The Kennedy Compound consists of three houses on of waterfront property on

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

along Nantucket Sound in Hyannis Port,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, in the United States. It was once the home of

Joseph P. Kennedy Joseph Patrick Kennedy (September 6, 1888 – November 18, 1969) was an American businessman, investor, and politician. He is known for his own political prominence as well as that of his children and was the patriarch of the Irish-American Ken ...

, an American businessman, investor, politician, and U.S. ambassador to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

; his wife,

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

; and their children, including U.S. President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

and U.S. Senators

Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...

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. John F. Kennedy used the compound as a base for his successful 1960 U.S. presidential campaign and later as a

summer White House Listed below are the private residences of the various presidents of the United States. For a list of official residences, see President of the United States § Residence. Private homes of the presidents This is a list of homes where ...

and presidential retreat, until his assassination in November 1963. In 2012, the main house was donated to the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. As of 2020, Robert Kennedy's widow Ethel lives in their home adjacent to the main house.

History

In 1926 Joseph P. Kennedy 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 Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cou ...

and other competitive activities. In 1956, John bought a smaller home of his own at 111 Irving Avenue,⁽⁾ not far from his father's home. In 1959 Edward acquired the residence at 28 Marchant Avenue ⁽⁾ 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.

Current residence

In 2019, one of Robert Kennedy's granddaughters, 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.

Layout

All three buildings are white, frame,

clapboard Clapboard (), also called bevel siding, lap siding, and weatherboard, with regional variation in the definition of these terms, is wooden siding of a building in the form of horizontal boards, often overlapping. ''Clapboard'' in modern Americ ...

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

lawn A lawn is an area of soil-covered land planted with grasses and other durable plants such as clover which are maintained at a short height with a lawnmower (or sometimes grazing animals) and used for aesthetic and recreational purposes. ...

s and

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

s and it commands sweeping views of the

ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

from its long porches. On the main floor are a living room, dining room, sun room, television room, kitchen, various

pantries A pantry is a room or cupboard where beverages, food, and sometimes dishes, household cleaning products, linens or provisions are stored within a home or office. Food and beverage pantries serve in an ancillary capacity to the kitchen. Etym ...

utility room A utility room is a room within a house where equipment not used in day-to-day activities is kept. "Utility" refers to an item which is designed for usefulness or practical use, so in turn most of the items kept in this room have functional attribut ...

s 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 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 tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both Types of tennis match, doubles and singles matches. A variet ...

, a four-car

garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...

, and two

guest houses A guest house (also guesthouse) is a kind of lodging. In some parts of the world (such as the Caribbean), guest houses are a type of inexpensive hotel-like lodging. In others, it is a private home that has been converted for the exclusive use ...

. There are two circular driveways with

flagpole A flagpole, flagmast, flagstaff, or staff is a pole designed to support a flag. If it is taller than can be easily reached to raise the flag, a cord is used, looping around a pulley at the top of the pole with the ends tied at the bottom. The fla ...

s 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.

References

Sources

External links

* {{Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis John F. Kennedy Kennedy family residences National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts Robert F. Kennedy Houses in Barnstable, Massachusetts Houses completed in 1904 Presidential homes in the United States National Register of Historic Places in Barnstable County, Massachusetts Historic district contributing properties in Massachusetts Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Barnstable County, Massachusetts