I know, you thought we’d never get here.
But here we are… Day 7 of the Berkshire vacation, in which we head to Hyde Park, New York.
Hyde Park is the site of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s home Springwood, as well as his presidential library, Top Cottage and Eleanor’s retreat Val Kill.
Yes, history lovers… it’s another riveting day for you.
We arrived early and elected to tour the famous house first.
Springwood was FDR’s boyhood home, and where he later lived with Eleanor.
The tours are crowded, and quick. You have very little time to wander the house and even less time to try and frame photos without 20 people standing in your way.
The interior was dark….
Heavily wooded and Victorian.
Decorated by FDR’s mother.
Chintz ruled.
It was said Eleanor heartily disliked the look and wanted to remodel after her MIL died but Franklin wouldn’t allow it.
Unable to use the staircase after contracting polio, a lift was installed for FDR.
But not a motorized elevator. He had to use his arms to pull the rope, and let me tell you… that sucker was heavy!
To be honest, the house was rather unimpressive.
With small, dark cluttered rooms.
But the history always intrigues me.
Along with the personal tidbits.
Poor Eleanor…
Before you could blink, the tour was over and they were herding you out a side door and stairway built specifically for that purpose.
A quick look around the back…
And you were shuffled off to make room for the next batch of tourists.
While I’m glad we saw it, and appreciate the fact that it’s open to the public at all…
It’s not the way I prefer to tour historic sites.
River's world..... 
Looks amazing!
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It was, but I would have liked more time to explore….
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you just wanted to jump on the beds…
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You were about 6 or 7 miles from our house in Poughkeepsie! I could have driven down for a couple of days and met you darn it! FDR’s house disappointed me so much I didn’t bother going into the Vanderbilts. There’s an old bridge over the Hudson nearby that’s been turned into a walkway. Apparently it’s fabulous for walks and photo taking but I have no head for heights and as yet, I haven’t tried it.
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Damn! So close and I didn’t know it…. why didn’t I feel the Bitchy vibe on the wind? 😉
We didn’t have time to do the Vanderbilts… or even know about the bridge. Maybe next time.
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Next time I’ll help you plan. You missed Sleepy Hollow too!
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Next time we’ll stay in New York!
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Come over to the West, we can hit wineries and Niagara Falls!
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Sounds like a plan!
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I’m trying to make it a thing for us to visit presidential libraries and this one looks inviting. Very fancy. Very old money.
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Stay tuned.. the library was amazing!
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I like the lift. Not the sort of practical challenges one always thinks about
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It was ungodly heavy. He must have had amazing upper body strength….
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It must give you a slightly different perspective of the man
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I’ve always had a healthy respect for him, but after this visit it increased 3 fold.
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Eleanor’s thoughts on the place echo my own. I liked the Barn in Shaker town better. 😀
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Cleaner lines for sure!
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Yes! And less chintz!
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Let’s see—7 days x 3 meals a day =s 21 meals–and all we got were pictures of 3 meals—something wrong with this (lack of) picture!!
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Wrong! Go back and look… there were 6 or 7 meals posted. And geesh, wasn’t this vacation series long enough already?
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Love, love, love the bones and framing of this estate, and all its dark wooden trim, chandeliered glory — I, too, would want to lighten the place up. The art alone would be too heavy. Wall and fabric choices are the dreariest.
Perhaps it’s best Eleanor spent a great deal of time outside. I would have, too.
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Typical dark Victorian, fussy and over done. Poor Eleanor… I’d be depressed too.
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