The DC Traveler

During his time as a a U.S. Senator, John F. Kennedy and later his wife, Jackie, lived in several homes around the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC.

In 1946, he first moved to DC as a Congressional representative from Massachusetts and World War II hero. In 1953, he was elected to the Senate, the same year he married Jackie. Before January 1961 when the Kennedy family moved into the White House, they lived at a total of seven residences around Georgetown.

After the President was assassinated in Dallas in 1963, Jackie and the children lived in two other homes, before moving to Manhattan in 1964.

While all of these historic homes are private residences, you can take a self-guided walking tour to these homes of Camelot, but none offer interior tours.

I’ve listed the homes in historical order but after each address, I’ve added the easiest order to tour them.

• 1528 31st Street, NW (Stop 6) where, as a Congressman, he first lived in DC for three years starting in 1946.
• 1400 34th Street, NW (Stop 3) where JFK lived from 1949-51. For a while, his sister Eunice lived there until she became engaged to Sargent Shriver. Schriver ran for Vice President in 1972 on George McGovern’s Presidential ticket, but lost to Nixon and Agnew.
• 3260 N Street, NW (Stop 1) is where Kennedy began his career in the Senate. While living there, he attended a Georgetown dinner party in 1952 and met the captivating Jacqueline Bouvier. It was another nine months before, at another dinner party thrown by the same couple, he again met and this time, asked Jackie out on a double date to a carnival in Georgetown the following weekend.
• 3271 P Street, NW (Stop 5) is where Senator Kennedy lived when he took Jackie to the Eisenhower Inaugural Ball in January 1953. He also later proposed to her from this house, via telegram, as Jackie was at the time, working as a photographer for the Washington Times-Herald. She was on assignment in England, photographing Queen Elizabeth when the proposal came. The couple was married in September 1953.
• 3321 Dent Place, NW (Stop 4) is the first house where the Kennedy’s lived together, but only for resided there for five months in 1953-54. It was a rental for the newlyweds and when the gardener’s first invoice arrived, Jack refused to pay what he thought was an exorbitant sum. Jackie then took up taking care of the gardening. The book Camelot at Dawn is a collection of photographs of the young couple’s time in this Georgetown townhouse, nicknamed The Red House.
• 2808 P Street, NW (Stop 7) JFK and Jackie moved into this house in 1957. During their period here, the Democratic Party looked at Kennedy as a possible presidential candidate, after the success of Jack’s book, Profiles in Courage. On a sad note, during their time here, Jackie gave birth to their first child, who was stillborn.
• 3307 N Street, NW (Stop 2) This is the townhouse that Jack bought as a gift to Jackie after she gave birth to their first daughter Caroline in1957 and late John, Jr. The family lived here when JFK started his campaign for the Presidency. They stayed in this home until 1961 when he was elected President and moved to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Stops 8 and 9 include homes when the family lived after the President was assinated.

After leaving the White House, the family moved to 3038 N Street, NW for a brief stay (four months), after which they relocated just down the block to 3017 N Street, NW. The family lived there for less than a year, under the constant harassment of the press and photographers until they moved to Manhattan.

Additional points of interest:

- One block from 1400 34th street is Holy Trinity Church where Kennedy would regularly attend.

- Robert Kennedy and his wife Ethel also lived in Georgetown, on both S Street and later on O Street.

Walking tour maps and more information is available at the Georgetown Visitors Center located at 3242 M Street, NW.

Nearest Metro subway station- Foggy Bottom - Blue and Orange Line, then about a 3/4 mile walk or Dupont Circle - Red Line and a 1 mile walk.

From the National Mall area or downtown, take the DC Circulator - Georgetown-Union Station route to M Street and Wisconsin Avenue, NW.

Photo Credits: Photo 1 - Camelot at Dawn - Georgetown May 1954 - photo by Orlando Suero, John Hopkins University Press 2001, Photo 2 and 3 - John F. Kennedy library
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