John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site will open to the public on Sunday, May 20, 2012. Visitor hours are Wednesday through Sunday from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm. The site is closed Monday and Tuesday. The site will close for the season October 31, 2012.

Ranger-led Tours

House Tours

Between 9:30 am and 3:30 pm, the house is only shown by guided tour. Guided tours are approximately 30 minutes in length. The last guided tour of the day departs at 3:30 pm. Each guided tour is capped at nine individuals on a first come, first serve basis. Occasionally, select regularly scheduled tours might be impacted by educational group visits. Please check our events calendar for updates.

Self-Guided Tours

From 4:00 to 5:00 pm visitors may enjoy the house via self-guided tours narrated by the President's mother, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. Translations of Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy's narrative are available in French, Spanish, German, and Japanese. We recommend arriving by 4:00 pm in order to have enough time to see and enjoy the house.

Neighborhood Tours

Ranger-led tours of the neighborhood are available at 1:00pm Thursdays - Sundays during the summer. Neighborhood tours are 30-45 minutes in length and offered Thursday-Sunday at 1:00 PM, staffing and weather permitting. Tours travel over uneven sidewalk pavement and involve crossing neighborhood streets. Caution is advised. In the case of inclement weather, please call 617-566-7937 to confirm.

• Early Education of the Kennedys: Academic Excellence and Competition 
  The Edward Devotion School, a public elementary school, and the private, non-sectarian Dexter School, formerly the prestigious Noble and Greenough Lower School were both attended by Joe Jr. and Jack Kennedy while living in Brookline. While they began their formal education at the Devotion School, known for academic excellence, Joseph Kennedy Sr. wanted his sons to associate with prominent families and he transferred his sons to the Dexter School in 1924. Here Jack acquired the fundamental skills for education and developed a love of learning and physical activity which endured throughout his life. Join a park ranger for a tour of the neighborhood and see the sites where the Kennedy children attended school, participated for the first time in organized sports, and prepared themselves for eminent colleges.  
  This tour is offered on Saturdays, 1:00 PM
  
  
• Movin' Up with the Kennedys: Reflections of Joseph Sr.'s successes
  Joseph Kennedy Sr.'s successes in banking, the stock market, and the motion picture industry allowed his growing family to move to a more spacious and comfortable home in 1920. The house at 51 Abbottsford Road is surrounded by an acre of land with twelve rooms and an attached garage to house the family's Rolls Royce limousine., Built in 1897, the house was designed in the Queen Anne style with ornate woodwork details and a large wraparound porch which served as an alternate playroom for the smallest of the Kennedy clan which expanded to include Eunice, Patricia and Robert. Join a park ranger for a tour of the neighborhood and see the site where the Kennedy family lived from 1920-1927 before relocating to Bronxville, NY. Walk in the footsteps of Mrs. Kennedy and her children as they daily went to school, church, and local shops.
  This tour is offered on Thursdays, 1:00 PM
  
  
• Shopping with the Kennedys: Going back to the Five and Dime
  A frequent destination of the Kennedy family, Coolidge Corner was and remains the retail hub of Brookline. Here the Beacon Street rail and electric trolley lines helped connect this typical streetcar suburb to downtown Boston, where much of the Kennedy's social, cultural, and political life was centered. Whether it was a daily household need or just the right Christmas gift for a family member, the Kennedys visited Coolidge Corner daily stopping at the Five and Dime, the S.S. Pierce building, the bank, or any of the smaller shops that dotted the retail district. Join a park ranger for a tour of the neighborhood and see the sites where the Kennedy children did their shopping, attended school, joined their early hopes and ambitions to the promise of this vibrant and growing community.
  This tour is offered on Sundays, 1:00 PM
  
   
• The Kennedys and their Faith: The constant force in the life of the immigrant community
  Saint Aidan's Catholic Church played an important role in the life of the Kennedy family while they lived in Brookline. Here the children were baptized. The family went to church here each Sunday morning, the children attending a special children's Mass. Both Joseph Jr. and Jack were altar boys here. Built in 1911, Saint Aidan's has the rustic style and scale of a medieval village church typically found in England and Ireland. Join a park ranger for a tour of the neighborhood and see the site where the Kennedy family worshipped in the Roman Catholic faith of their ancestors. Walk in the footsteps of Mrs. Kennedy as she took her children for daily walks and made a point of stopping in at Saint Aidan's church.
  This tour is offered on Fridays, 1:00 PM