Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt 32nd President of the United States (1933-1945)

FDR sites that I have seen:

Birthplace Home 'Springwood',Library, Museum and Gravesite Hyde Park, NY
                                       

 Eleanor Roosevelt's Val Kil Cottage Hyde Park, NY
                                     

FDR's Little White House (death site) and rehabilitation pools. Warm Springs, GA

Hyde Park, NY was FDR's lifelong home. He was born here in his family home. When he was President he set up the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum here. It was the first of the National Archives federally funded Presidential Libraries. It is also here that FDR is buried, in the flower garden next inbetween his birthplace home and his Presidential Library.

    So far I have been to FDR's Hyde Park site 3 times. September 2009, June 2012, and September 2013. The first time in 2009, I was focused on seeing Presidential Gravesites. On that trip they were offering free tours of the birthplace house, so we took advantage of that. By the time I made it back to the area in 2012 to see the Library / Museum they were doing a large renovation of the Library / Museum and only had a temporary display area open to see. The new FDR Library / Museum re opened in June 2013, and so when I had been planning a trip to the New England area for September 2013. I readjusted my scheduel to hit the new FDR Library / Museum on the way home from that trip.

FDR's birthplace and lifelong home called 'Springwood'. Hyde Park, NY in September 2009

My return trip to FDR's birthplace Springwood in June 2012

FDR Library and Museum in 2009.

    The next few pictures are of the temporary exhibit that they had available to see during the renovation on my June 2012 stop. When we returned in September 2013 they still had this exhibit up in the temporary exhibit area.

I thought that this display was interesting. It shows FDR's severe aging in the 12 years we served as President. He died at age 63, but he looked like he was in his 80's.

FDR and his mother Sarah. He was a huge momma's boy

   The next several pictures are of the newly renovated FDR Presidential Library and Museum that we saw on our September 2013 trip.

At the new FDR Library and Museum in Septermber 2013

FDR Inagural Bible

I'm a sucker for podium photo ops

With one of FDR's cars

With FDR's Oval office desk

  I'd have to say that I enjoyed the new FDR Library / Museum.They had some interactive touch screen displays that I could of spent hours playing with. Unfortunatly time didn't permit that much time. So far I have toured all the National Archive Presidential Library / Museums except for Eisenhower, Clinton and the new G. W. Bush one in Dallas. And FDR's is one of the better one's I've toured.

Giving my regards to Franklin and Eleanor

FDR's Hyde Park home is right along the Hudson River Valley. Very beautiful and scenic

From inside the gift shop at Eleanor Roosevelts Val Kill Cottage in Hyde Park, NY

My Mom and  I at Val Kill

Eleanor Roosevelt's Val Kill Cottage

Franklin's Springwood Home nearby had a beautiful view along the Hudson River. But Eleanors Val Kill wasn't to bad either.

FDR's lifelong Springwood home was also the home of his mother, Sarah. Sarah lived until 1941, just 4 years before Franklin himself died. Eleanor never felt at home in Sarah's house. So she needed her own place nearby. That's why she got Val Kill. Later in their life together Franklin and Eleanor were more good friends then a married couple. They lead very seperate lives, but remained married for political purposes.




FDR spent alot of time in Warm Springs, GA, trying to recover from his polio. He had a small house built in Warm Springs. It would end up being the house that he would die in. Today Warm Springs has a small museum to FDR as well as the house, available for tours. They also have the therapy pools available to see. I stopped by Warm Springs on my way down to Disney with my family in June 2013.

Historical marker at enterance to The Little White House. Warm Springs, GA

I'm pretty excited to see the house. Khloe and Nicky are happy to be out of the van for awhile

Part of the Warm Springs museum

One of FDRs cars at Warm Springs museum

Another of FDRs cars at Warm Springs museum. The display on left shows how FDR operated the car with just his hands.

All 50 states flags. and all 50 states sent a rock from their state

Klo, Nick and I in front of the Little White House

FDR was sitting in this room, posing for a painting when he suddenly said ,"I have a terrific headache" and slumped over, never regaining consesnes. He had suffered a cerebral hemmerage.

The room in which President Franklin D. Roosevelt died.

The unfinished portrait. It was the portrait being painted of Roosevelt when he died.

Site of the warm springs pools that FDR used in an attempt at rehabilitation.

One of the pools FDR used for rehabilitation

This is where the warm springs are pumped into the pools

Me in the empty pools of Warm Springs. Behind me is where the actual warm springs are being pumped into the pool

3 trips to Hyde Park means 3 stops to FDR's final resting place. This picture was taken in September 2013

Back to Hyde Park, NY. Klo and I at FDR's gravesite in September 2009.  I was clearly distracted by something to left and Klo was distracted by something to the right.

FDR's gravesite in June 2012

And finally in September 2013

FDR's tombstone got it's shape when FDR himself said that he didn't want his tombstone to be bigger than his desk.

FDR broke the 2 term tradition set by Washington when he ran for a third term in 1940. He would go onto being elected to a fourth term. Unfortunatly he died just a few months into his fourth term.

His New Deal programs put a lot of people back to work during the Great Depression. Most agree that the New Deal didn't pull us out of the Depression, it did however increase moral among the American people. WW2 would be the thing that pulled us out of the Depression. FDR was of course the President to manage WW2.

He was stricken with polio in the early 1920's, which paralized him from the waist down. He arose above all that to be elected President. He died in office in 1945 at his Warm Springs, GA home.