Why don’t we ever get to go up to the third floor on historic house tours? At the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site, the boyhood bedroom of the 26th President is unfortunately on the third floor.

I had just watched the Ken Burns “The Roosevelts” documentary, and was excited to see Teddy’s boyhood bedroom. Here he housed his many pets and set up his Roosevelt Museum of Natural History. Roosevelt’s role in the National Park system and the American conservation movement were things that have always interested me, especially when juxtaposed with his big game trophy hunting.

While visiting New York, I opted for his birthplace over many other sites to hopefully get a little insight into Roosevelt as a boy. Teedie, as his family called him, was a sickly and frail child, stricken with asthma and unable to consistently go to school. Confined to the rooms of the brownstone, he devoured books on adventure, history and nature. These interests laid the foundation of the man he was to become. Unfortunately, his bedroom is on the third floor and not open to the public.

Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site

Theodore Roosevelt was the first President born in New York City. Manhattan Island in 1858 was a very different place than it is now. The birthplace is in a very commercial part of town, and the brownstone now feels out of place among the more modern buildings. However in 1858, East 20th Street was very residential, very exclusive, and the street would have been lined with similar brownstone homes. The neighborhood was becoming more commercial even during Teddy’s childhood, and eventually the family moved uptown to West 57th Street to take advantage of the more residential neighborhoods near the new Central Park.

The Tour

Entering through what was once a service entrance under the main stairs, the basement exhibit gives a short overview of Roosevelt’s life in pictures and artifacts. The cases hold the shirt, speech and glasses case that slowed down an assassin’s bullet. Another case displays his Rough Rider uniform from the Spanish American War. The website shows a large taxidermy lion that Roosevelt shot in Africa, but that was not on display. Things picked up once the tour started. My volunteer guide gave a well-practiced tour that hit all the important points and answered the questions before they were asked.

Margaret Barnhill

A portrait of Theodore Roosevelt’s grandmother, Margaret Barnhill, hangs at the top of the service stairs coming up from the basement. It is the first thing visitors see on the tour. This is fitting, as Margaret Barnhill had a lot to do with the Roosevelt spirit of philanthropy. Philadelphia-born, and descended from English Quakers, Margaret brought a Quaker sensibility to the family, including the commitment to sharing wealth and helping those less fortunate.

The philosophy stuck, and her descendants made major philanthropic contributes to New York and the country. Her son, Theodore Roosevelt Sr was involved in the foundation of the New York Orthopedic Hospital, the New York City Children’s Aid Society, the Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her great-granddaughter, Eleanor Roosevelt oversaw (among other things) the drafting of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As President, her grandson broke up the trusts, pushed for fair trade and better labor laws, and restricted child labor. They all could have just played golf, but her influence prevailed to our benefit.

The House

Stepping into the parlor, the tour shows the wealth of the Roosevelts. The parlor and library are full of the artifacts of a wealthy life – books, souvenirs from travels to Egypt, deep red carpet, and ornate furniture. In the library sits a small red velvet chair. This was Teedie’s special chair. He complained that the horsehair furniture scratched his legs. You can imagine a sickly boy sitting in the room devouring the books on the shelf and pining for a larger life.

Brilliantly colored glass panes from the Roosevelts’ glass industry decorate the dining room’s pocket doors. One end of the dining room displays a set of china, donated to the site by Roosevelt’s niece, Eleanor Roosevelt. The Roosevelt’s dining room table was likely the site of many debates. The Civil War raged during Teedie’s childhood, and his uncles served in the Confederate forces. His mother supported the Confederacy and illegally sent aid to the Confederacy. Roosevelt’s father supported the Union, but hired a replacement to serve for him. Later, Roosevelt expressed pride for the service of his uncles (and expressed regret that his father did not serve). Some wonder if it was this regret that compelled Roosevelt to fight.

Props in the second floor bedrooms illustrate important aspects of Roosevelt’s childhood. Most important is the medicine ball and other exercise equipment in the nursery. Here, Roosevelt’s father encouraged his son to develop his body as much as his brain, saying “…without the help of the body, the mind cannot go as far as it should.” This inspired Teedie to transform his asthma-ridden body through hard work and sheer will.

Replica Birthplace

The Master Bedroom has the actual bed, upon which the President was born. However, the room is not the actual room where the President was born. Years after the family moved uptown near Central Park, the brownstone was torn down to make way for commercial buildings. When Roosevelt died in 1919, the family worked to reconstruct his birthplace to honor him. The rooms are decorated as the rooms would have been in the 1860’s, and about 60% of the home’s furnishings are actual Roosevelt pieces.

This makes the mystery of the third floor all the more intriguing. A huge aspect of Roosevelt’s boyhood appears to be missing completely in this replica. Was the third floor ever reconstructed and decorated? Was this third floor never developed? Is it under renovation? Or do other tours go up one more floor?

Despite the missing boyhood bedroom, the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site is well worth a visit. The tour leaders are exceptional, and it is a fantastic place to learn more about one of the most important presidents.