JFK BIRTHPLACE BECOMES NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
Boston, Massachusetts (JFK+50) On May 26, 1967, the house at 83 Beals Street located in the Boston suburb of Brookline where President John F. Kennedy was born was proclaimed a National Historic Site by the National Park Service.
The home, previously designated as a National Historic Landmark was described as...
"an unassuming, two-story house with green shingles and a yellow porch with columns...distinguished from the other houses around it only by an American flag flying outside."
The house was opened to the public on May 29, 1969. It was here JFK was delivered by Kennedy family physician Dr. Frederick Good at 3 o'clock in the afternoon on May 29, 1917. The birth took place in the upstairs bedroom so that, in Rose Kennedy's words, the doctor would have a good light.
JFK+50 NOTE
When we visited the home in 1986, I was particularly impressed with the story Rose Kennedy told (on the 18 minute recording visitors listen to on the tour) of the picture book about a goat named Billy Whiskers* which JFK loved. The adventure book stirred his interest in world travel.
*Billy Whiskers is described as a children's favorite dating back to the early 20th century. The picture book features a "mischievous goat" named Billy Whiskers. Rose Kennedy was not a big fan of the book, but obviously her son Jack was.
SOURCES
"John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site/Massachusetts," National Park Service Brochure, 1986.
"John Fitzgerald Kennedy NHS/Massachusetts, www.nps.gov/
"The Kennedys of Beals Street," by Tony Fusco, Collectibles Illustrated, November/December 1983
Boston, Massachusetts (JFK+50) On May 26, 1967, the house at 83 Beals Street located in the Boston suburb of Brookline where President John F. Kennedy was born was proclaimed a National Historic Site by the National Park Service.
The home, previously designated as a National Historic Landmark was described as...
"an unassuming, two-story house with green shingles and a yellow porch with columns...distinguished from the other houses around it only by an American flag flying outside."
The house was opened to the public on May 29, 1969. It was here JFK was delivered by Kennedy family physician Dr. Frederick Good at 3 o'clock in the afternoon on May 29, 1917. The birth took place in the upstairs bedroom so that, in Rose Kennedy's words, the doctor would have a good light.
JFK+50 NOTE
When we visited the home in 1986, I was particularly impressed with the story Rose Kennedy told (on the 18 minute recording visitors listen to on the tour) of the picture book about a goat named Billy Whiskers* which JFK loved. The adventure book stirred his interest in world travel.
*Billy Whiskers is described as a children's favorite dating back to the early 20th century. The picture book features a "mischievous goat" named Billy Whiskers. Rose Kennedy was not a big fan of the book, but obviously her son Jack was.
SOURCES
"John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site/Massachusetts," National Park Service Brochure, 1986.
"John Fitzgerald Kennedy NHS/Massachusetts, www.nps.gov/
"The Kennedys of Beals Street," by Tony Fusco, Collectibles Illustrated, November/December 1983
JFK Birthplace
RR Creations, Inc.
Open Window Collection (1993)
Photo by John White
Billy Whiskers Kids
Frances Trego Montgomery
JFK Historical Site (2013)
Posted by David R. Daly
