The reconstruction and relocation of Assumption College was underway when Senator John F. Kennedy, two years into the presidency, visited the campus for the dedication of a building named after his late brother.

The Lieutenant Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Memorial Science Hall was dedicated on October 2, 1958, and Kennedy participated in multiple events. Jacqueline Kennedy answered questions from students, including visitors to nearby Notre Dame Academy, during a meeting in the La Maison Francaise library. That building is seen in this week’s Then photo.

The Kennedy Foundation contributed $150,000 to the university’s rebuilding effort after the 1953 tornado that devastated parts of central Massachusetts. One of the hardest hit places was the Assumption campus, then on West Boylston Street in Worcester. (The site is now home to Quinsigamond Community College.)

Kennedy visited the region to observe the tornado devastation.

Kennedy’s connection to Assumption was forged when Senator Kennedy spoke at the dedication of Assumption on June 3, 1955. He also spoke at a ceremony on November 10, 1956 that marked the relocated campus, facing Salisbury Street in a land once occupied by Buckley and Eppinger. farms.

Kennedy Foundation money went toward rebuilding efforts. The first building on the new site was La Maison Francaise, a French library and cultural center.

The Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Memorial Science Hall was a tribute to John Kennedy’s older brother, a pilot who died in World War II.

In Asunción, then a college, now a university, the senator unveiled a portrait of his brother by Richard Lack, a noted artist whose work included portraits of the various Kennedy families.

The science center was “a symbol of Kennedy’s devotion to God and country,” the Rev. Armand H. Desautels, Assumption president, told the audience.

The Kennedy Building remains part of the Assumption campus, although it is no longer the primary location for science. The building now has classrooms and offices.

In 2003, with Senator Edward M. Kennedy present for the dedication, the school opened the Richard and Janet Testa Science Center.

Last week Then and now: Denny Hall, 220 Main St., Spencer

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Then and Now: JFK at Assumption College, Worcester