I. M. Pei Story aired: Friday, October 22, 2004
The JFK Library is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. The modernist I.M. Pei-designed building was constructed on the end of Columbia Point, overlooking Boston harbor and the skyscrapers of downtown Boston. It was built in 1979, sixteen years after the death of President Kennedy.
I.M. Pei was a relatively unknown architect at the time he was selected to design the library. He worked with the president's brother, Robert Kennedy, and with Jaclyn Kennedy. The original plan was to site the library in Cambridge, near Harvard Yard and JFK's alma mater, Harvard University, but the residents of the city rejected the idea and years into the project the siting changed to its current location on Columbia Point.
I.M. Pei reflects on his designs for the JFK Library building, and his life in architecture.
