Quincy, Mass. Blog #13: JFK Library (Boston) Part 1 - The building & architect

Today's blog takes us just north of Quincy, Massachusetts to the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston and the famous John F. Kennedy Library, designed by famous architect I.M. Pei. We got to tour the library with our friend Laurie and it was an amazing place in an amazing location, facing Boston Harbor.  You'll read fast facts, the architect, and why it's also called a Museum, and not just a Presidential Library! 

(Photo: Rob, Laurie and Tom outside the JFK Library and Museum. Credit: R.G.) 

ABOUT JFK LIBRARY - The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library and museum of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States.  Columbia Point, Boston, MA 02125

FAST FACTS: Cost: $20.8 million; Architect(s): I. M. Pei; Founded: 1979, Columbia Point, Boston, MA; Parent organization: National Archives and Records Administration; Size: 10 acres (40,000 m2). It's located next to the University of Massachusetts at Boston, the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, and the Massachusetts Archives and Commonwealth Museum.

WHAT IS HOUSED THERE? The building is the official repository for original papers and correspondence of the Kennedy Administration, as well as special bodies of published and unpublished materials, such as books and papers by and about Ernest Hemingway.

(Photo: Campaign poster for JFK in his Presidential run. Credit: R.G.) 

WHO WAS THE ARCHITECT - After JFK's passing, Mrs. Kennedy selected I.M. Pei as the architect. Though Pei was relatively unknown at the time, she viewed him as filled with promise and imagination. He later went on to become one of the most famous architects of the 20th century.

Ieoh Ming Pei FAIA RIBA was a Chinese-American architect. Raised in Shanghai, Pei drew inspiration at an early age from the garden villas at Suzhou, the traditional retreat of the scholar-gentry to which his family belonged. Pei won a wide variety of prizes and awards in the field of architecture, including the AIA Gold Medal in 1979, the first Praemium Imperiale for Architecture in 1989, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, in 2003. In 1983, he won the Pritzker Prize, which is sometimes referred to as the Nobel Prize of architecture.

(Photo: Former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy with I. M. Pei in 1964. He is speaking to the press about funding for the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, which he designed. Credit: Library of Congress)

ABOUT THE BUILDING - The library and museum is part of the Presidential Library System, which is administered by the Office of Presidential Libraries, a part of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) The library and Museum were dedicated in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter and members of the Kennedy family. Progress on the building began shortly after President Kennedy's death in November 1963. On January 13, 1964, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy announced that a taped oral-history project was to be undertaken for inclusion in the library.

(Photo: Ship's mast is located in the yard at the back of the library/museum because John F. Kennedy was in the U.S. Navy, and he loved being on boats. Credit:. R.G.) 

WHY A LIBRARY AND MUSEUM, INSTEAD OF JUST A LIBRARY? - Since Kennedy encouraged his administration to save effects of both personal and official nature, the complex would not just be a collection of the President's papers, but "a complete record of a Presidential era." Therefore, the building would have the word "museum" appended to its name as the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

NEXT:  JFK and his legacy

Quincy, Mass. Blog #10: Abigail Adams Cairn

Abigail Adams is the wife of John Adams, second President of the U.S. You "met" her in a previous blog back on August 30, 2023, here. In today's blog, you'll come with us in Quincy, Massachusetts, and visit an historic location where she and her son, John Quincy Adams stood to see the Battle of Bunker Hill. (which you'll also learn about here). 

WHAT IS ABIGAIL ADAMS CAIRN? -  As the Battle of Bunker Hill unfolded in Boston, windows rattled and the ground shook from the cannon fire in Braintree, Massachusetts. Abigail Adams brought her seven-year-old son, John Quincy Adams, up to the top of nearby Penn's Hill (which provided a view of Boston at the time) to watch the battle from afar. The Abigail Adams Cairn marks the spot where they watched the burning of Charlestown on Saturday, June 17, 1775, during the Battle of Bunker Hill. 

WHERE IS IT LOCATED?  On Penn's Hill, now at the corner of Franklin Street and Viden Road in Quincy, Massachusetts.

(Photo: Rob and Tom at the bottom of the hill before the climb. Credit: R.G.) 

WHAT IS THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL? - The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775 during the Siege of Boston in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peripherally involved.

(Photo: Dash, Tyler and Cody pose at the foot of the cairn. Credit: T.W.)

