Hyde Park Visit

Springwood, FDR's home at Hyde Park

Springwood looks grand from the outside.  It is huge:  35 rooms, 22 bedrooms, and 9 baths.  However, the rooms reminded me of the home of George's grandparents. They are simply furnished, even spare. Purchased in 1867, Springwood began life as a farm house and was renovated in 1915.  The house we toured was the 1915 house in which FDR grew up.  It was opened to the public one year after FDR's death.  The entrance hall had many pictures of ships and a cabinet with stuffed birds from FDR's collection.  He began collecting and preserving birds as an 11 year old and had 300 specimens.  

A guest bedroom 

We toured the stable too. One of the horses was named New Deal.

We visited the FDR museum and library  on the same property next.  It is the first Presidential library and was opened in 1939 while Roosevelt was still president.  The building is modest and full of informative exhibits.  Here are a few noteworthy sights:

A mock up of a 1930s kitchen where you can sit and listen to a fireside chat on the radio. 

I was inspired by the words and plans of FDR.

I didn't know that FDR legalized 3.2 percent alcohol even before Prohibition was repealed.  

He said, "I think this would be a good time for beer."  March 12, 1933

We left Springwood and drove just five minutes to the Culinary Institute of America for a French lunch at Bocuse Restaurant.  This was recommended at the AGLCA Rendezvous; otherwise, we never would have thought of going there.  It was a delicious lark! The servers were graduating on Friday and were in happy moods.  We had chicken and veal dishes with light sauces and a mix of vegetables.  Tiny peas, purple potatoes, mushroom caps and slivered carrots were a delight in the sauce. Drinking wine at lunch seemed a bit much but also required for the full French effect.

 The server churns ice cream right at the table.

We headed over to Val-Kill Cottage, where Eleanor Roosevelt lived after Franklin died. This was the only residence she ever owned.  It is two miles east of Springwood.  It makes me happy to think that she finally had a place of her own.  Unfortunately, Val-Kill was not open today.  We walked around the grounds and peeked into the porches but did not get to go inside.  

Val-Kill is in a lovely setting.  There is a wide creek running in front of the cottages.

When we got home from our touring, we visited with Jesse and Linda from A Bama Dream.  They have been in NYC for a few days and just arrived at Half Moon Bay today.  We told stories and laughed about our good and bad luck and decisions. We had a lot to catch up on. We last were together at Palm Cove, FL, on the Atlantic coast in March.

Tomorrow we will move north on the Hudson River.