Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site

A place to learn about the Roosevelt family, the place young Theodore Roosevelt grow up, and other interesting history.

Warning: We went to tour this house and discovered it is closed for renovations until 2016.

I had the privilege to visit this house when I was in high school. It was definitely an incredible experience because we were allowed to enter the areas that aren’t available to the general public. It is my understanding that this is not the actual house, but it is the location where the original one was. Some of the items in the house did not belong to Teddy Roosevelt, but a few did.

On the way back from dinner I noticed the sign: Tours of Theodore Roosevelt’s birthplace on the hour every hour, except noon. Free as well, which is very worth knowing after one has foist down the equivalent of a mortgage payment for a meal at Gramercy Tavern.
So back I went the very next day (tours are daytime only) where I got in on an intimate, ranger-​led tour.
I’d place myself in the category of historically inept which I think is the perfect audience for this tour. It focuses almost exclusively on the childhood of sickly little Teedee (his nickname), his large family, and what occurred or might have occurred here within his (rebuilt) childhood home. If you’re looking for political information or information about his presidency look elsewhere.
The tour is informative, enjoyable and, at under 1 hour, timed appropriately.
On the main floor, to be self-​toured after your official tour, is a small historical museum with TR relics and the cheesiest ever Disney film reenacting little Teddy’s childhood. Sit through that at your own peril; it essentially reenacts everything you’ve just heard the ranger say and it’s not worth your time.
It’s awesome to know that people who work for the US Park Service can wind up in the heart of major metropolitan cities. I wonder how they afford it?
* Check first if you have mobility issues. You may be challenged getting into the building and moving about.
* No reservations needed for groups of 9 or fewer. Hourly tours are limited to 18 people. Last daily tour is at 4 p.m. and you must be part of a tour to go through the house.
* Free, free, totally free (and interesting).
* TR was the only US President born in NYC.

I really like to see National Parks and National Historic Sites and T. Roosevelt’s childhood home is one of the few places in NYC under the NPS. We decided to check this place out.
There are free tours throughout the day and each lasts about an hour. It is first come first served so be sure to get there early. We did the 11am tour and Black Friday and the tour group got to about 18 (I think they regularly limit the tour to 15). Fortunately, the number wasn’t overwhelming and it didn’t make the tour feel too crowded.
While we were waiting for our tour we hung out in the gallery downstairs and looked at some photos of the Roosevelt’s history and then watch a 25 minute video about the Theodore’s childhood (it is a reenactment and not a documentary). The video was able to keep my attention.
The tour is good. Our guide was knowledgeable and took us through 4 rooms of the house. The historical information given to guests were quite interesting.
If you like history, this is a place worth checking out. Just be aware that you will be walking up 2 flights of stairs while taking the tour.

I thoroughly enjoyed the tour and the excellent tour guide. I’m not a history buff so walking through the actual home with it’s furnishings really brought Roosevelt to life for me. Also, there’s a movie to view beforehand and though it’s somewhat unsophisticated it’s informative and complements the tour. I highly recommend this experience. I’m a New Yorker and just discovered this !!!