HOW DID THE COLONISTS LOSE THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL? - The defenders had run out of ammunition, reducing the battle to close combat. The advantage turned to the British, as their troops were equipped with bayonets on their muskets, while most of the colonists were not.

(Photo: Words from Abigail Adams about that day on June 18, 1775 when she stood atop Penn's Hill, are etched on the side of the monument. Credit: R.G.)

SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE REPORTED - In just two hours of fighting, 1,054 British soldiers—almost half of all those engaged—had been killed or wounded, including many officers. American losses totaled over 400. The first true battle of the Revolutionary War was to prove the bloodiest of the entire conflict. Though the British had achieved their aim in capturing the hill, it was a truly Pyrrhic victory.  For the full article about the battle, click here for Smithsonian Magazine article.

MILE MARKER REVEALS 11 MILES TO BOSTON - Standing atop Penn's Hill in 1775, apparently Abigail and young John Quincy Adams could see and hear the firefight 11 miles north! 

(Photo right, credit: R.G)- Just across the street from the Cairn was a mile marker that was erected in the 1800s, that says ?To Boston 11 Miles (north) with an arrow; and To Plymouth 34 Miles (south) with an arrow in the opposite direction. 

FOR A 4 MINUTE VIDEO ABOUT THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL - 

Bunker Hill: The Revolutionary War in Four Minutes: By Battlefield Trust 

In honor of the 245th Anniversary of The Battle of Bunker Hill, we are releasing a new American Battlefield Trust branded version of our Bunker Hill In4. Join Jim Percoco as he details the battle that followed Lexington & Concord, signifying that full scale war was imminent and there was truly no turning back for American and British forces. VIDEO: https://youtu.be/mgeq7uqqmn8 American  

Quincy, Mass. Blog #1: Cemetery Visit: History: Who Was Theophilus King?

During our interim stay in Quincy, Massachusetts while we waited for our house to be built, we explored the city and surroundings. This is the first of many blogs about historic things we've seen. This time, we ventured into the large "Mount Wollaston Cemetery" and we came across a huge granite globe and investigated the person and history behind it. Today's blog is about Theophilus King, to whom that massive monument honored and we even found his house (still standing). 

NOTE: This cemetery also happens to also be where one of my grandmothers, a great uncle and aunt are all buried. Since it's a big place, and it's a quiet spot in the city, we've driven there with the dogs to walk around and even take a sandwich, which we respectfully eat in our car. 

(Photo: Theophilus King's "tombstone" in Mount Wollaston Cemetery, Quincy, Mass. Credit: R.G.) 

WHO WAS THEOPHILUS KING? He lived from Oct 14, 1844 to Feb 1, 1935. His wife Elen-Louise (one "L" in Elen) lived from July 20, 1849 to April 28, 1942. He was a businessman who tried various businesses, until his last three brought him success. 

According to an article in the Telegram, "Theophilus King, along with his partner, Charles Bryant, formed the leather firm of Bryant & King in 1868. Bryant was the local businessman, living at the corner of High and Prospect streets at the time; King lived in the Boston area. The firm had offices on Pearl Street, in Boston, and a successful tannery in Clinton. The firm was financially successful and the future looked very bright for the partners until the Great Boston fire of 1872.

After he rebuilt his business, just 4 years later, the Bryant & King Tannery was totally destroyed by the famous "Mossy Pond Freshet of 1876" when children caused a dam to break, swamping the business and many other properties.

A TURN OF FORTUNE - The next businesses King got into was cotton, granite (because Quincy is famous for its granite quarry) and banking. Those turned his life around. He set up a "King Family Fund" in 1919 and by the 1930s was giving churches and charities money from the interest earned on the fund. He was a millionaire by 1935.

He got involved in granite and a building (later South Shore Bank) that still stands in Quincy Center at 1400 Hancock Street was erected by his company.  The banking part involved him becoming chairman of the Granite Trust Company, in downtown Quincy.      

(Photo: Baxter-King house on 36 Heritage Road, in Quincy. Credit: R.G.) 

VISITING HIS HOUSE - We learned about his house, and we drove by. Of course, it's in a residential neighborhood, so when we stopped the truck to take photos, people came over asking what the heck we were doing there. (They thought we were casing the neighborhood, I guess). 

ABOUT THE HOUSE  - The Baxter-King house on 36 Heritage Road, in Quincy, is a beautiful home, first built in the 1860s and one of the city’s finest Italianate houses. It is now on the National Register of Historic Places.