A Visit To John F. Kennedy's Winter White House

On a whim, I decided to check out John F. Kennedy's Winter White House, located at 1095 Ocean Drive in Palm Beach, Florida. This estate was built in 1923 by well-known architect Addison Mizner, who specialized in designing Mediterranean Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival homes, and was also known for developing Boca Raton, Florida. Kennedy's father, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., bought the property in 1933, and it remained in the family until 1995. The 15,347-square-foot Mediterranean-style mansion, with 11 bedrooms and 12 bathrooms, and seen in the photograph on the left, sold back in 2020 for $70 million. 

JFK would stay at the home during the colder months and actually spent the last weekend of his life at the estate. In later decades the house became associated with assorted drinking incidents involving Senator Ted Kennedy and also with William Kennedy Smith's 1991 rape trial. The Kennedys sold the place in 1995, four months after the death of Rose Kennedy, the widow of Joseph Kennedy. When I was walking around, the only people I saw were landscaping crews, which is a good thing, since there was a large "no trespassing" sign on the wall by the entrance, along with a note that said your every move was being recorded, which I noticed as I walked up the driveway to get a decent photo. I guess if you pay $70 million for an estate like this, you don't want crazy old geezers wandering the grounds. The photograph on the right, by the way, shows the iconic wall and main entrance to the house, made famous by a photograph of JFK and family posing in front of it on Easter in 1963.

And yes, that is indeed the actual photograph of President John F. Kennedy, First Lady Jacquline Kennedy, John F. Kennedy Jr., and Caroline Kennedy in front of that door. And no - I did not take that photograph. I was only 10 years old at the time, although come to think of it, I was indeed in Florida that year, staying at the Sun Castle in Pompano Beach with my mother Mary, father Nelson, and Grandmother Spillard. It was in August, and as I recall, it cost $8 per day per person to stay there, including breakfast and dinner. Of course, that was 62 years ago this very month, and so I could be misremembering. Were things really that cheap back then? In any case, if you want to see that estate and even get a tour, be sure to walk up that driveway, ring the bell, and introduce yourself. Folks in Palm Beach are real downhome types, and I'm sure they would welcome the company. Tell them I sent you.