Franklin D Roosevelt. Our only four term president. Let's visit his home.
Written: May 05 '03 (Updated Nov 15 '07)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Very interesting, on the banks of the Hudson River, much history
Cons: Going under some construction.
The Bottom Line: To learn more about the history of the great men and woman of our past this is a great place to do it. It is also picturesque.
|
|
|
| popsrocks's Full Review: Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Si... |
During the Easter vacation when school was closed my wife, an educator, and I went up to the Hudson Valley to spend a few quiet days together without the kids. The area along the Hudson River of Rhinebeck and Hyde Park is just a one and a half hour car ride from NYC and Long Island where I live.
You can also take a train up from NYC. These go right along the Hudson River.
WHERE TO STAY
We stayed at the Belvedere Mansion on Route 9 centrally located between the two towns. It is a beautiful place with charm and history. They have rooms in the Mansion, Carriage House, and the Lodge. It's run as a country inn. That means a great breakfast is offered with the room rate. There are many other places to stay in the area too. There are chain motels, B&Bs, and other options. The famous Beekman Arms is in Rhinebeck also, right on rout 9. There are campgrounds in the area too.
ENTERING THE GROUNDS
Upon entering the gates right off Rout 9 in Hyde park we noticed a lot of construction going on. They are building a new Visitors Center. This will have a place to view a film, have a gift shop, get information, and purchase or pick up tickets for the Home and the Library?Museum. The ticket place is now a very small building that has you waiting in line outdoors. This can be a problem in rain and severe temperatures. I welcome this new place that will also have new restrooms and will be completely Accessible.
The parking lot is all being redone too. They hope to have the new building and all the work completed for a November dedication that will be open to the public.
GETTING AROUND and FEES
No, I didn't say getting around fees. Once parked look for the small building for tickets. The tour of the home and access to the Library/Museum is $14.00. It's free for Golden Access Pass holders. There is no fee for the home tour with a National Parks Pass there is ,however, a $7.00 fee for the Library/Museum. For more info about Passes to the Parks read my review at the end of this piece. For those 62 and older there is a great lifetime deal that is a steal!!
I do suggest that, if you are with a spouse or family members and plan to visit any of the other nearby National Historic Sites, to purchase the Parks Pass. It's fifty dollars and you can take any family members in with you as a guest. Again, the Library/Museum that is run by the National Archives does have it's own fee. All kids 16 and under are free regardless of pass or not.
Once the tickets are purchased the grounds are accessible by walking.
THE LIBRARY
The first building you pass is the Library/Museum. I found this very interesting. It's a self guided tour inside that takes you through many of the periods of Franklin Roosevelt's presidency . There are interesting pieces from those days including many models in his collections of boats and stamps he always worked with. He was quite the collector!
There were also a couple of computers that you could ask questions of for more information about Roosevelt, his wife, his times and others who were close to him.
You can still see the place where he did his famous fireside chats. In those years families gathered around their own home radio to listen to him. You see the Library was built in 1939. He used this as a place to do much of his work when he came home to Hyde Park during his presidency until he died in 1945.
It was interesting that on the days after 9/11 there were many phone calls from around the world to the archives section of the Library asking about how Franklin Roosevelt addressed the Pearl Harbor situation in his day.
The library also has a very nice little book and gift shop downstairs.
THE ROSE GARDEN AND GRAVE SITES
After seeing the Library and Museum, actually you can go in any order you like, you come to the Rose garden and Grave site area. Being it was still early spring there was not much happening there just yet in growth of the roses.
In the middle of the garden is the Grave of both Franklin D Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor. More about Eleanore later. The whole Garden and Grave site is closed in by hedges. It's a pretty large area though.
THE CARRIAGE HOUSE
Following markers to the start of the tour of the Franklin home will take you too the carriage house. It is now being used as a small book shop and gathering area for the tour. I wonder if this all may change after the Visitors Center is completed. This is also where you can get your National Passport to the Parks canceled. This is an interesting way to collect National Parks, Memorials, and Historic Sites. Every one of these places has its own ink stamp that you mark the passport with. The stamp has the name of the site and day of visit.
The park ranger gathered us together and proceeded to take us to the house which is completely accessible for many with special needs. The house is shown by tour only and start at nine am and go on till five pm. Large groups must have reservations that can be made ahead of time. In the fall you may have to make them months ahead of time.
THE HOME
The house, its name is Springwood, was never actually Franklin's. It belonged to his mother who outlived him. He always called it home and that's where he went for respite.
It was very interesting hearing about some of his childhood exploits in the house. It was also explained how he tried to overcome his adult lifetime bout with polio. The walks he tried to take were very inspiring. That's why I suggest coming here. He was a great president for the time we were going through WWII.
The house, its furniture, pictures on the wall, and uses of the rooms were explained to us. We get to see more of his collections here too. We then had a bit of time to wander on the first level and ask any questions. Our guide was very informative. We were then taken to the second floor. This is where most of the bedrooms are. There was an extension put on the whole house with a new wing for the bedrooms of Franklin and his wife Eleanore. It seems mom decided to move into the wing too. Find out about the interesting sleeping arrangements of mom, Franklin and Eleanore.
It was also explained as to where and how the help maintained the house and grounds. A little bit more about Eleanor was brought up too. She was quite a woman. We visited her place too. I'll explain all I learned about her and her own home further west, on the same family grounds, and some of her accomplishments, in my next review. Her home that is now the nearby Eleanore Roosevelt Historic Site is very different from the formality of Franklin's home which then again pales next to the Grandeur of the also nearby Vanderbilt Mansion Historic Site.
MORE TO SEE
The grounds are open every day of the year from 7am till sunset. There are walks and trails that you can take. We didn't go down to the river area. You can see it from the home and the outside stairs.
IN THE AREA
As I mentioned the Eleanor Roosevelt and Vanderbilt National Historic Sites are both within minutes of Franklin's home. There are deals that cover admission to all sites that save a few dollars but definitely look into purchasing a Parks Pass. The city of Rhinebeck has antiques, book stores, and some fine restaurants. There are a few not so fine looking yet good places to eat too.
Hyde Park also offers places to eat and many fast food eateries too. Hey, if you really want to do it up go to the Culinary Institute for lunch or dinner in its different theme restaurants. It's just a few minutes away from Franklin's Home. That's what we did. I hope to write about our couple of experiences there very soon.
This area along the Hudson River has many, many mansions that are registered historic landmarks and state historic sites. We had time to do the Mills Mansion while there. It's definitely one for the "to do" list.
During the summer there are fantastic air shows at the Rhinebeck Aerodrome. The State Fair also sets up in Rhinebeck. It's great!!
Try and visit the Home of Franklin D Roosevelt. Its wonderful and the area has so much to offer.
Other reviews of the wonderful Hudson area by popsrocks
Home of Franklin D Roosevelt National Historic Site
Vanderbilt Mansion, on the Hudson
Eleanor Roosevelt's historic home near the Hudson
Lake Taconic State Park
The Belvedere Mansion, a wonderful place to stay and/or dine
Mohonk Mountain House, an amazing experience
Hudson Valley
New York , The Empire State
New York City, The greatest City in the World!!
Long Island, My home
Best Western Hotel, Albany Area
Saratoga National Historic Site, Upstate NY
National Park System
http://www.epinions.com/content_2908004484
National Park Passports What you should know.
http://www.epinions.com/content_76095131268
Another FDR site that is an International Park in Canada.
Roosevelt Campobello International Park
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.