NYC presidential site closes

POSTED BY
Evelyn Kanter

The NYC brownstone where Theodore Roosevelt was born in 1858 has been closed for renovation by the National Park Service. Roosevelt was NYC Police Commissioner and NYC Mayor before becoming the nation’s 26th president, and was a cousin of NY State Governor and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Teddy Roosevelt also was a fierce conservationist and created the National Park System, which now administers his childhood home as a National Historic Site .

The Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace is getting a $3.7 million modernization of its fire and electric systems, and to make the museum more ADA accessible, and is due to re-open early next year.

The museums electric system dates to the 1920s, when it opened to the public. The renovation includes replacing antique sprinklers with modern ones less likely to damage the delicate furnishings, wallpaper and Roosevelt memorabilia on display, and two wheelchair-lifts.

The brownstone, which features five period rooms, two museum galleries and a bookstore, had been demolished in 1916. It was rebuilt in 1919 by the Women’s Roosevelt Memorial Association with the help of Roosevelt’s widow and sister, to look as similar to the original as possible.

Theodore Roosevelt is the only US president born in New York City. He lived in the brownstone, at 28 East 20th St., until he was 14 years old.

While the Roosevelt Birthplace is closed, visit the Theodore Roosevelt wing at the American Museum of Natural History, and learn about his enduring legacy protecting wild lands and wildlife. Roosevelt was portrayed by the late, great Robin Williams in the Night at the Museum films, which were filmed at AMNH.

Stay up to date on the NPS renovations here.

Learn more about Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace

You can also visit the Roosevelt home at Sagamore Hill on Long Island, also known as the Summer White House. It is also a National Park Service historic site.