纪念碑设计成上下悬空、四方合围的形状，纪念碑内部地面只有一块黑色大理石，上面用镂金雕刻着肯尼迪的名字。纪念碑的设计师Philip Johnson非常成功的传达了他对这位总统的敬意：a place of quiet refuge, an enclosed place of thought and contemplation separated from the city around, but near the sky and earth.