Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site, in New York City, marks the location where Roosevelt lived the first 14 years of his life. Roosevelt served as president of the United States from 1901 to 1909. During his career, Roosevelt strengthened the power of the government to establish national parks and preserve other lands for public use.
The historic site consists of a 1923 reconstruction of the brownstone building where Roosevelt was born on Oct. 27, 1858. Roosevelt grew up there as the second of four children of Theodore and Martha Bulloch Roosevelt. Young Roosevelt was a sickly child. His father helped him keep healthy by constructing a gymnasium in the home. Roosevelt’s uncle lived in a nearly identical home next door.
Developers tore down the original brownstone in 1916 to make room for a commercial building. In 1919, the year of Roosevelt’s death, a group of prominent citizens purchased the site to construct a memorial. They demolished the commercial building and reconstructed Roosevelt’s home using his uncle’s house as a model.
Today, the home has five rooms furnished as they would have been during Roosevelt’s childhood. Many of the furnishings and decorations originally belonged to Roosevelt’s family or to relatives. The home of Roosevelt’s uncle houses a small library and museum with exhibits relating to Roosevelt’s life and career.
Congress declared Theodore Roosevelt’s birthplace a national historic site in 1962.
