The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library is a planned museum focused on the life and legacy of

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

, the 26th

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

. It is to be constructed at a site to the west of Medora, North Dakota, near

Theodore Roosevelt National Park Theodore Roosevelt National Park is an American national park of the badlands in western North Dakota comprising three geographically separated areas. Honoring U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, it is the only American national park named direct ...

, which preserves sites associated with Roosevelt's travel in

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

between 1883 and 1887. A site in the Badlands of Medora was selected in 2020, as well as the design architect

Snøhetta Snøhetta is the highest mountain in the Dovrefjell mountain range in Norway. At , it is the highest mountain in Norway outside the Jotunheimen range, making it the 24th highest peak in Norway, based on a topographic prominence cutoff. At , it ...

and the architect of record

JLG Architects JLG Architects is an architecture firm that specializes in urban design, master planning and architectural design for sports/recreation facilities, universities, K-12 schools, aviation facilities, medical centers, and mixed-use/multi-family hous ...

Design

A site was selected in March 2020 from eleven candidates on land owned by the

U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...

, about west of Medora, near the Burning Hills Amphitheater, and close to the Medora entrance to the south unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The site includes a section of the Maah Daah Hey Trail, and includes grassland and

Badland Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded."Badlands" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 47. They are characterized by steep slopes, mi ...

terrain. Congress passed legislation to allow and direct the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to sell the land, which was owned by the U.S. Forest Service up to this point. The site is on top of a butte near the amphitheater used for the Medora Musical. An initial field of forty architectural firms was narrowed to fourteen firms, which were all invited to compete to serve as the Design Architect for the library. Twelve firms participated and after a series of interviews & presentations, the Foundation announced three finalists:

Studio Gang Studio Gang is an American architecture and urban design practice with offices in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and Paris. Founded and led by architect Jeanne Gang, the Studio is known for its material research and experimentation, collabora ...

, and

Henning Larsen Henning Larsen, Hon. FAIA (20 August 1925 – 22 June 2013) was a Danish architect. He is internationally known for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Riyadh and the Copenhagen Opera House. Larsen studied at the Royal Danish Academy ...

. These three firms were provided stipends to develop design concepts.

–known for its projects including the

National September 11 Museum The National September 11 Memorial & Museum (also known as the 9/11 Memorial & Museum) is a memorial and museum in New York City commemorating the September 11 attacks of 2001, which killed 2,977 people, and the 1993 World Trade Center bombi ...

Oslo Opera House The Oslo Opera House ( no, Operahuset) is the home of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, and the national opera theatre in Norway. The building is situated in the Bjørvika neighbourhood of central Oslo, at the head of the Oslofjord. It is ...

, and

Bibliotheca Alexandrina The Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Latin for "Library of Alexandria"; arz, مكتبة الإسكندرية ', ) is a major library and cultural center on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea in Alexandria, Egypt. It is a commemoration of the Library ...

, among others–was selected in September 2020 to design the library.

Location selection

The Library is being built in North Dakota due in large part to both local and regional enthusiasm for the project, and Theodore Roosevelt's personal connections to the state. Theodore Roosevelt first came to the North Dakota Badlands on September 8, 1883. Roosevelt arrived with the intent to hunt buffalo, but he subsequently formed a deeper connection with the land–so much so that he invested in two ranches in the area: the

Maltese Cross The Maltese cross is a cross symbol, consisting of four " V" or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically. It is a heraldic cross variant which developed f ...

and the Elkhorn. Roosevelt would return after the tragic deaths of both his wife, Alice, and mother, Mittie, on Valentine's Day in 1884. He sought refuge, healing, and strength in the landscape–Roosevelt famously said the region is where the "romance of my life began." Roosevelt would view his time in North Dakota fondly. He once said that if he was ever forced to retain just one memory from his life, he "would take the memory of my life on the ranch, with its experiences close to Nature and among the men who lived nearest her." Moreover, Roosevelt would credit his time in the region as being formative to understanding not only himself, but the lives of others, famously declaring that he "never would have been President if it had not been for my experiences in North Dakota." In 2019 the

North Dakota Legislative Assembly The North Dakota Legislative Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of North Dakota. The Legislative Assembly consists of two chambers, the lower North Dakota House of Representatives, with 94 representatives, and the upper North ...

authorized a $50 million operating endowment for the proposed library, to be made available after the foundation raised $100 million for construction; the Foundation has since reached this milestone, unlocking the $50 million.

Board, staff, and supporters

Linda Pancratz, CEO and Chairwoman of Mountain Capital, is Chair of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation Board of Trustees. Former media executive and Roosevelt scholar

Edward O'Keefe Edward Fitzpatrick O’Keefe is the Chief Executive Officer of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation, and a former media executive. O’Keefe worked at ABC News, before serving as the founding Editor-in-Chief of media start-up NowT ...

is the CEO.

Governor Doug Burgum A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

supports the effort, citing the state's "opportunity to build a presidential library in honor of one of the most dynamic, influential, and world-changing presidents in the history of the US,” alongside the library's potential impacts on economic, academic, and tourism development within the state. Theodore Roosevelt V, President Roosevelt's great-great grandson, has also played a prominent role advocating for the library within the state. The Roosevelt family has purchased the 90.3 acres of land the library will be on.

History

In January 2022, the

Equestrian Statue of Theodore Roosevelt ''Equestrian Statue of Theodore Roosevelt'' is a 1939 bronze sculpture by James Earle Fraser. It was located on public park land at the American Museum of Natural History, New York City. The equestrian statue depicts Theodore Roosevelt on hors ...

, which stood outside the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

facing Central Park West, was removed and will be on a long-term loan to the Library. The Library has yet to determine how and where the statue will be displayed on the grounds. The statue has generated controversy due to its subordinate depiction of African and Native American figures beside Roosevelt.

References

External links

Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library website
{{authority control Libraries in North Dakota Roosevelt, Theodore Presidential museums in the United States Proposed museums in the United States Museums in Billings County, North Dakota

Library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...