Commemorating JFK 50 Years Later After His Assassination: A Look at His Connections to the Bronx

by Daniel Murphy | 11/19/2013 | 2:56pm

Commemorating JFK 50 Years Later After His Assassination: A Look at His Connections to the Bronx

Although he's known for his roots in Boston, the President spent some time of his life living in the borough with his family.

Friday marks the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's assassination.

Kennedy and his family moved to Riverdale in the Bronx during the late 1920s. The relocation was to help his father, who worked on Wall Street as a speculator at the time. While here, Kennedy attended Riverdale Country School, a private prepatory school.

After spending more than two years in the borough, the Kenndy family moved slightly north to Bronxville in Westchester County. Despite no longer living in the borough, Kennedy made a stop in the 1960s for a campaign rally on the Grand Concourse. Bronx Borough Historian Lloyd Ultan said this was Kennedy's last reported visit to the Bronx, and it was an extrodinary sight.

"The crowd was rather huge. It overflwoed the sidewalkk on either side and the front of the wooden platform that has been erected [for Kennedy]. The crowd poured to the other side of the street and down one block."

The Bronx honored JFK's legacy with the John F. Kennedy High School. The school's doors opened about 10 years after his assassination.

Weekdays at Noon

Ticket Giveaways from WFUV