Visitors tour Theodore Roosevelt’s birth home, Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
TOUR DETAILS
Tours of Theodore Roosevelt’s birth home are given on a first-come, first-served basis multiple times each day Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site is open. Tours last about 45 minutes. There is no charge, but you must reserve a spot at the Visitor Center. A tour is the only way to see the five rooms upstairs. For the current schedule, check the National Park Service’s official Plan Your Visit web page for the park.
Tours are limited to 18 people. If you have a group of 10 or more, you must make a reservation at least two weeks in advance. Currently, group tours are only given at 10 AM. To make a reservation, email the park at thrb_info@nps.gov.
Theodore Roosevelt Birth Home tours involve standing for the duration. If this is difficult for you, chairs will be provided upon request. Furthermore, the tour visits multiple floors accessed via staircases, but there are elevators for those with mobility problems. Lockers are available to store large bags or other items that you do not want to carry throughout the tour.
BIRTH HOME TOUR
The tour of the Roosevelt Birth Home begins in the Visitor Center on the ground floor. The tour guide provides some background information on the house, along with some fun facts about Theodore Roosevelt, before continuing up the staircase to the rooms on the main floor. These rooms are referred to as period rooms because they have been recreated to resemble what the house would have looked like when Theodore Roosevelt lived there as a child. Sixty percent of the furnishings are original to the house and the family, while the rest are authentic antiques from the time period.
The first room visited on the tour is the parlor. Since the reconstruction of the Roosevelt Birth Home, it is now referred to as the front parlor, but when Theodore lived here, it was the only parlor.
Front Parlor of Theodore Roosevelt’s birth home, Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
Teddy’s father, Theodore Roosevelt Sr., was a civic-minded philanthropist. He helped found the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Children’s Orthopedic Hospital, New York City’s Children’s Aid Society, and the American Museum of Natural History. The legislation that created the natural history museum was actually signed in the parlor by the governor of New York at the time, John Thompson Hoffman. The Roosevelt family was involved in so many causes that it was joked that you needed an open pocketbook if you were going to visit them.
The piano in this room is not original; it was donated to the museum in 1923. The chandelier, made from plate glass, and the wax fruit display, on the other hand, are both original items. In addition, all the color paintings that you will see hanging on the walls throughout the rooms in the house are original to the family.
Front Parlor of Theodore Roosevelt’s birth home, Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
The next stop on the tour is the family parlor. When Theodore lived here as a child, this was actually the library as well as the family room. As a voracious reader, he spent a lot of time here. He supposedly read a book a day throughout his life. He would read books on nature, military strategy, and history. He also loved adventure novels, with Robinson Caruso being his favorite.
Family Parlor of Theodore Roosevelt’s birth home, Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
On the fireplace mantle are two black obelisks the Roosevelts brought back from a family trip to Egypt. Displayed on a nearby table is a stereoscope, which is used to combine two separate photographs into a 3D image (similar to the modern-day View Master), and a lithophane lamp, which is made of thin porcelain and depicts an image when lit from behind.
Stereoscope and lithophane lamp in the Family Parlor of Theodore Roosevelt’s birth home, Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
The third room visited on the tour is the dining room. It is in this room during the Civil War that Theodore helped his mother, aunt, and grandmother—who were from Georgia—make care packages for the Confederate soldiers. Some of the original pieces from the family include the dining table, which was Cornelius Roosevelt’s (Theodore’s grandfather), and the dining chairs that belonged to his sister, Corinne. The china set on display, while not original to the family, was designed by Eleanor Roosevelt. The pattern of roses in a field is meant to symbolize the Roosevelt name.
Dining Room in Theodore Roosevelt’s birth home, Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
The tour continues upstairs to the parents’ bedroom. All the rosewood and stained wood furniture in this bedroom is original. There is also a painting of Theodore’s mother, Mittie, hanging over the fireplace. It is widely speculated that she was one of the inspirations for the character of Scarlet O’Hara in Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind, and while there is some “evidence” to support this theory—like the fact that Mitchell was an Atlanta native and interviewed Mittie’s closest childhood friend and bridesmaid, Evelyn King, for a story in the Atlanta Journal newspaper in the early 1920s—it has not been officially verified.
Master Bedroom in Theodore Roosevelt’s birth home, Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
The last stop on the tour of the Theodore Roosevelt Birth Home is the nursey. Hanging above the fireplace is a painting of the children’s Aunt Anna, Mittie’s sister. She actually lived in the nursery room and was the governess to the children during that time. The bed she slept in and the pillowcase in which her initials are embroidered are both original items.
Nursery in Theodore Roosevelt’s birth home, Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
Also in the nursery is the original black walnut crib that all the Roosevelt children used.
Roosevelt children’s crib on display in the nursery of Theodore Roosevelt’s birth home, Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
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Last updated on October 23, 2025
