John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy was born in this house in Brookline, Massachusetts, in 1917, the first president born in the 20th century. Three years later, his family moved to a larger house two blocks away, then in 1927 to New York City.

The birthplace house was sold out of the family, but was bought back by the Kennedys in 1966, some years after JFK's death. The family helped restore its interior and exterior back to 1917, then turned it over to the federal government to be a National Historic Site, which opened to the public in 1969.

Geographically, JFK is perhaps most associated with the Cape Cod town of Hyannis Port.

The Kennedy family compound in his time consisted of three adjacent houses on six acres next to the beach.

The main house, where he spent most of his summers as a child, was first rented, then purchased by his parents in 1928. Senator Ted Kennedy inherited the house and lived there from 1982 until his death in 2009. It is now owned by the Edward Kennedy Institute.

Next to it is Bobby and Ethel Kennedy's house, which they bought from Ted in 1961. It is still in the family.

Next to it, but closer to the public road, is the house that JFK bought for his family in 1956, which is now owned by Ted Kennedy Jr. The compound is surrounded by other homes, some now owned by family members, but most not.

The former town hall building in downtown Hyannis is now the John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum, owned and operated by a private foundation, not directly related to the family.

It is administered by the local Chamber of Commerce, and opened in 1992 to allow people to get a sense of Kennedy’s history in Hyannis Port.

Inside are fixed and changing exhibits about the Kennedys, focusing on JFK’s connection with the place, his love of the sea, and his favorite sailboat, Victura.

A Navy man, JFK is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. His principal legacy site, though, is the JFK Presidential Library and Museum in Boston. The building opened in 1979, and is a dramatic modern structure designed by I. M. Pei.

Inside are period rooms and galleries depicting his life, and time in the White House.

A curved stairway outside, around the side of the building, reveals a sweeping vista of Dorchester Bay.

Here JFK's beloved sailboat, Victura, lies permanently moored, high and dry, on the lawn.