As a history wonk and a big time NPS dork I’m up for all kinds of new locations, experiences and learning about different things is always part of the plan. Even though I normally review most places on Unilocal pretty hard I usually grade NPS sites on a big curve because they have a near impossible job to do while trying to do that job with an ever shrinking or flat lined budget.
Based on the reviews for TR’s reconstructed birthplace I had high hopes when we came a few months ago but unfortunately like fellow NPS site addicted Unilocaler Jennifer S., this one really didn’t do it for me like I thought it would.
It boiled down to three issues:
* Way too many people/​not enough tours
I guess somewhat because of the hype regarding the recent PBS documentary, interest in all things Roosevelt is at an all time high probably not seen since the man was alive. None the less, tours still are only at the top of the hour from 10 – 4 (no tour at Noon) and each tour is capped at a max of around twenty. Their NPS web pages makes no that the tours are capped so if you show up when a group is there/​on a busier weekend don’t expect to just waltz in and go as you either may need to wait another hour or if you show up later in the day you will be told «No Tour For You». Your best bet is to immediately go right to the desk and sign on to whenever the next tour is right away then look at the lower galleries afterwards until your tour time. Even if you can’t take the tour you can still watch the movie & enjoy the galleries that are open.
When we went we showed up right before 1pm on a Sunday and the 1pm tour was full so we lucked out by getting the last four spots on the 2pm or else we would have had to have waited two hours for a tour or in other words, probably not happening.
* Horrible movie
The 25 minute movie is shown very awkwardly in the back of the lower gallery right by a lot of very interesting items like his life saving Milwaukee speech and the shirt he was wearing when he was shot. The two problems when we were there were that a lot of the lower gallery areas while listed on the NPS site as being «open» had nothing in them and it is very awkward to be browsing around these display cases while being right up against the back row of folding chairs where people are sitting watching the movie and of course weaving through the people standing who are watching the movie since they were always a good 10 – 12 chairs short of what was actually needed. The movie itself is stupid and the one volunteer more or less said as much. All it shows is how Teedie was a sickly boy who could barely do anything physical without his asthma kicking in, got bullied all the time yet he eventually gets into boxing and the move ends with him kicking some other little boy’s ass to win a tournament. While there were some interesting facts to be learned, this one was dopey even by NPS standards.
* Too many empty display cases because of the site’s renovation
The upper gallery is currently closed until ?? for renovations and while the lower gallery is open a lot of the stuff was not yet back into its cases. I guess it is indeed a caveat emptor when the rangers tell you that some things are open but they are being reinstated in a methodical way which could keep both galleries in state of flux for quite some time (another year or more?).
Now with all that bitching out of the way the place still had some decent qualities. While there wasn’t much on display talking about TR the outdoorsman there was plenty dealing with TR the politician. The two rangers were both decent and the one who did our tour while a little on the quiet side was very knowledgeable and it was cool that he brought along an iPad to show a few extra pictures that helped to emphasize certain key points in the tour.
They also have, as others have mentioned, a small but thorough area of books/​TR related merchandise.
I know that it’s sort of unfair to judge a place based on it not operating at 100% but that was our experience and certain things like the bad movie and the not listing that the tours are capped at a max number of participants wouldn’t change my opinion.
In the future I hope to come back when everything is open so that a more fair assessment can be done but in the meantime I can’t go more than three stars and even that might be a stretch.
(If you have kids, this location does offer a Junior Ranger badge and they recently dumbed it down so that it’s stupifyingly simple. The prior book had a lot more meat too it but I assume it was paired down since a lot of the displays that you would need to see to get answers from are not there.)

We stumbled across this place — we missed the tour, but were able to walk around a little. I would love to go back and get the actual tour.

We had a wonderful time at the house! Tours leave on the hour, but they let us join the tour that left a few minutes before we walked in. There is a small exhibit and movie to view if you arrive in between tours. The guides are very knowledgeable, and the tours are free since it is a nps cite. It is worth noting though that the house was rebuilt in the early 1900s and is not the original house. However they have a lot of the original furniture and have a layout to what the house looked like in 1865. Still a very interesting cite and full of great information!

I love National Historic Sites and I enjoyed my visit here, but there are a couple of important points. First, this IS the location of the actual Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace, but it is not the actual house. That house was torn down and then this was built later in the same style. The majority of the furnishings are period pieces with only a very few actual pieces that were in the home when Theodore Roosevelt and his family lived here.
The guided tour of the house is about 40 minutes long. You can only see the house outside of the museum/​audiovisual areas on a guided tour, so be sure you check the website for tour times. I enjoyed learning about Teedie (as a child he was called TEEDIE versus Teddy) very much and no matter what else, during this visit I learned quite a lot about this quirky, but very interesting president of ours.
Our particular tour was amusing as we shared it with two young boys and their nanny. The older boy, knew quite a bit about T Roosevelt as he had done a report on him in school and the younger has a book about presidents so tried to outdo his brother. It was pretty hilarious for the most part and maybe added to the tour a bit. Our ranger did a great job not only giving the tour, but interacting with the two kiddos and also keeping them reigned in. I felt like I learned a lot.
One of my favorite things at National Park Sites is the audiovisual programs, but this was one that did not meet my expectations. While I admit that I did learn quite a bit from it, it was completely geared towards very young children… it was awful.
Also, the museum portion of the site was being remodeled, so many of the exhibits that have been placed on the first floor, were empty.
Okay, I know I just did some complaining. It’s true it isn’t the best site I’ve been to, but I did learn a lot and that is the point here, right? And, we had a good time. The staff was knowledgeable and friendly and of course, they had a National Park Passport Stamp for you collectors. On a cold rainy day, it was a VERY warm escape from the wet. There was no fee to visit.
For those with accessibility challenges, note that there are six steps to enter the building. Inside there is an elevator, but if one is wheelchair bound, it may be challenging to get into the building initially.

