Springwood, Hyde Park, New York, USA - birthplace and home of Franklin D. Roosevelt

Springwood, Hyde Park, New York, birthplace and home of Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945), 32nd President of the United States (1933-1945).


The photo table shows among others the portraits of (the then) Crown Prince Olav of Norway and his wife Crown Princess Märtha, née Princess of Sweden (and Norway!). The royals met Roosevelt during their visit to the States in 1939 as well as during WW2. Not the sharpest photo, though.

The stables.

The Coach House.

The Rose Garden.

The grave of Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945) and his wife Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962).

Inside the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. Again the photo is not of the best quality... But it shows a replica of the Oval Office during Roosevelt's presidency.

Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

Springwood, the birthplace, life-long home and burial place of the 32nd President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, is a "must visit" for anyone interested in US presidential history, or US history in general for that matter. You will get a guided tour in the estate house as well as the neighbouring buildings and rose garden, where Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt are buried. Then you can continue your visit at the Presidential Library & Museum. I have visited several presidential libraries as well (Lyndon B. Johnson, George H.W. Bush and William J. Clinton), and feel that they perhaps could have done more out of Roosevelt's museum, but when you add Springwood to the visit, it still beats the others. I have explored other president-related sights in the United States as well, including Mount Vernon, the White House, the 6th Floor Museum and the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace and will write about some of these visits later on. As you may remember, I have already written about the General Grant National Memorial in New York City.

All the photos were taken in August 2006 during the last day of my fourth visit to the United States (I am not counting the stops at Miami in 2003 when I only changed flights on my way to and from Cancun, Mexico). My visits to the United States so far took place in 1999, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009, and it is a great possibility that I will cross the Atlantic once more in 2012.

The home of Franklin D. Roosevelt, which from 1945 has been administered by the National Park Service as a National Historic Site, is situated at Route 9 in Hyde Park, New York, about 90 miles (144 km) north of New York City. It is perhaps most convenient to travel to the historic site by car (about 2 hours' drive from NYC), but you can also take the train to Poughkeepsie (oh, I love the sound of that name!) and then tabe a cab (5 miles). If you plan to stay over in the area, you are recommended to make a reservation in advance, especially in the summer season.

For other photographs, see for instance D & D Travel - A Look at the Hudson River Valley and Hyde Park, New York as well as the blog Reflections from a global perspective (21 February 2011).