fdrlibrary

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Some more behind the scenes shots of our upcoming special exhibit "Signature Moments". Our museum staff is hard at work installing all the documents and objects from our collections.

[fdrlibrary]

Graphics hung ✅️ Captions laid out ✅️ Document mounts ready ✅️

Exhibit installation is in full swing! "Signature Moments" opens on June 28th - make those summer plans now to come check it out.

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This ash tray was fashioned from the casing of a 5” shell fired by the USS Quincy during her first combat engagement—the D-Day invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. Machinist’s Mate First Class Edward F. Laukagalis created the ash tray and presented it to FDR on behalf of his shipmates: https://fdr.artifacts.archives.gov/objects/26125/uss-quincy-cigar-ashtray

[fdrlibrary]

Did you know that part of the process for creating a new exhibit includes making document facsimiles? To save paper, many people would use both sides when sending letters. In order to showcase the full letter on exhibit, a facsimile has to be created for part of the letter. 

We work with an amazing paper artist, who meticulously crafts facsimiles to match the original documents. The results are impressive everytime. Come see if you can spot her work in our new special exhibit "Signature Moments: Letters from the Famous, the Infamous, and Everyday Americans" opening June 28th.

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#OTD in 1942 the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps was formed

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We have paint! Freshly painted walls are an exciting milestone during exhibit installation. This means we can start moving exhibit cases into place and continue the transformation of the gallery.

[fdrlibrary]

Theodore Roosevelt I (1831-1878) was the father of President Theodore Roosevelt and Elliott Roosevelt (Eleanor Roosevelt's father). Following his death in 1878, artist Daniel Huntington painted three posthumous portraits of Roosevelt, from a photograph, for his children. Eleanor Roosevelt inherited this portrait from her father.

Read more about this painting on our website: https://fdr.artifacts.archives.gov/objects/19433/theodore-roosevelt-i-portrait

[fdrlibrary]

SIGNATURE MOMENTS!

The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum announces the opening of a new special exhibition, SIGNATURE MOMENTS: LETTERS FROM THE FAMOUS, THE INFAMOUS, AND EVERYDAY AMERICANS, on Saturday, June 28, 2025.

Read the press release to learn about a few of the movie stars, world leaders, and cultural figures that made the cut:

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Dr. William Turner Levy gave this cherub plaque to Eleanor Roosevelt who hung it over her bed in her 74th Street apartment in New York City.

Cherub: https://fdr.artifacts.archives.gov/objects/30547/cherub-plaque

Photo: NPx 79-75-16

[fdrlibrary]

FDR's Last Day at the White House

Before his final trip to Warm Springs, FDR spent his last day at the White House, 80 years ago on March 29, 1945. Before his train departed, he presented Jonathan Daniels with his commission as the new Press Secretary.

Explore the contents of FDR's Oval Office Desk: https://fdr.artifacts.archives.gov/advancedsearch/Objects/labelText%3AFDR%E2%80%99S%20OVAL%20OFFICE%20DESK

[fdrlibrary]

FDR's Last Day in Hyde Park

80 years ago, on March 28, 1945, FDR spent his last day in Hyde Park.

Explore the contents of FDR's Private Study on our website: https://fdr.artifacts.archives.gov/collections/10457/fdrs-private-study/objects

This is the FDR's actual office, not a recreation. The study remains almost precisely as he left it on his last visit here.

[fdrlibrary]

These Rauch & Dietsch eyeglasses were from the desk in Eleanor Roosevelt's bedroom in her 74th Street apartment in New York City.

See more details on our website: https://fdr.artifacts.archives.gov/.../eyeglasses-and...

[fdrlibrary]

On this day - 120 years ago 😲- Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt were married in New York City. The bride was given away by her uncle, President Theodore Roosevelt.

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"I hope that you will pardon me for this unusual posture of sitting down...but I know that you will realize that it makes it a lot easier for me not to have to carry about ten pounds of steel around on the bottom of my legs."

 - Franklin Roosevelt, Address to Congress on the Yalta Conference, March 1, 1945

After the Yalta Conference, FDR made a grueling 7,000-mile journey home by plane and ship. While at sea, his long-time aide and friend, Edwin "Pa" Watson, died of a stroke. Watson's death cast a pall over the returning presidential party.

By the time he returned to Washington, the President was exhausted. But he was determined to report quickly to the nation about the conference. On March 1, he addressed a joint session of Congress at the Capitol. His audience was struck by FDR's gaunt appearance. Even more striking was that he delivered the speech while seated. FDR confronted the issue directly in the first line of his address, publicly acknowledging his disability for the first and only time in his presidential career.

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Marines raise the American flag on Iwo Jima, February 23, 1945: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/520748

Marines on the beach at Iwo Jima, February 19, 1945: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/532543

Landing craft filled with supplies on the beach at Iwo Jima: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/513218

[fdrlibrary]

Day of Remembrance Japanese American Incarnation: Interview with Norio Uyematsu

Library Director William Harris interviews 94 year old US Army Veteran and Japanese American incarceree Norio Uyematsu about his experiences at Heart Mountain and his service to our country.

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In September 1940, in response to pressure from Black leaders inside and outside the administration, including William Hastie and Mary McLeod Bethune, the Army announced its Air Corps would begin training Black pilots. In January 1941, a flight training facility for Black airmen was established at Alabama’s Tuskegee Institute. Pilots who trained there formed the all-Black 332nd Fighter Group—which became popularly known as the “Tuskegee Airmen.”

📷: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/535842