Highly recommend this. I love touring historic houses, but this really trumped them all. Our guide was a volunteer, Keith, and he obviously has a passion for what he does. I didn’t have time to watch the film, but I have a feeling I will do the tour again. Too many things on my agenda today.
To top it off, this is only a few doors down from Beecher’s Cheese. I got to visit their Seattle location last year but didn’t realize there was a café serving cheese yumminess until I was gone. I already had plans for today’s lunch, but those quickly changed.

Amazing, just amazing experience. And it is free. I am surprised more people do not visit. The tour guide shows you inside of a house that gives you an idea of life and style of home in the 19^th century.

This tour is so informative, and really keeps history alive and relevant and exciting. Ranger Amato’s enthusiasm for TR sweeps you along, and he eagerly answers all questions. I wish it was even longer. He has seemingly read every book on Roosevelt — he recommended the book «River Of Doubt,» about Roosevelt’s difficult expedition to the Amazon, and I just ordered it. See this site — it’s well worth it.

I decided to visit this museum because, well, it’s free and I am interested in doing affordable and fun things during this particular trip to New York. I have always been a fan of our National Park services, but this place is especially run well. The Park Ranger (I sadly can’t remember his name) who led our tour was very passionate and knowledgable about Theodore Roosevelt. He truly did a fantastic job and knew TR’s life both inside and out. He greeted me as I arrived, and was much more enthusiastic than I would have expected.
I enjoyed the tour, short video film, and learning about our most adventurous and spirited president.

This tour far exceeded my expectations and I’ll be recommending it far and wide. Make sure to request Ranger Mike. He rocks.

The National Parks Service should always be celebrated, but by God, this is good work. Setting aside the fact that TR is a fascinating dude, the detail of the restored boyhood home is astonishing. Oh, also it’s free. Also, hug an NPS Ranger. Mike (?) was passionate and fun and delightful. Also? It’s free.
Introduce your kids to history, yeah? There are a pile of interesting and compelling stories all over, if you’re willing to poke around a bit.
They might be switching over the supplementary gallery or something — there wasn’t a ton on display, which might bump the review down a star. But. It’s. Free.

Once again, my National Park junkie-​dom shines through. ;)
This is the restored home of Theodore Roosevelt from his early years. When I first visited here in 2006, I think there was a fee for the house tour, so I only did the free gallery part. However, the entire experience is free now. You can see a large room with lots of artifacts from TR’s life and take a house tour with a park ranger.
My tour was actually with a volunteer who knew this house and TR’s life inside-​out. I happened to be the only one there at the time, so after stamping my park passport, we set off. Most of the tour is air-​conditioned, and it’s not terribly long. I am trying to get over Lyme disease, and there’s nothing like an ambitious day of sight-​seeing in New York to remind you that you’re still sick. However, the guide seemed to take my exhaustion in stride and gave me a great tour with lots of anecdotes about the president’s life and family.
I go on a lot of historic house tours and was a guide in a very busy historic home for two years, so I know what it takes to be a good tour guide and I know what it’s like to be dragged around by a bad one. This gentleman had everything I like in a tour guide: stories that humanize and bring the historic figures back to life, enough anecdotes about the building and furnishings to be interesting without pointing out every chair and light fixture, context about the time period and how it pertains to us today (he gave a good overview of the Dutch society in New York City), and a good sense of pacing.
I highly recommend this museum. Set aside an hour and a half to two hours to take it all in and enjoy one of the few free things you can do in the city!

J’aime bien l’histoire, ça fait partie de mes petites faiblesses, lorsque nous avons vu que la maison de Roosevelt était visitable gratuitement… On en a profité.
Ce qui est drôle (ou pas), c’est qu’on pensait aller voir la maison de Franklin Roosevelt, l’homme qui a présidé les USA de 33 à 45. Un brillant homme (cf cours de seconde/​première).
Et bien en fait, non, c’était la maison de Theodore Roosevelt, un lointain grand oncle de Franklin. Il a été président des USA au début des années 1900. Rien à voir.
Mais justement, c’était très éducatif de découvrir cet homme et son oeuvre que je né connaissais pas. Le musée se trouve être la maison familiale de «Teedie», on découvre donc les us et coutumes de l’époque et les différents styles de décorations à la mode durant cette période post guerre de sécession.
Cette visite n’est pas obligatoire lorsque l’on a que quelques jours dans la ville, mais intéressant à faire lorsqu’on a un peu plus de temps et que l’on a déjà fait les «must» de NYC.

