Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural
National Historic Site
House Tour
The house tour begins with a short audio-visual program highlighting
the events that took place in Buffalo in 1901. An interpreter or volunteer docent
will lead the tour throughout the house. There are four period rooms and an
exhibit area.
The Wilcox library is the primary focus of the tour. Meticulously restored to
its 1901 appearance and containing the most original furniture, the library
was the scene of Theodore Roosevelt's inauguration. Located in the original
1840 part of the house, this room combines charm and simplicity. A glass wall
(to replace an original wall that was removed in the 1930s to make way for a
restaurant) allows visitors to see the entire room. The circumstances surrounding
the inauguration are interpreted in this room as well as the lifestyle of an
upper class family.
The dining room is where Theodore Roosevelt would have had his meals during
his visit, and where President Taft also dined in 1910. It is the most architecturally
elegant room in the house. A Greek / Georgian Revival style is reflected in
the original whitewashed molding, corinthian columns, and a leaded glass fan
window. Minimal changes by the restaurant have left this room the most intact
in the house. Portraits of the Wilcoxes add a personal touch to the dining room
although it contains very little of the original dining room furniture. Lifestyle
and the importance of preservation are interpreted in the dining room.
The morning room was used by Theodore Roosevelt as a temporary office and was
the scene of his first official act as president. The morning room had two purposes
when the Wilcoxes lived here. First, Mary Grace Wilcox and her daughters would
use this room to relax in the morning (hence, morning room) while Ansley Wilcox
preferred this room in the evening as his office. Wilcox was a lawyer with an
office in downtown Buffalo but liked to work in his home office in the evening.
Part of the addition the Wilcoxes added in the 1890s, the morning room is unique
in the house with its Gothic Revival style. The morning room contains Ansley
Wilcox's original desk and a copy of the scrapbook he kept.
The Victorian lady's' bedroom on the second floor is a representation of the
era. There are few pieces of Wilcox furniture remaining in the room. The room
is used for interpreting lifestyles of the period. These include lighting and
heating of the home, the importance of sewing in a woman's life and the role
of servants in the household. The room contains seven different lighting sources
ranging from natural light to electricity.
The house tour also includes a permanent exhibit area.
Special temporary exhibits are frequently open to the public at the site as well.