joseph P. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. John, the second of nine children, spent his formative years in Brookline as his family began its rise to national prominence. In 1966, Mrs. Kennedy returned to 83 Beals Street to commemorate her son’s life, restoring the birthplace to her recollection of its 1917 appearance. The historic house, collections, and neighboring Brookline community permit exploration of early influences that shaped the character and ambitions of John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy NHS is located just outside Coolidge Corner at 83 Beals Street in Brookline, Massachusetts. The site is a ½ mile-walk from the Coolidge Corner T-Stop (Green Line, C-Cleveland Circle). Free on-street parking is available on Beals Street for up to two (2) hours. For more information please call (617) 566-7937 or visit www.nps.gov/jofi.The public can also stay connected with the site through Facebook (www.facebook.com/JFKennedyNHS) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/JFKennedyNPS.)
Last updated: June 6, 2024