Globe Corner Blogs

Theodore Roosevelt's Birthplace --photo by Lisa

If you happen to find yourself wandering around Union Square in New York City with an extra hour to spare, might I suggest popping into the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site for an informative tour.  One-hundred-fifty years ago (and one month, his birthday was on October 26th), Theodore Roosevelt was born in a beautiful townhouse at 28 East 20th Street. Apparently, I missed the Birthday Block Party this year, but they still had commemorative Theodore Roosevelt Birthday mugs for sale in the gift shop.

The current house is a reconstruction and was built by the Woman’s Roosevelt Memorial Association in 1923 as a memorial for our 26th President. There is a really interesting gallery of Roosevelt memorabilia showcasing his toys, political cartoons, campaign buttons and the hat that he wore in the Spanish-American War.  Guided tours are offered almost every hour and are preceded by a short film about Roosevelt’s youth.  All of this for only three dollars!

(The Blue Guide to New York was a great source for finding interesting smaller museums to see in New York City so I could escape the cold weather!)

It is really hot in Boston. It is even hotter in my apartment. One sure way to beat the heat is to go to an air-conditioned cinema, so off to see the new Indiana Jones movie I went. I can’t commit to whether I liked the movie or not. I thought that it was “ok.” But it did make me want to reread my most favorite book ever:The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey!

Candice Millard writes about the true story of Roosevelt’s expedition to descend an unmapped tributary of the Amazon. It reads like an action adventure movie and seems almost too perfectly scripted. They encounter deadly rapids, murder, Indian attacks, and just about everything else you could imagine. But it is a true story! It would make a great movie, but I don’t know who they should cast as Teddy. Any ideas?