For many older Americans, the name Franklin Delano Roosevelt stirs up strong memories. Voted in as the 32nd President of the United States, FDR was the first president to speak on television, the first president to have his own presidential aircraft and the first president whose mother was allowed to vote for him! When my parents announced that they were coming to visit, I knew they had to see FDR’s Presidential Library & Museum down in Hyde Park. I didn’t mind going back even though I had visited last year with Brett’s grandparents.
FDR was paralyzed after contracting polio in 1921 and is historically known as the only president with a visible disability. In 1939, FDR actually started the idea of a Presidential library system when he donated a bunch of his stuff and part of his Hyde Park estate to the federal government. He believed that Presidential papers were an important part of our national heritage and should be accessible to the public….thanks! FDR felt that the National Archives should administer his library.
We got to tour the Hyde Park estate courtesy of the FDR Presidential Library & Museum public affairs department (thanks y’all!) and I have to tell you, it was beautiful!
Set on 16 acres, the tour included a look at FDR’s house. There we got to see where he delivered many of his famous fireside chats and the dumbwaiter he used to travel between floors of his home. The view of the Hudson River is spectacular from his back porch! FDR and his wife Eleanor are buried on the property, along with two family pets, in a beautiful garden.
My parents really enjoyed FDR’s museum. They got to see memorabilia from his political offices, including stuff from the 12 years he spent in the White House. Roosevelt’s rich history is definitely worth checking out if you are ever up this way!
