January 20, 1961, was a bitterly cold day in Washington. And yet, as John and Jackie Kennedy set out on foot from the White House to the Capitol — where, a half-century ago, JFK was sworn in as America’s 35th president — the sense of cheer and confidence was palpable. This, after all, was the dawn of “Camelot” — the evocative label forever associated with Kennedy’s administration, born of the young president’s fondness for the musical of the same name. LIFE sent several of its best photographers to D.C. to chronicle the inauguration (and its slew of star-studded parties). A week later, the magazine ran nearly 20 pictures from the event; many, many more photos, meanwhile, were stored away in LIFE’s archives, unseen — until now. Here, on the 50th anniversary of that blustery, exuberant day, LIFE.com presents a gallery of photographs — the vast majority of them never published before — from JFK’s inauguration.
