City: Dorchester, MA

Category: Tours & Attractions

Telephone: (617) 514-1600

Insider Pick:

Description: Located on the Boston campus of the University of Massachusetts, the library traces the political career of the 35th president, John F. Kennedy, Boston’s beloved native son. Overlooking Dorchester Bay, the soaring I. M. Pei–designed building with its glass atrium and white triangular concrete tower evokes a sailboat and Kennedy’s lifelong love of the sea. The introductory film—a memoir of Kennedy’s early life—is narrated by Kennedy himself. There is a replica of Kennedy’s Oval Office and another of the Kennedy-Nixon debate TV set. Several exhibits are dedicated to pivotal events during the 1,000 days of the Kennedy presidency: space exploration, the Cuban missile crisis, the formation of the Peace Corps, and the civil rights movement. In the atrium library there’s a significant section of the Berlin Wall on display, a reminder of JFK’s “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech of June 26, 1963. The easiest way to reach the library is to take the T (Red line to JFK/UMASS); a free shuttle bus provides service between the station and the library.