The John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site (NHS), which has been closed since 2019, is set to reopen on June 1, 2024, according to an announcement by the National Park Service (NPS). The site had previously been closed for accessibility updates and renovations.
The 2024 season for the John Fitzgerald Kennedy NHS will span from June 1 through October 30. The NPS news release indicates that visitors may notice several changes, including a new visitor center equipped with a wheelchair lift for better access to the ground floor, an accessible restroom, and an improved retail space. For the first two days of operation, June 1 and 2, visitation will be exclusively self-guided in an open house style.
The John Fitzgerald Kennedy NHS marks the birthplace of the 35th president of the United States and his childhood home. It was also the first home of Joseph P. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. The site is located at 83 Beals Street in Brookline, MA.
According to NPS, the site will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday through Sunday. Guided tours of President Kennedy's birthplace will be available on the hour and half hour starting at 10 a.m. Visitors can also avail themselves of a self-guided audio tour narrated by Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy for the first and second floors of the house during guided tour hours.
This summer, two programs are scheduled: a 45-minute neighborhood tour offered Thursday through Sunday at 2:15 p.m., and a more extensive "Origins Tour". This latter tour explores areas in North End and downtown Boston relevant to the Fitzgerald and Kennedy ancestors. It will take place on Wednesdays at 10:15 a.m., starting June 26 and ending August 28.
Despite its closure in 2022, neighborhood tours and origins tours continued every other week from Wednesday through Friday, according to a July 2022 news release from NPS.
The John Fitzgerald Kennedy NHS has been restored to its 1917 appearance based on the recollections of Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, President Kennedy’s mother. She returned to the site in 1966 to commemorate his life, says the NPS.
