Built on memories, Edward M. Kennedy Institute takes shape

That’s where Teddy’s desk would have been, she said, pointing to a spot in the back row. That’s where I would sit, she said, pointing to the family gallery on the second floor.

Victoria Reggie Kennedy was not walking through the actual United States Senate, but a scale replica of the chamber that is being built on Columbia Point in Dorchester.

With its ornate domed ceiling, decorative gold wallpaper, and Latin mottos etched on the walls, the replica of the historic chamber will be the centerpiece of The Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate, an educational center and tribute to the legendary Massachusetts Democrat that is slated to open to the public in March 2015.