Sagamore Hill

Rehabilitate the Theodore Roosevelt Home

Sagamore Hill National Historic Site » Rehabilitate the Theodore Roosevelt Home » Document List

At Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, the National Park Service (NPS) proposes to rehabilitate the Theodore Roosevelt home, known as the summer White House during Roosevelt's presidency (1901-1908), to upgrade building systems and electrical service to the site; stabilize, preserve and restore interior and exterior architectural elements and features of the building; and provide accessibility to the first floor. This project was conceived to correct a series of brought on by aging systems and other conditions further discussed below. The Roosevelt home was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.

The Roosevelt home's current heating system consists of a hot-air system installed in the 1920s and a hot-water/radiator system installed c.1950 and upgraded in the 1970s. Both systems are approaching the end of their useful lives. The aging electrical system, which dates to 1918, provides inadequate service to the building and increases the threat of fire. A 1950s fire suppression system in the basement needs to be updated and extended through the building to provide maximum protection to the building.

The Roosevelt home is not climate-controlled, and the lack of effective climate-control results in seasonal temperature and humidity fluctuations that contribute to the deterioration of both the building's historic fabric and the irreplaceable museum objects exhibited within. In addition, the exterior (sidings, roofs, window frames, shutters) of the structure is also deteriorating, which allows water and pests to penetrate the building.

Because these deficiencies constrain the NPS's ability to preserve the Roosevelt home and the 8,200 museum objects exhibited in it, as well as protect the health and safety of 90,000 visitors, 45 volunteers, and 27 permanent and seasonal employees, the NPS has initiated several nonintrusive studies to evaluate how the building currently performs and is used by NPS staff and the visiting public, as well as to better identify the causes of mold and water infiltration into the building. NPS hopes to use the data collected, along with a proposed historic structure report amendment to identify both passive and mechanical systems that can work together to improve overall conditions for both the building and the museum collection with a minimal amount of invasive new systems.

In addition to the above project elements, the NPS also proposes to rehabilitate exterior architectural and structural elements including sidings, roofs, window frames, shutters, railings and flooring; rehabilitate interior architectural and structural elements, including paneling, woodwork and floors and supporting structures; initiate preservation treatments on wall finishes in eight interior rooms; restore the exterior stone porch on the back of the building to its original configuration and remove the failing wooden porch; improve lighting systems in historic rooms and visitor walkways; upgrade and expand the security system and fire detection and suppression systems, and install exterior site lighting to maximize security; renovate staff bathrooms; and study and design universal accessibility to the first floor of the Roosevelt home.

Contact Information

Tom Ross, Superintendent
Sagamore Hill National Hsitoric Site
20 Sagamore Hill Road
Oyster Bay, NY 11771-1807

(516) 922-4788

thomas_ross@nps.gov