FDR at Harvard

February 13, 2012 5:11 AM

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a Harvard man through and through.
"From 1900-1904, young Franklin Delano Roosevelt, with his Groton chum Lathrop Brown, rented rooms in Westmorly Court, (now B-17 of Adams House) the newest and most luxurious building on Harvard's Gold Coast. Equipped with all the latest innovations – central heat, electricity, a modern "hygienic" bathroom – the suite contained over 600 sq. feet of living space spread over 4 rooms, with 14' ceilings, French doors, and a working fireplace. These spacious quarters, which were originally decorated in high Victorian style by FDR and his mother Sara have been recently restored to their pristine Gilded Age condition...

Roosevelt's rooms are slowly being filled with period furniture and antiques to return them to their 1900 appearance, both as the only existing memorial to the former President at Harvard, as well as a living museum of daily college life at the turn of the twentieth century."
Photos of other student rooms at Harvard.
There's a video tour here.
A short PBS documentary here.

posted by vacapinta (13 comments total)

They've also just redone JFK's room.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 5:28 AM on February 13

FDR was quite a badass.
posted by davelog at 6:13 AM on February 13

Excellent! Well done!

If Harvard restores the rooms for Tom Lehrer, I'll be sure to come visit.
posted by Capt. Renault at 6:30 AM on February 13 [5 favorites]

Now that is how what the idiots call a "man cave"* ought to look.

*who came up with this? ugh
posted by resurrexit at 7:07 AM on February 13

Bruce Wayne did.
posted by Nomyte at 7:12 AM on February 13 [2 favorites]

I think you're thinking "bat cave" not "man cave", Nomyte...
posted by caution live frogs at 7:14 AM on February 13

That John the Orangeman post is awesome.
posted by DU at 7:15 AM on February 13

Thank goodness we are long past the age of political family dynasties with Ivy League connections.
posted by brain_drain at 7:15 AM on February 13 [1 favorite]

That John the Orangeman post is awesome.

Yes, you're referring to this entry. I agree.
posted by vacapinta at 7:40 AM on February 13 [2 favorites]

It's amazing he turned out as well as he did, given the conditions he grew up in.
posted by longdaysjourney at 8:40 AM on February 13 [2 favorites]

It's amazing he turned out as well as he did, given the conditions he grew up in.

It's not whatcha got, it's whatcha do with it.
posted by linux at 10:09 AM on February 13

They've done a nice job. But I'm not so sure about the concept. I've always rather liked the idea that the rooms that great people had as students revert to ordinary student accommodation afterwards. It's quite cool that if you go to Oxford or Cambridge, for example, as an undergraduate you can wind up in rooms that someone like Newton or Gladstone once lived in - and that they're nothing special.
posted by rhymer at 10:19 AM on February 13 [1 favorite]

This is an awesome project. My favorite section is the room photos. Without any humans in them, they take on a similar 'cordoned-off display room in a museum' feeling. I've been in more than a few dorms that felt like you'd open a door onto a scene like this!

Oh and embarrassingly enough, it took me way long to realize 'renting rooms' in a 'house' was Harvardspeak for dorms. Living in a tiny 1900's-era place has had me looking to the past for clever ideas on how to get the most out of the space. 'Dorm' means no kitchen, though. And no dining area. 600 sq ft without a kitchen or a proper table is... practically the presidential suite!
posted by Gable Oak at 5:11 PM on February 13