John F Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum

I have never been to a presidential library and since I was in Boston and had access to a car so I decided that this was something that I wanted to check out. I’m glad that I did.
The area around the library is beautiful. Beautiful scenic ocean views, a maintained park, and a nice little pier. In the museum I learned that JFK was a sailor, hence a museum/​library located by the ocean.
The layout of the museum itself is great. You walk in, pay the $ 15 admission and see a little exhibit about his childhood. From there you go into an auditorium to watch a movie about some of JFK’s early life and his campaign. After the short film is over, you exit the theater straight into the rest of the museum. In chronological order you go through JFK’s presidency. It is very well organized and the exhibits are well made. I particularly liked the displays about his televised debates. Very interesting to watch and see.
I highly recommend the JFK library if you are interested in politics and/​or history. I learned quite a bit and you will too at this nice, well-​organized museum.

Great museum! A must for history buffs and political junkies! I was impressed at the quality of the presentation and the clarity of explaining the course of JFK’s presidency. It is housed in a beautiful building as well, with views of the harbor.

What a fun trip through history! I learned so much about JFK! Given the space dedicated to the museum, I kinda felt there was room for more material. So much of his life was glossed over, or not covered at all. Great way to spend time in Boston!

My 13^th and last Presidential Library. My 10 year quest to visit all of the libraries is finally complete! A good one to end on, too! One of the larger Presidential Libraries, it is beautifully situated on a peninsula near UMass facing the bay in South Boston. It was a wonderfully sunny and clear fall day, which made the exterior even more of a picture postcard. Free military admission, excellent! An introductory documentary, then the exhibits unfolded. Kennedy family history, his WWII and early political career, and then a very detailed examination of his presidential campaign. Events at the White House, an Oval Office, the Cold War, and finally the assassination. A special exhibit focusing on the Cuban Missile Crisis helped round out the presentation. I always enjoy the history/​early career prior to becoming President, and this library didn’t disappoint. Highly recommend if you’re in the Boston area!

My mom is a huge JFK fan, so this was at the top of her list when she came to visit us in Boston. It was well worth our time and very interesting.
The John F. Kennedy Library is housed in an absolutely beautiful building, right on the water, inspired by JFK’s love of the sea. In the main lobby entrance way, there’s massive windows that face the water offering amazing views. From inside, you can spy JFK’s boat that is on display outside. Take a walk out there after your visit. Hanging from the ceiling is an incredibly large American flag. It’s very striking.
The library tells the history of his life from a small boy, his Harvard days, his war years, and of course, his presidential years.
The displays include a lot of reading, mementos, gifts from world leaders and even some dresses from Jackie O. The main hall recreates how Jackie O. decorated the White House, and there’s also an Oval Office recreation with JFK’s desk. There’s a lot of video clips as well, showcasing JFK’s moving speeches.
TIP: Don’t skip the movie; start your tour with this informative and fascinating film as it fits right into the timeline of his life and the outline of the museum.
Don’t miss the slice of the Berlin Wall by the exit.
Check for discounts on admission. They offer a AAA discount among many others. If you’re a local, you can get a discounted pass from the library: $ 3 per person that will admit up to 2 adults.

The JFK Presidential Library was smaller than we expected, but that’s not to say that the exhibits and the info and history we learned wasn’t valuable. It was just smaller than the other presidential libraries we’ve been too.
I enjoyed the videos and learning more about JFK’a personality. Seeing the photos and memorabilia from different moments of presidency and even clothing and gifts presented to the family was neat.
Admission wasn’t that expensive and we actually saved a few bucks because we took a photo with their advertisement at the airport and presented it when we paid!
We also had a snack at the café. It was kind of tiny inside the café. They had a good selection of salads, sandwiches and some continental breakfast items.
Unilocal 100 Challenge — 62 of 100

Pretty good presidential library. I live in L.A. and we have two within driving distance and this one stacks up well. Unfortunately, the section on the Cuban Missile Crisis was closed when I went, which I imagine is a big part of the museum, so the museum was a bit limited, since JFK’s presidency was cut short.
It is located in a beautiful location right off Boston Harbor. WORD OF ADVICE: There is a free shuttle from JFK/​UMASS station that will take you to the library. Google Maps will not mention this and if you exit from the station on the opposite end you will not see the shuttle buses. You will only see them as they pass you by while you walk 25 mins to the library (like my dumb ass).

