Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site is a recreated

brownstone Brownstone is a brown Triassic–Jurassic sandstone that was historically a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States and Canada to refer to a townhouse clad in this or any other aesthetically similar material. Type ...

at 28 East 20th Street, between

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

and

Park Avenue South Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington A ...

, in the

Flatiron District The Flatiron District is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, named after the Flatiron Building at 23rd Street, Broadway and Fifth Avenue. Generally, the Flatiron District is bounded by 14th Street, Union Square and Gre ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. It is a replica of the birthplace and childhood home of 26th

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

History

The house that originally stood on the site was built in 1848 and was bought by the Roosevelts in 1854.

was born there on October 27, 1858, and lived in the house with his family until 1872, when the neighborhood began to become more commercial and the family moved uptown to 57th Street. The original building was demolished in 1916 to make way for retail space, but upon the death of Roosevelt in 1919 the lot was purchased and the house rebuilt by the Women's Roosevelt Memorial Association, which eventually merged with the Roosevelt Memorial Association in 1953 to form the

Theodore Roosevelt Association The Theodore Roosevelt Association (TRA) is a historical and cultural organization dedicated to honoring the life and work of Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), the 26th President of the United States. The group is based in Oyster Bay, New York, whe ...

. Noted female American architect

Theodate Pope Riddle Theodate Pope Riddle (February 2, 1867 – August 30, 1946) was an American architect and philanthropist. She was one of the first American women architects and a survivor of the sinking of the RMS ''Lusitania''. Life Born Effie Brooks Pope ...

was given the task of reconstructing a replica of the house, as well as designing the museum, situated next door, that serves to complete the site. The

row house In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United Sta ...

next door at number 26, which was a twin to the Roosevelts', was used as a model, and some architectural elements from it were incorporated into the replica. The twin house was demolished to make space for the museum. The restoration recreates the house as it was in 1865. The house was rededicated in 1923 and was subsequently refurbished with many furnishings from the original house by the President's widow,

Edith Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English words ēad, meaning 'riches or blessed', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian languages and Dutch. Its French form is Édith. Contractions and var ...

, and his two sisters. The widow and sisters also supplied information about the interior's appearance during Roosevelt's residency. The Theodore Roosevelt Association donated the birthplace to the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...

in 1963. As a National Historic Site, it was automatically listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

at its creation on October 15, 1966. It now serves as a museum dedicated to the life and contributions of the 26th

Roosevelt's recollection

Roosevelt described his memories of the home's interior in Chapter 1 of his 1913 autobiography: Rooseveltshirt

Architecture

The three-story

house features a

mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called a French roof or curb roof) is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope, punctured by dormer windows, at a steeper angle than the upper. Th ...

, and a high stoop above the basement. The hooded moldings above the windows and doorway are in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style. In 2014,

was recognized for her work rebuilding the home, a winning site of Built by Women New York City, a competition launched by the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation during the fall of 2014 to identify outstanding and diverse sites and spaces designed, engineered and built by women.

References

Notes Sources * ''The National Parks: Index 2001–2003''. Washington: U.S. Department of the Interior

External links

Official NPS website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roosevelt, Theodore, Birthplace National Historic Site Birthplace 1962 establishments in New York City Biographical museums in New York City Birthplaces of individual people Buildings and monuments honoring American presidents in the United States Flatiron District Historic house museums in New York City Houses completed in 1848 Houses in Manhattan Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan Museums in Manhattan National Historic Sites in New York (state) National Park Service National Monuments in New York City New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan Presidential homes in the United States Presidential museums in New York (state) Protected areas established in 1962

Theodore Theodore may refer to: Places * Theodore, Alabama, United States * Theodore, Australian Capital Territory * Theodore, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Banana, Australia * Theodore, Saskatchewan, Canada * Theodore Reservoir, a lake in Saskatche ...

Tourist attractions in Manhattan

History

Roosevelt's recollection

Architecture

See also

References

External links