Sagamore Hill When TR Was President
This is Sagamore Hill during Theodore Roosevelt’s Presidency. You can see the original staircase leading down from the piazza that was removed and replaced by the open speaker’s platform we have today. On June 14, 1953 President Eisenhower delivered his Dedication Speech standing to the left of the staircase on the piazza under the owning.
You can’t see whether or not the North Room had already been built. The addition that became the 23rd room was designed by Christopher Grant La . LaFarge also designed IRT (Interborough Rapid Transit Company) subway stations.
The piazza was off the ground to allow for better drainage and improved airflow to help keep things dry and to avoid rot. It also provides easier access when making repairs. To prevent animals from getting underneath the piazza the Roosevelts planted shrubs and added lattice.
The Roosevelt’s also planted a lot of English Ivy. In 1919 photos the entire north side of the house is covered in English Ivy. Today the metal framework used to grow the Ivy remains outside the North Room.
If you look carefully you can see the antlers TR had attached to the peak facing the driveway entrance. The two people standing in the center of the photograph are unidentified. The Willow Tree helped block the setting sun from the piazza. Once it dipped below the Willow branches the sun fell behind the tree line set further toward the horizon.
On the right you can see the Copper Beach Tree that was removed in 2019 when it was reportedly 125 years old. The tree had a since died having lost its battle to a fungus that couldn’t be controlled. In the photo you can also see the height of the shrubbery the Roosevelt’s planted underneath the front window of TR’s library.
Looking at the front of the house the exterior looks very light. This indicates the house had been painted gray. The emulsions used in early photography made yellow appear very dark. It's why photographs of TR’s first wife Alice make her look like a brunette.
