Cultural Landscape Report for Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site: Volume I: Site History, Existing Conditions, and Analysis

2005·22 MB·English

by  Nowak, Lisa

Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2012 with funding from
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http://archive.org/details/culturallandscap00vol2

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Cultural Landscape Report for
Eleanor Roosevelt un,V£RS,t> " "°*e'A
D£C 112006
National Historic Site
LIBRARIES
OEPOSfTORY
Volume I: Site History, Existing Conditions, and Analysis

Cultural Landscape Report
for Eleanor Roosevelt
National Historic Site
Introduction
Site History
Existing Conditions
Analysis
ByLisaNowak
Historical LandscapeArchitect
OlmstedCenterforLandscape Preservation
National ParkService
2005
(.u ii kai Lands< m'i Rii'oki forEleanorRooseveltNationalHistoricSite
Library ofCongress Cataloging-in PublicationData
Nowak,Lisa
Cultural landscape reportforEleanorRooseveltNational HistoricSite:
site history,existingconditions,and analysis
p. cm.
Includesbibliographical referencesand index.
EleanorRooseveltNational HistoricSite (N.Y.)—
i.
Management. 2. Landscapeassessment--NewYork (State)—Eleanor
RooseveltNational Historic Site. 3. Landscapeprotection-NewYork
(Statc)--EleanorRooseveltNational HistoricSite. 4. Roosevelt,
Eleanor, 1884-1962-Homesand haunts—NewYork (State)—Hyde Park
(DutchessCounty) 5. Hyde Park (DutchessCounty,N.Y.)—History. 6.
Hyde Park (DutchessCounty,N.Y.)—Buildings,structures,etc. 7.
HistoricSites—NewYork (State)—Hyde Park (DutchessCounty) 8.
! [istoricbuildings—NewYork (State)—Hyde Park (DutchessCounty) I.
Olmsted CenterforLandscape Preservation (U.S) II. Title.
F129.H99N69 2006
9747'33—dc22 2006043760
The Olmsted Centerfor Landscape Preservation promotesthestewardshipof
significant landscapesthrough research,planning,and sustainable preservation
maintenance. TheCenteraccomplishesitsmissionin collaborationwitha
network ofpartnersincludingnational parks,universities,governmentagencies,
and private nonprofitorganizations. Techniquesand principles ofpreservation
practiceare madeavailablethrough trainingand publications. TheOlmsted
Centerperpetuatesthetradition oftheOlmsted firmsand Frederick Law
Olmsted's lifelongcommitmenttopeople, parks,and publicspaces.
Olmsted Centerfor Landscape Preservation
15 StateStreet
MA
Boston, 02109
www.nps.gov/oclp/
( over Photo: EleanorRooseveltand herdog,Fala,atthe edgeoftheVal-Kill
pond, 1951. Image courtesy oftheFranklin Delano RooseveltLibrary,reference
numberNPX 55-490(2).
Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES V
FOREWORD
XIII
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS XV
<o
INTRODUCTION 1
Purpose ofThisReport
3
Description ofStudyArea
3
HistoricalOverview 4
ScopeofWork and Methodology
SITE HISTORY 9
Pre-Historyto 1867 II
Early Roosevelt Period,1867-1924 29
PartnershipofEleanor Roosevelt,NancyCook,
and Marion Dickerman,1924-1945 4^
Val-Kill as EleanorRoosevelt'sHome, 1945-1962 105
Late Rooseveltand Non-RooseveltOwnershipofVal-Kill,
1962-1977
National Park Service and EleanorRoosevelt'sVal-Kill, Inc.,
1977-Present I45
EXISTING CONDITIONS 159
LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS 183
Analysis ofSignificance 185
Evaluation ofLandscape Integrity 189
Analysis ofLandscapeCharacteristicsand Features 193
Table ofLandscape Features 247
REFERENCES 255
INDEX 261
a ruRAl LandscapeRepori i»i<1-:i.ianorRoosivh i Nmiqnm HistoricSite
i