Great museum on JFK’s life, family, and presidency. I highly recommend if you are into history, museums, presidents. We have the Reagan museum home in California which is bigger than JFKs but it still is amazing! Wonderful displays. I highly recommend! Plus at the end of the museum the glass wall/​ceiling overlooking the water was beautiful! Very relaxing outside the museum where the sailboat is.
If you are next to a «private» tour group the guide usually talks really loud and the guests crowd all over– we stuck behind them for a few minutes so we wouldn’t have to cross their path lol.
A tip: take time to read the plaques/​descriptions and watch the videos they have playing in exhibits — worth it & most people skip them which is a great loss!
Parking is free if you buy a ticket to the museum. Nobody was checking our tickets when leaving the parking anyway though.
Also tip: getting there can be confusing. You need to drive through a college until you get to the museums parking
I say go! And their gift shop is nice :)

It’s worth your time to visit the JFK Presidential Library and Museum, if you are an admirer of JFK, history or just US presidents.
The tour starts with a 20 minute movie about JFK’s life, which I found informative and provided some background for some of the exhibits throughout the museum. The exhibits themselves covered this election, debates with Nixon on TV, significant speeches, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the race into space, etc. There were artifacts from his time in office, letters written and received, gifts presented from other foreign dignitaries and displays of his office as president as well as that of his brother, RFK, when he was Attorney General.
I wish they had more information on his children and the Kennedy family in general but since this is the presidential library the focus is on JFK’s time in office. This is a very big space and additional exhibits could probably be added without making it appear to be too crowded.
Most viewers seemed to have finished their visits in 90 minutes, including a visit to the shop.
There is a free bus ride from Copley Square to the museum during the tourist season, which makes it very convenient as the site is a bit far from the main Boston sites. Not that there are no bus pickups from 12 noon to 1 pm. There is also a free shuttle pick up from the nearest T station.

Pretty disappointed in this overall. First, the views of the harbor were amazing. I can see why Jackie chose this act considering that JFK was from Boston and went to Harvard, and loved the water. Admission was $ 14 for adults and you can make it through in about an hour. JFK was such an icon in this country and there was so much history involved in his life, you would think they would have more than a couple of princes of furniture and a few of Jackie dresses. Jackie prided herself on bringing back awareness of history to the White House, why not do that here? Overall this was an ok attempt at his memory, it would have been nice to learn more about him, his family, and his kids.

With the vast amount of JFK memorabilia in this country, you would think that his namesake museum would have it. Instead, it is a huge building which just feels empty. There are a handful of wonderful artifacts, but they all could have been displayed easily in building ¹⁄₁₀^th the size of this place. Most of the artifacts were either replicas or Jackie O’s. The staff is very professional and polite. They would come by and add facts about the items and i really appreciated that. I really don’t need to see walls of «sponsored» displays of what a 1960 Etch-​a-​Sketch or oven looks like. I can go to my Grandmother’s house for that sort of realism.
Next door is the Edward M. Kennedy Institute… go there and save your money.

We woke up to a very rainy day in Boston during our recent trip and were originally going to visit the Freedom Trail. We changed plans and switched to inside activities. The JFK Presidential Library was superb and provided a great overview and highlights of the life and presidential terms of John F. Kennedy. The museum is very large and has many historical documents, videos, exhibits and belongings of President John F, Kennedy.
We highly recommend a visit.

If you have out-​of-​town visitors interested in history, this is a great option for an afternoon activity.
The museum is a gorgeous, I. M. Pei-​designed structure that allows you to appreciate the Boston Harbor and city beyond. I really liked the movie that kicks off the museum tour, mostly narrated by John F. Kennedy himself using archival interview recordings. It was striking to hear Kennedy’s own words and contrast them with how modern politicians speak. Whether you agree with Kennedy politically or not, it’s hard to overlook how much more thoughtful and detailed his stances on issues were than the simplified one-​liners characterizing modern politicians of both parties.
The exhibits in the museum varied in how interesting I found them. I really enjoyed seeing artifacts from the Kennedy White House and the early lives of both Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy. Less interesting to me was the special exhibit on the Cuban Missile Crisis, consisting mostly of text displayed around a room with some photographs interspersed. There was nothing gained by having this in a museum vs. on a webpage, in my opinion.
My major complaint about the museum was that tour guides are very loud. Because the museum experience begins with a movie, it’s hard for independent visitors to gain distance from the tour groups once in the actual museum. Between the voice-​over of the guide and the fact that 15 – 20 tourists are vying to see the same items as you, I found this setup disruptive to my experience. I’d either linger to be behind the tour group, or rush to get through the first few exhibits to gain some space.
Parking was free in the lot in front of the library on the day we visited.
On the «good for kids» front, I selected no – I think the average kid would be bored by the museum, which requires some appreciation of American history and a willingness to read a lot. If your kid is into 20^th century American history or is otherwise an awesome nerd, he or she will have fun.

