The Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum

The Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum (www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu) is located in Dutchess County, New York, in historic Hyde Park. It is our nation’s first Presidential Library, and it is the only one ever used by a sitting president. The structure was constructed with private contributions and opened in 1941. Roosevelt designed the library himself, and it is built of local fieldstone in the style of a Hudson Valley Dutch farmhouse. He wanted to use it to protect his official papers, making them available to scholars, and to preserve some of his books and other possessions. The facility houses Franklin Roosevelt’s papers as Governor of New York and President, just as he had wanted, along with materials which belonged to those who served him in Albany and Washington. Visitors can see many artifacts from the lives of President and Mrs. Roosevelt, including the President’s entire study, and his White House desk as it was left by FDR on his last day at work. Also on display is FDR’s famous Ford, which has special hand controls that allowed him to drive around his estate and Hyde Park.

Technology and history unite at the museum through interactive multimedia exhibits. In “The Presidential Years Gallery,“ visitors journey through each of FDR’s four terms as president and can participate in an interactive exhibit on wartime decision-making. The museum has a replica of FDR’s Map Room, which was a highly secret room in the White House where Roosevelt had meetings during WWII. Audio and visual elements throughout the room give visitors the feeling of being in a decision-making meeting.

A special exhibit on display until November 5, 2006 commemorates the 60 th anniversary of the formal end of WWII. The exhibit titled “Freedom From Fear: FDR Commander in Chief” displays artifacts and never-before displayed documents from the Roosevelt Presidential Library. The artifacts and documents on display include a reading copy of Roosevelt’s famous “Day of Infamy” message to Congress and a globe given to FDR from George Marshall in 1942. Several multi-media presentations offer a year-by-year account of diplomatic and military milestones and highlight the social changes that occurred in the United States during the wartime years.

In 1971, two wings were added in memory of Eleanor Roosevelt, making it the only Presidential Library to have a section devoted to a First Lady. Eleanor Roosevelt’s papers are also housed in the museum.

The library is located on the grounds of FDR’s life-long home, “Springwood.” The house often served as the northern White House for many of FDR’s meetings with heads of state. It was recently renovated to allow handicapped people to have full access to the upper floor, as well as having heated and air conditioning installed. President and Mrs. Roosevelt are buried in the estate’s rose garden.

Completed in November 2003, the Henry A. Wallace Visitor, Education and Conference Center is the newest addition to the FDR estate. The center is named in honor of Roosevelt’s vice-president during his third term and is run by the National Parks Service. The Visitor Center has information on all of the sites administered by the National Parks Service and offers a full orientation to the entire Roosevelt site. There are temporary exhibits in the vanden Heuvel Gallery and the center is equipped with several multi-purpose rooms, a theater and café for guests and groups.

Nestled in a 180-acre wooded plot just a few miles from the FDR site is Val-Kill (www.nps.gov/elro), Eleanor Roosevelt’s famed retreat. Wildflowers, stone fireplaces, knotty pine paneling, walls of books and hundreds of personal decorating touches characterize the cottage. The simple home belies the complexity of a woman who used it to host presidents, kings, prime ministers and other world leaders. The only historic site devoted to a First Lady, it is also a National Park and is open to the public.

Dutchess County is 1½ hours north of New York City on the majestic Hudson River. Visitors can tour the mansions of FDR, Frederick Vanderbilt and Samuel Morse, visit wineries & farm markets, and indulge in gourmet dining. Popular activities include antiquing in small villages like Rhinebeck, Red Hook and Millbrook or golfing at one of the sixteen beautiful courses located in the county. Visitors can spend a romantic weekend at a bed-and-breakfast or a longer getaway filled with family activities.