Kennedy Compound

The Kennedy Compound consists of three houses on six acres (2.4 hectares) of waterfront property on Cape Cod along Nantucket Sound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, in the United States. It was once the home of Joseph P. Kennedy, an American businessman, investor, politician, and U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom; his wife, Rose; and their children, including U.S. President John F. Kennedy and U.S. Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Edward M. Kennedy. As an adult, the youngest son, Edward, lived in his parents' house, and it was his primary residence from 1982 until he died of brain cancer at the compound, in August 2009.[2]

Kennedy Compound
The Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts in 2021
Kennedy Compound is located in Massachusetts
Kennedy Compound
Location of the Kennedy Compound in Massachusetts
Location50 Marchant Avenue
Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, U.S.
Coordinates41°37′47.928″N 70°18′8.4954″W
Area6 acres (24,000 m²)
Built1904
Architectural styleClapboard
Part ofHyannis Port Historic District (ID87000259)
NRHP reference No.72001302[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPNovember 28, 1972
Designated NHLDNovember 28, 1972
Designated CPNovember 10, 1987

Purchased in 1928, the compound became the place that the Kennedy family most associated with home.[3][4]

John F. Kennedy used the compound as a base for his successful 1960 U.S. presidential campaign and later as a Summer White House and presidential retreat. In 2012, the main house was donated to the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate.[5] As of 2020, Robert Kennedy's widow Ethel lives in their home adjacent to the main house.

History

In 1926, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. rented a summer cottage at 50 Marchant Avenue in Hyannis Port. Two years later, he purchased the structure, which had been erected in 1904, and enlarged and remodeled it to suit his growing family's needs. In and around this house, their nine children spent their summers, acquiring a lifelong interest in sailing and other competitive activities. The Kennedys previously spent their summers at a home in Hull, Massachusetts (where Joseph Jr. was born in 1915).[6][7] In the mid-1920s, the Kennedys explored purchasing a home in Cohasset, Massachusetts, but when Joe Sr. applied for membership at the exclusive Cohasset Country Club, he was blackballed. Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin wrote that in Cohasset, "Irish Catholics were still looked down upon by the reigning Protestant (WASP) establishment."[8] Joe Sr., who had connections with the members at the Hyannisport Golf Club, was accepted in spite of it being another "Yankee stronghold."[9][10] It was a deciding factor for Joe Sr. to purchase a house in the seaside village.[11] In 1941, the Hyannis Port home became the family's primary (legal) residence.[12]

In 1956, John bought a smaller home of his own at 111 Irving Avenue,(41.6308°N 70.3035°W / 41.6308; -70.3035) not far from his father's home. In 1959, Edward acquired the residence at 28 Marchant Avenue (41.63°N 70.303°W / 41.63; -70.303) adjacent to the other two, but in 1961 sold it to Robert and his wife Ethel. Edward lived in the main house at the compound until his death.[13]

Current residence

In 2019, one of Robert Kennedy's granddaughters, 22-year-old Saoirse Kennedy Hill (daughter of Kennedy's daughter Courtney), died of an overdose in a residence at the compound, where her grandmother Ethel Kennedy lives.[14][15]

Layout
Kennedy Compound in 1972

All three buildings are white, frame, clapboard structures typical of vacation residences on Cape Cod. Except for specific occasions at the Main House, the buildings are not available for public visitation.

Main house

Joseph's home, the Main House and the largest of the three, is surrounded by well-tended lawns and gardens and it commands sweeping views of the ocean from its long porches.

On the main floor are a living room, dining room, sun room, television room, kitchen, various pantries, utility rooms and the bedroom that John used before he purchased his own house in the compound.

On the second floor are six bedrooms, a sewing room, packing room, and four servants' bedrooms. The house has a full attic.

The basement contains a motion-picture theater and a hall covered with dolls from all around the world. The dolls[16] belonged to Joseph Sr. and were gifted to him from a number of different acquaintances during his time as the 44th US Ambassador to the United Kingdom.

The house has changed little, either structurally or in furnishings, since President Kennedy's association with it.

In 2012, the main house was donated by the Kennedy family to the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. On the grounds are an enclosed swimming pool, tennis court, a four-car garage, and two guest houses.

There are two circular driveways with flagpoles standing in the middle, a boathouse and several large stretches of lawn area where many of the family touch football games were played.

Other parcels of land that assorted members of the family have purchased remain as well-tended as those of the more prominent homes; for example, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a house on Irving Avenue, next to President Kennedy's former home (which now belongs to Edward Kennedy Jr.).

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. Staff writer (August 27, 2009). "Kennedy Compound to Be Converted to Museum – Sen. Edward Kennedy Succumbed to Brain Cancer at the Compound Tuesday Night and the Family Held a Private Mass for the Legendary Senator Thursday Morning". Fox News. Accessed August 29, 2009.
  3. Updegrove, Mark K. (2022). Incomparable Grace: JFK in the Presidency. Penguin Publishing Group. p. 33.
  4. Tye, Larrt (2016). Bobby Kennedy: The Making of a Liberal Icon. Random House. p. 16.
  5. "Main House At Kennedy Compound Given To Institute". WBUR. January 30, 2012. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
  6. "Honey Fitz Summer House // 1900". Buildings of New England.
  7. "Joseph Kennedy Jr". History.com.
  8. Lambert, Lane. "Could Cohasset have been Ted Kennedy's hometown?". The Patriot Ledger.
  9. Cillizza, Chris (April 18, 2023). Power Players: Sports, Politics, and the American Presidency. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5387-2062-2.
  10. "How to Summer Like a Kennedy". Town & Country. June 13, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  11. Productions, TalkinGolf. "TGH 66: The History of the Hyannisport Club". TalkinGolf. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  12. Schlesinger Jr., Arthur (1978). Robert Kennedy and His Times. p. 37.
  13. Berry, Jake (August 29, 2009). "Future of compound fueling rumor mill". Cape Cod Times. Archived from the original on October 26, 2011. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  14. Seelye, Katharine Q.; Martin, Jonathan (August 1, 2019). "Granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy Dies After Overdose at Family's Compound". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  15. Carolyn Sung; Nicole Chavez; Kevin Liptak (August 2019). "Saoirse Kennedy Hill, a granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy, dead after being found unresponsive at family compound". CNN. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
  16. Klein, Edward (1997). All Too Human: The Love Story of Jack and Jackie Kennedy (1st ed.). Pocket. ISBN 978-0671501914.

Sources
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