Roosevelt Point Cottage and Boathouse facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
|
|
Roosevelt Point Cottage and Boathouse
|
|
West elevation and north profile of cottage, 2008
|
|
 Location in New York
Location in the United States
|
|
| Location | Hyde Park, NY |
|---|---|
| Area | 5 acres (2.0 ha) |
| Built | ca. 1860 |
| Architectural style | Carpenter Gothic |
| NRHP reference No. | 93000851 |
| Added to NRHP | September 2, 1993 |
The Roosevelt Point Cottage and Boathouse are two historic buildings located by the Hudson River in Hyde Park, New York. They were built around 1860 as part of a large estate called Rosedale. This estate belonged to Isaac Roosevelt, who was the grandfather of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Isaac's son, John Aspinwall Roosevelt, later owned the estate. He loved ice yachting, which is like sailing on ice. He kept his special iceboats in the boathouse. His team would use the cottage to warm up after their races. Because of their history and connection to the Roosevelt family, both buildings were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.
Contents
Exploring the Historic Buildings
The boathouse and cottage are on a five-acre piece of land. This land is located between the Hudson River and the train tracks. These tracks were once part of the Hudson River Railroad. Today, CSX and Amtrak trains still use them. Most of the land around the buildings is open and unpaved.
The Charming Cottage
The cottage is a one-and-a-half-story house. It is built with a wooden frame on a stone and brick base. The outside walls are covered with a style called board-and-batten siding. This means long, flat boards are placed side by side, with narrow strips (battens) covering the gaps.
The roof is very steep and covered with asphalt shingles. It has a chimney in the middle and decorative points called finials. The ends of the roof have fancy, scalloped wood trim. The front door is in the center and has a small roof over it. The windows have wooden covers called shutters. Inside, many of the original features are still there, like the floors, doors, and wooden details.
The Unique Boathouse
The boathouse is a long building made of wood, located north of the cottage. Its walls are also covered in board-and-batten siding. Near the ground, it has a stone layer. The roof is made of slate and has a special double-pitched design. This design creates an open space in the middle for air to flow through. There are metal pipes on the roof and western wall for ventilation.
Inside, the boathouse has been changed a little to be used as an office. Some new supports were added for the roof beams. However, most of the building is still in its original condition. A storage area called a loft was removed from inside.
A Glimpse into Roosevelt Family History
The cottage was built by 1860. It was first used to house people who worked on the Rosedale estate. Later, it became home to the estate's gardener. This was when John Aspinwall Roosevelt, Isaac's son, owned the property.
John Roosevelt's Ice Yachting Passion
John Roosevelt was a big fan of sports. In the 1880s, he became a champion in ice yachting. At that time, the Hudson River near Poughkeepsie was a very important place for this sport in the United States. The boathouse was specially built to hold his large ice yacht, named Icicle. This 68-foot-long boat is now on display at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park.
The boathouse's unique double-pitched roof looks similar to the gambrel roofs found on many old Dutch Colonial homes in the area. The sails for the iceboats used to be stored in the loft inside the boathouse, which is no longer there.
Franklin D. Roosevelt's Connection
John Roosevelt's ice yachting crews would warm up in the cottage's front room before and after their races. His nephew, Franklin D. Roosevelt, spent a lot of time at Rosedale when he was a boy. As a young man, Franklin also took part in ice races and kept his own ice yacht in the boathouse.
The Rosedale estate stayed with the Roosevelt family until the mid-1950s. Then, the land was divided into smaller pieces to create the neighborhood we see today. The main house, the boathouse, and the cottage are the only buildings left from the original Rosedale estate.
