Franklin Delano Roosevelt

 

I took New Jersey transit to Penn Station and took the subway one stop to Times Square and then came above ground because I didn’t know where I was.  There is a "shuttle" but I did not find it this time.

In front of the New York City Public library just so I can say I did.   The lions have been featured in children’s TV shows and books.

I am now on Metro North Hudson line to Poughkeepsie     Grand Central Station truly, is Grand Central Station! When you use that term about massive and crowded – – well it works!

This is a train of many cars, and it is full.  Sat next to a first sergeant in the New York State guard     He is on his way to his annual training.    Many people stood in the aisle for the better part of two hours. 

Poughkeepsie is the end of the line for Metro North. I’m taking a city bus to Hyde Park.      Poughkeepsie is apparently the home of Vassar and the Culinary Institute of America.    The city bus goes right into the parking lot at the grocery store as well to the hospital.   The final bus stop is in the driveway of the Roosevelt visitor center. This is a very customer-centered bus.

I signed up for the house tour and the visit to the FDR museum.   This visit was free with my military ID!

This is the Roosevelt library and museum. FDR built this on his property while he was still in office. It was the first of what are now 13 national archives presidential libraries. Up until this time, a President might throw away their papers or sell them or give them to the Library of Congress, or donate them to a university library. The law was changed during Nixon’s presidency so that all papers and correspondence belong to the National Archives.    Many of the museums I have visited wish they could become part of the national Park service or national archives.    Everyone needs the money!

The tour of the house, shown at the top of this article, was very nice, but everything was very dark, I think in order to preserve the furniture and artifacts.   It was emphasized that the house is as it was the day FDR died in 1945. All of the rooms are roped off, and we got to stick our head in and look around.    Roosevelt loved this house, he was born in this house, and he is buried just a few feet from this House.

I had very pleasant conversations with other people who are also visiting presidential libraries, but not to my extent.  I shared information about my Bucket Journal several times.

My favorite feature of this house is the rope-operated Elevator 

From the house I went to the library/museum.   I really enjoyed the exhibit on all of the reconstruction and recovery agencies he created, as it was all centered around construction scaffolding.   Great visual effect!

The museums exhibits do admit that FDR did not get us out of the depression:  It was gearing up for World War II totally rebuilt the economy!

The archives are down in the basement and are accessible only to researchers, But the library has glassed in a lot of the storage areas, so that we can see a lot of what is not on display.    There are racks full of family artwork.

At the gift shop, I bought my required coffee mug and fridge magnet, but I found another magnet. I just had to have.

Someday, when I am back on my computer at home, I will rotate this image.     

I reversed course and got back to Grand Central terminal where I was able, without assistance, to navigate the subway to Penn Station for my return to New Jersey.    When I got off the train at the airport to take the Airtrans back to my hotel, the people mover was down and we had to take buses, and it took a long time, but I made it back to my room.

My Sunday trip will be subways to see grants tomb, the birthplace of Teddy Roosevelt, and a Chester A Arthur home.     I suspect that by the time I am done, I will be a self – professed expert on Chester A Arthur as his homes are driving a lot of my schedule.     As Tigger would say “Ta Ta for now“