This museum is amazing! Tons of really interesting exhibits and replicas of offices as they were during JFK’s presidency. Obviously the information can be a little one-​sided, but I thought the presentation of everything and the flow of the exhibits was one of the best museum arrangements I’ve seen!
My favorite part was definitely the Cuban Missile Crisis exhibit, which includes snippets from secretly recorded meetings and lots of important documents. It provided a really interesting perspective. If possible, definitely make sure you go while that special exhibit is still there!
Oh, and if it’s nice out, the walkway outside the museum along the water is gorgeous and there’s a nice grass area that would be perfect for a picnic. Just a suggestion ;)

Ok as Presidential Libraries go. Not as dynamic as the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library with Air Force One, limousine, fighter jets and jacket with bullet hole (from assassination attempt).
The JFK Library does a good job illustrating JFK’s privileged upbringing and socialite lifestyle. The introduction movie fills in his childhood, college years, early elitist life and travels. It glosses over his Naval career and leaves off at the 1956 Democratic National Convention.
The library glosses over the assissination and does not address Americans fixation on that fateful day in November 1963. Though there is a tribute to Robert Kennedy as Attorney General, they also ignore his tragic demise.
JFK was only President for 3 years, so the library is struggling to stretch his impact and importance. The failed Bay of Pigs fiasco is not covered. The Cuban Missile Crisis display does not cover the topic in depth, nor the fear that gripped America.
I was disappointed with how short and few exhibits there were.
The pavilion area could be filled with larger artifacts from that era — helicopters, limo, boats, etc.

Very well done, interesting museum. Highly recommend. Take a sweater — air conditioned to refrigerator cold.

Dawned on me that I listed ‘Museums’ under ‘Things I Like’, but had no reviews about museums… HA!
Well, I had been meaning to go to the JFK Presidential Library & Museum for a long time. It was well worth the wait! There are so many special items on display, including JFK’s handwritten notes which were my favorite.
However, if you *really* want a fun and educational time, go to the new Edward Kennedy Institute beside the the JFK Museum. It has the latest technology, interactive, and has a near-​exact replica of Senate, with voting on ‘topics of the day’…so much fun!
Together, the museums are complementary (and awesome) experiences for young and old… history buffs are going to fall in love.

This is a beautiful library and museum celebrating the life and achievements of JFK. First, the location is on the tip of the bay so you really have magnificent views of the harbor. Please do try to come on a day with nice weather and you can enjoy the beautiful surroundings in addition to the museum exhibits.
I especially enjoyed the tour which takes you through all parts of the museum and starts with an introductory video in the theatre that gives a great summary. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable and helpful in adding some personal details about how the Kennedy family spent their time off on vacation in cape cod.
Definitely worth the trip out here.

ALERT: The exhibit halls at the JFK Library will be closed Dec 31, 2014 — mid March 2015. So, as I write, unless you visit tomorrow, you’ll have to wait until at least spring 2015 to visit.
The JFK Library and Museum is less a library than it is a shrine to Boston’s everlasting love for its favorite native son. As another Unilocaler pointed out, there’s little to no mention of the «darker» sides of JFK’s presidency and personal life. Even his assassination, at least to me, seemed downplayed.
Of course, this is a place commemorating JFK’s journey to and milestones in his presidency, and what’s here is both fascinating and very informative. From the campaign artifacts to film footage to various letters that he wrote to both concerned citizens and trusted comrades, there is so much to read and see. I was particularly drawn to a letter written to the president by the sister of a soldier killed in Vietnam, who questioned the basis of US involvement in the war. President Kennedy’s two-​page response was thoughtful, sincere, and uniquely sympathetic. Would a politician take the time to respond as such today? I don’t know. It seems that most of today’s bureaucrats could learn a thing or two from JFK’s book of communication and candor.
There are also quite a few letters, outfits, bejeweled gifts from heads of foreign nations, and even childhood artifacts from Jackie Kennedy. The museum places rare emphasis on the impact she made on the White House and the city of Washington during her tenure as First Lady. Considering that many know Jackie as mainly a fashion icon, her significant personal achievements are all that more compelling.
Your liberal baby boomer-​era parents (or friends? or selves? or grandparents?) will love this place. I spent about two and a half hours here, though when I take my parents I expect I may spend double that.

Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. one of our greatest beloved presidents. He ended Jim Crow, granting true equality for minorities, also eased up immigration restrictions. or I probably wouldn’t been born here. and for that I’m grateful — RIP JFK
Great museum also! Free entrance for everybody on Fridays.