Congressman-elect John Tunney, son of heavyweight boxing champion Gene Tunney, and Senator Ted Kennedy, weather the winter in relaxed Palm Beach style, January 1, 1965.
Historic homes, storied families, more than 100 charitable foundations; Palm Beach has served as a luxurious escape from cold northern winter for over a century. Beginning in 1933, when Joseph and Rose Kennedy purchased a pied-à-terre on North Ocean Boulevard, generations of Kennedys made the trip south— John F. Kennedy and his family took at least six trips a year to the compound—and kept company with the island’s upper-crust families: the Duponts, the Posts, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, and Mrs. Lowell Guinness. AP Photographer Bob Davidoff chronicled the Kennedy clan for almost fifty years at their “Winter White House” in Palm Beach. We celebrate the era with photos from “The Kennedy Family Album, Personal Photos of America’s First Family.” As the Palm Beach Post once wrote, “Jack Kennedy grew up with Florida sand in his shoes.” The famous family sold their home in 1993, yet the presence of a new generation is still felt in the effervescent town.