In Manhattan, you never know what unexpected surprises you’ll run into. This was my first weekend ever since moving to NoMad/​Flatiron District so decided to go for a stroll and explore the ‘hood’. I decided to just randomly choose a street to explore that happens to be East 20^th Street and this historic pass just appears out of nowhere.
I searched on Unilocal to see if there were any admission fees and saw that it was FREE!!! Gotta love FREE stuff in NYC where life costs you an arm and a leg! So went in, was greeted by a friendly and knowledgeable elderly gentleman who explained that they had guided walking tours every hour. I asked if I can take a look around on my own and he said I could. It’s not a big place and you’ll probably be out the door in 15 minutes but there were several historic photos, writings, and some artifacts about Theodore or «Teddy» Roosevelt that was pretty interesting (funny cuz I used to HATE history when I was in High School and used to fall asleep half of the class)
Would love to come back to take the guided tour if I’m in the area and need to kill some time! Check it out if you’re in the area, afterall it’s FREE!

Note: This place is a little small but it’s free admission!
I really enjoyed my tour of Theodore Roosevelt’s home from when he was born to almost 15 years old. I learned some things about his life and was reminded of other details.
Before the tour, if u get there early, a video is played reenacting times from his childhood. The video (though old) was actually pretty interesting. Teedee was a sickly child, with serious asthma and was educated at home. As a child, he became interested in nature, birds, and reading books about great adventurers. As he grew up, he did some taxidermy, learned boxing at the gym, built up his body, and was given a shotgun and spectacles on his 12^th B-​day.
Theodore Roosevelt was influenced by his famiy’s values of fairness, generosity, charity, and philanthropy. Overcoming his asthma also made a great contribution to his character and his belief in living «the strenuous life.»
T. Roosevelt went on to become police commissioner, President, won the medal of honor, the Noble Peace Prize, broke up the Trusts, increased the number of National Parks (from 5 to 10), was the force behind the Panama Canal and wrote books. Remarkable man!
On the tour, we got to see the dining room, the family room, the front parlor, the nursery, and his parents’ bedroom. While the brownstone is a recreation, 60% of the furniture is the Roosevelt’s original furniture, and the rest are furniture from the period. I loved looking at the ornate wallpapers, the plush sofas, the parents’ expensive bedroom set, Teedee’s little chair, and the general opulence of the rooms.
The tour guide was great and dispensed a lot of information about T. R and family and also about the Dutch’s influence on NYC. For example, did you known «Bowery» comes from the Dutch word for farm? Or that the architecture of NYC brownstones reflects the layout of Dutch houses?
The people who work here are very friendly (and chatty).
I came, I saw, I learned.

A place not many New Yorkers know about, but that is definitely worth a visit — and it’s free!
Yes, Teddy Roosevelt grew up in Manhattan on 20^th street in a lovely townhouse that has since been largely restored with period furniture. In the basement there is a viewing gallery of objects encompassing the entire lifespan and beyond of president Roosevelt. Objects of note are the actual Rough Rider uniform that he used to wear, the shirt he was wearing when he was shot, a copy of the Nobel Peace Prize that he received for resolving the Russo-​Japanese war (the original is at the White House), and the billy club he used as police commissioner here in the city.
Beyond this museum, one can take a tour of the higher floors of the townhouse at the top of each hour. It begins at the top of the steps, so be on the lookout. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable but in a bit of a rush with our half hour tour finishing in nearly half the time. We toured all of the rooms on the second and third floors that are open to the general public (the library is used for those doing research on the president like Edmund Wilson for example). You can see a stuffed lion that he shot in east Africa, a zebra skin, his exercise bike that he used when in office, and even more memorabilia from his varied and somewhat fantastic life.
There is a very limited gift shop that really does not offer much of interest save for the Edmund Wilson books. They have an autographed copy, but it wasn’t a first edition. Strange.
Theodore Roosevelt is an especially accomplished individual, and the historic site really gives a lot of insight into his life. A great hidden gem in the city!