Summer White House
This is how Sagamore Hill looked during the first years of TR”s Presidency. You can see the original staircase leading down from the piazza that was removed and replaced by the open speaker’s platform.
On June 14, 1953 President Eisenhower delivered his Dedication Speech standing to the left of the staircase on the piazza under the awning.
This photo was taken before the North Room was built in 1905. That addition became the 23rd room in the house and was designed by Christopher Grant La . LaFarge who also designed the underground 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 show the entire north side of the house covered in ivy. Today the metal framework used to control the placement of the Ivy still 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 piazza from the setting sun. 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 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.
Prior to Roosevelt’s presidency the house was painted yellow with green trim. In this photo the exterior looks very light indicating the house had already been painted gray. The emulsions used in early photography made yellow appear dark. It's why photographs of TR’s first wife Alice made her look like a brunette.
