This article was originally published in Architectural Digest.
One of America’s most famous broods, the Kennedy family has fascinated the public for decades not only for its impact on politics but also for its glamorous lifestyle and impressive residences. From the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, to Hickory Hill in McLean, Virginia, the Kennedy clan has owned some of the country’s most famous homes, several of which have become historic landmarks. Read on to tour the family’s most iconic homes, including the birthplace of a future president, an Addison Mizner–designed Palm Beach retreat, a 19th-century town house in Georgetown, and the White House.
83 Beals Street, Brookline, MA
Joseph and Rose Kennedy moved into a Colonial Revival house at 83 Beals Street in Brookline, Massachusetts, in 1914. The modern (for the time) home was built in 1909 and equipped with indoor plumbing, gas, electricity, and steam heat. On May 29, 1917, their second son, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, was born in an upstairs bedroom, and the future president would spend the first three years of his life living in the house. The Kennedy family repurchased the home in 1966, and Rose Kennedy restored it to how it would have looked in 1917. In 1967 the house was designated a national historic site.
51 Abbottsford Road, Brookline, MA
In 1920, the Kennedy family moved from 83 Beals Street to a larger home at 51 Abbottsford Road in Brookline, which would be the birthplace of Robert, Patricia, and Eunice Kennedy. The stately Shingle/Queen Anne–style home was designed by architecture firm Greenleaf and Cobb and completed in 1897. After the family moved in, they hired architect Harry Ramsey to reconfigure the interior and add an additional bathroom and maid’s room. The family lived there until 1927 when they moved to New York.
5040 Independence Avenue, Riverdale, NY
The family moved to the Riverdale area of the Bronx in 1927, settling in a 20-room mansion. The three-story stucco-clad residence was built in 1907 and is located beside Wave Hill. The family moved out in September of 1929, and significant alterations have been made to the building since then.
294 Pondfield Road, Bronxville, NY
In 1929, the Kennedys moved to Crownlands, a six-acre estate in Bronxville. The Georgian-style mansion had a basement screening room and cottages for a driver and a gardener. The family lived at Crownlands until 1942, but the home was demolished in the 1950s, and the land was subdivided.
Kennedy Compound, Hyannis Port, MA
The family’s most famous residence is the nearly six-acre Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. Joe and Rose Kennedy started renting a home in the coastal village in 1926, and in 1929 they purchased the clapboard house at 50 Marchant Avenue, which they renovated and expanded. The compound grew over the years to include three houses, including JFK’s home at 111 Irving Avenue and a home initially purchased by his youngest brother Edward Kennedy at 28 Marchant Ave, as well as a swimming pool, tennis court, and a four-car garage.
Hickory Hill, McLean, Virginia
After tying the knot in 1953, John and Jackie Kennedy moved to Hickory Hill, a large brick house in McLean, Virginia, in the fall of 1955. The historic home was built around 1870 by farmer, carpenter, and abolitionist George Walters. The couple moved to Georgetown in 1956 and sold the house to JFK’s father, Joseph, who then sold it to Robert and Ethel Kennedy. Following the assassination of RFK in 1968, Ethel raised their 11 children at Hickory Hill and stayed in the home until she sold it in 2009.
3307 N Street NW, Georgetown, Washington, DC
In 1958, John and Jackie Kennedy and their daughter, Caroline, moved to a brick Federal-style row house in Georgetown. The couple paid $82,000 for the 1812 building, and Jackie hired famed designer Sister Parish to help her decorate it. While living there, John was elected President, and the couple’s son, John F. Kennedy Jr., was born. They left the house in January 1961 for the inauguration and to move into their new home—the White House.
White House, Washington, DC
President John F. Kennedy and his family moved into the White House in 1961, and Jackie quickly set to work restoring the building. She enlisted Sister Parish to decorate the private residence and worked with Stéphane Boudin of Parisian firm Jansen and Henry du Pont, the first chairman of the Fine Arts Committee, to restore many of the public rooms, including the Red Room, the Treaty Room, the Blue Room, and the Lincoln Sitting Room. The First Lady gave the nation a guided tour of the revitalized residence on television in 1962.
1095 N. Ocean Blvd. Palm Beach, FL
In 1933, Joe Kennedy purchased a six-bedroom home in Palm Beach for $120,000. The estate had been built in 1923 by iconic Palm Beach architect Addison Mizner for Rodman Wanamaker, heir to a department store fortune, and the Kennedys expanded the property, adding tennis courts and a pool. The property became known as the Winter White House during JFK’s presidency and stayed in the family until 1995.