For Immediate Release: November 25, 2008
Further information: Brent R. Carney (617) 514-1662, Brent.Carney@JFKLFoundation.org
Boston, MA - The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum will mark the inauguration of President Barack Obama by unveiling a new exhibit of original documents from President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address. Widely viewed as one of the most enduring in U.S. history, the speech was meticulously crafted – then worked and reworked – by then President-elect Kennedy and his close advisor, Theodore Sorensen. This exhibit in the Museum’s Document Room, Poetry and Power: The Inaugural Address of John F. Kennedy, will open to the public on January 8, with the original documents being displayed through June of 2009.
This is the Museum at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library’s first exhibit on the drafting of President Kennedy’s inaugural address. Included will be rarely viewed original documents, many of which have never been publicly displayed by the Kennedy Library, which will reveal how the speech was composed and the steps in the drafting process.
Among the items to be displayed:
- Ted Sorensen’s notes revealing some of Kennedy’s instructions;
- the earliest surviving draft of the address;
- President Kennedy’s dictation, taken down by his secretary on January 10, 1961, in a combination of shorthand and longhand;
- a draft of the speech handwritten by President Kennedy on January 17, 1961;
- the final reading copy of the speech, showing one of the last-minute changes suggested to the President-elect;
- and a handwritten poem by Robert Frost, composed for the inaugural ceremony
In addition, the Museum at the JFK Presidential Library will display the dress, coat, hat, and muff worn by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy at President Kennedy’s Inaugural Ceremony. These items will be on display for a very limited time, from January 8, 2009 through President’s Day, February 16, 2009.
The media sponsor of Poetry and Power: The Inaugural Address of John F. Kennedy is WCVB-TV 5.
Poetry and Power: The Inaugural Address of John F. Kennedy is just one of the many exciting and inspiring exhibits visitors will find in the Museum at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. The Museum’s 25 multimedia exhibits and period settings from the White House offer an exciting “you are there” experience, and create a stirring account of President Kennedy’s thousand days in office. Beginning with a 17-minute film narrated by President Kennedy, visitors step back into the recreated world of the early 1960s and witness the first televised presidential debate; accompany first lady Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy on her televised tour of the White House; sit in on press conferences with the President; relive the thrill of Col. John Glenn’s first orbital mission; stroll through White House corridors; witness Cabinet meetings during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and observe the president’s televised address from the Oval Office on the Civil Rights crisis.
One of Boston’s most popular destinations for visitors from all nations, the architectural masterpiece designed by I.M. Pei sits on a 10-acre waterfront site on Columbia Point offering panoramic views of Boston’s skyline and Harbor Islands.
Effective January 2, 2009, general admission to the Museum at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library is $12.00; Seniors 62+ and college students - $10.00; Children ages 13-17 - $9.00; Children ages 12 and under - Free.
The Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with the exceptions of Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. The Library is located in the Dorchester section of Boston, off Morrissey Boulevard, next to the campus of the University of Massachusetts/Boston. Parking is free. There is free shuttle-service from the JFK/UMass T Stop on the Red Line. The Museum is fully handicapped accessible. For more information, call (866) JFK-1960.
The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is a presidential library administered by the National Archives and Records Administration and supported, in part, by the Kennedy Library Foundation, a non-profit organization.