Warm Springs 1

On the road:  One thing can be said with certainty about The Little White House at Warm Springs — it's little!  Unlike the presidential palace in Washington, D.C., this house in west central Georgia is a one-story, two-bedroom, two-bath, 1,800 sq. ft. cottage.  My house at Presque Isle is larger by 150 sq. ft.  But my house will never be so famous.

The Little White House is now administered
by the State of Georgia.

The one-story house overlooks a wooded ravine.
Now, as in FDR's time, the basement is unfinished.

A graceful and pillared porch shelters the front entry.

It was here to Warm Springs that Franklin Delano Roosevelt came in 1924 seeking relief from the paralysis he suffered three years earlier when struck with polio.  A New York friend, George Foster Peabody, told FDR about a polio sufferer whose recovery had been aided by the warm water at Warm Springs.  FDR arrived in October, bathed in the waters the following day, and felt immediate improvement.  He returned every year except 1942, from 1924 until his death in 1945.  He would often stay for a month, conducting state business, but also taking time to exercise, have physical therapy, and play with the young polio victims who, like FDR, came to Warm Springs hoping, if not for a cure, at least for improvement.

A museum must have a goal.  In this case, it is to preserve The Little White House as it was on the day Franklin D. Roosevelt died.  With reasonable accommodation to modern needs, e.g., sprinkler and alarm systems, the museum operators seem to have achieved their goal.

Visitors do not enter by The Little White House by the front door, but rather by a short "bridge" linking the driveway and the kitchen porch.  On the porch is the presidential fridge!  And the kitchen itself is very small, with just room enough for a stove, sink, and someone to use them.

My grandmother had an ice box very much like this one.

The electric stove much have been the height of kitchen fashion.

The cookbook mentioned here is on sale at the Gift Shop.

The president's toaster...

...and his ice cream churn!

The butler's pantry has some Roosevelt heirloom china, but
the guide could not identify which pieces were family favorites.

FDR's living and dining rooms are all one space — a very modern touch.  But they are also very compact rooms, meant to be used and enjoyed, not to impress.  Both rooms look out through floor to ceiling windows to the porch, which in turn overlooks a deep ravine.

The living room from FDR's bedroom.
His secretary's bedroom is beyond the fireplace.

The living room is compact but very comfortable.

An explanation of the living room.

Equally compact is the dining room.  FDR's love of the sea
is evident in many of the decorations.

An explanation of the dining room.

The porch is spacious and airy.

Just below the porch, but out of sight, are two sentry boxes
for the marines who helped provide security.

President Roosevelt had just returned from the Yalta Conference before his final visit to Warm Springs. He was posing for a portrait when he suffered a massive stroke.

The President's Bedroom explained.

It was in this room (and in this bed?) that the President
died in April 1945.

The presidential bathroom is very plain.

Eleanor's bedroom has two beds, because it was often used
by Roosevelt family members when they visited.

A linen closet in the front hall holds linens,
hats, and a chain for Fala, the President's dog.

Presidential vacations are always "working" vacations.  When VIPs came to see the President, they often stayed in the guest house across the lawn from the Little White House.  The other building contained servants' quarters and the garage.

Servants stayed in the building in the foreground, with the
garage underneath.  Important visitors stayed in the
guest house on the left.  The Little White House is visible
on the far right.

In my next post I'll share some photos of the museum displays at the visitors center. •••