Library in the Wilcox House where Theodore Roosevelt was inaugurated after William McKinley’s death, Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site

TOUR TICKETS

Tours of the Ansley Wilcox House where Theodore Roosevelt was inaugurated on September 14, 1901, after the death of President William McKinley are given every day of the year except on major holidays. Tours last about an hour and are held each hour starting at 9:30 AM during the week and 11:30 AM on weekends. The last tour is at 3:30 PM. The Visitor Center where tickets are sold and tours begin opens a half hour prior to the first tour. It closes at 5 PM. A tour is the only way to see the house.

Tickets can be obtained online in advance at the TR Inaugural Site’s Museum Tours web page or at the Visitor Center information desk, assuming any tickets remain. If you know your schedule, getting a ticket in advance is obviously the best choice. Space on each tour is limited, and during the summer weekends tours do sell out. No tickets are specifically held for walk-ups, so only tickets not sold online are available each day at the Visitor Center.

Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site is run by the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site Foundation, a registered non-profit organization that operates by cooperative agreement with the National Park Service. Typically under such agreements, National Park Annual and other passes are not good for free tickets, but this is not the case here other than in December, the Foundation’s fundrasing month. A National Park pass is good for up to four tickets, though a $1 service charge per ticket does apply for online purchases.

TOUR DETAILS

The tour of the Wilcox House is very structured. It begins at the Visitor Center in the Pan-American Exposition exhibit area. The Exposition was held in Buffalo, New York, from May 1st through November 2, 1901, and it is the reason why President William McKinley was visiting Buffalo when he was shot twice by Leon Czolgosz on September 6th at the Temple of Music. Be sure to spend time reading the information and watching old movies from the 1901 Exposition on a hand-cranked Kinetoscope while you wait for your tour. You won’t be repeating yourself once the tour begins because at that time the group watches a movie about the Pan-American Exposition and McKinley’s assassination on one of the large wall panels in the exhibit area (it’s actually a TV screen). The film is only shown during the tour. If you want to spend more time at the exhibit, you can come back after your tour.

Pan-American Exposition exhibit inside the Visitor Center at Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site

From the Pan-American Expedition exhibit, the tour heads to the Wilcox House, with the first stop being the dining room. While having lunch here on September 14th, the day of McKinley’s death (he lived for eight days after being shot), Roosevelt and his advisors discussed the details of the swearing-in ceremony that was held later that afternoon in the library of the house. Keep in mind that the interior of the house was changed from the time the Wilcoxes lived there. Ansley died in 1930 and his wife, Grace, in 1933. In the late 1930s, the house was leased to Oliver and Kathryn Lawrence, who turned it into a restaurant, Kathryn Lawrence’s Dining Room. It was a very popular place until closing in the early 1960s after Kathryn’s death in 1959. The Lawrence’s made drastic changes to the interior, including knocking out walls to create a larger dining area, so most everything today is a best-guess reconstruction of the original interior layout.

Dining room in the Wilcox House, Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site

The next stop on the tour is a hallway where a multi-media presentation has been set up. Tour participants sit along one wall, while on the opposite wall is a gallery with photographs from the early 1900s. Roosevelt (played by a voice actor) discusses the social and political issues he had to deal with during his term as president, such as child labor, immigration, and racial inequality. Photos pertinent to the subject are illuminated. (This area is very dark, thus no photographs for this article.)

From the multi-media presentation, the tour continues into the library where Roosevelt was inaugurated. This is the only room in the Wilcox House that was restored to its appearance in 1901, which required reconstructing the walls that were torn down when the house was converted into the restaurant. While no photographs were allowed to be taken during Roosevelt’s inauguration, the press was allowed to photograph the room afterwards, and these photos were used to recreate the library as closely as possible. The corner bookcase near the small window and the chandelier are original.

Library in the Wilcox House where Theodore Roosevelt was inaugurated after William McKinley’s death, Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site

Library in the Wilcox House where Theodore Roosevelt was inaugurated after William McKinley’s death, Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site

The tour makes one last stop on the lower floor at the study of Ansley Wilcox. His portrait hangs above the fireplace mantle. He and Roosevelt originally met in the early 1880s when the two were appointed by New York Governor Grover Cleveland (a future president himself) to work on a social reform project. They also worked together to create the park that protected Niagara Falls from development. Wilcox was an attorney and a prominent member of the Buffalo community. The other painting on the wall is Francis Wilcox, the youngest of the two Wilcox daughters.

Ansley Wilcox’s study in the Wilcox House, Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site

The last stop on the tour is at an exhibit area on the upper floor. After giving a brief introduction, the tour guide departs, and tour participants are free to explore on their own for as long as they like, or until the 5 PM closing time. There are many interactive exhibits about Roosevelt and his term as president, as well as information about the Wilcox House history and its renovation.

Exhibit on the upper floor of the Wilcox House examines the issues Theodore Roosevelt faced when he took office in 1901, Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site

One room substitutes as Roosevelt’s office in the White House. An interactive exhibit built into the Presidential Desk allows tour members to approve or veto bills that he had to deal with.

Interactive Presidential Desk inside the Wilcox House at Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site

There is also an interactive globe with information about world events that occurred during Roosevelt’s time as president.

Interactive globe on the upper floor of the Wilcox House, Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site

When done exploring the upstairs, proceed back down to the Visitor Center. Allow and hour for the tour, which should include time to spend on the upper floor reading the information about Roosevelt and engaging with the interactive exhibits.

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