The Location

Evaluation of the Boston Option

When Floridian, Paul Troxell, founded the JFK CV-67 Memorial Foundation, Inc. in January, 2007, he intended to lead the effort to “Save The JFK” to his home town of Boston – a location synonymous with the Kennedy family name.  Boston was his first choice, for all the reasons that would readily come to mind for anyone who understands the close relationship between the people of Boston - the Kennedy family in general and President Kennedy in particular.  Historically the ship drew hundreds of thousands of visitors during its periodic visits to Boston Harbor.

USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) makes her way into Historic Boston Harbor

as crew members are in formation on the flight deck to spell-out “JACK IS BACK”.

U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Joshua Karsten (RELEASED)

The stringent criteria the Secretary of the Navy will apply when considering the hoped-for ship donation requires rigorous analysis of all potential venues.  Early during our due diligence process we confronted significant obstacles to berthing the ship as a museum in Boston on a permanent basis.  We determined we could not overcome these to the Navy's satisfaction. 

Berthing at the Kennedy Library would require over two miles of costly and environmentally impossible dredging.  We ruled out Spectacle Island as a potential site because the ferry only runs 11 weeks per year, while adding a layer of cost that would serve to make entry financially prohibitive for many potential visitors.  Seasonal inclement weather also severely impacted attendance projections -- a primary consideration for Navy donation -- in every possible Boston scenario.

We next considered all potential sites that offer the unusual combination of a deep-water berthing facility and proximity to significant in-place parking, tourism & convention markets.  We concluded that both Miami and Fort Lauderdale, the world’s #1 and #3 cruise ports respectively, situated just 25 miles apart, offered the highest likelihood for developing the most successful, self-sustaining maritime museum attraction in America.