By Anastasia Capatina
With the school year just around the corner, there’s no better time to brush up on your history! Before the hectic school-year routines start up again, take a moment to get to know your own backyard with a trip to one of New York’s top historical sites. But don’t take our word for it—take it from award-winning filmmaker and father-of-four Ken Burns. He recently visited the homes of the Roosevelts while working on his latest project, a seven-part, 14-hour-long series called “The Roosevelts: An Intimate History,” which premieres September 14 on PBS. Back from visiting the homes and favorite respites of the Roosevelts for his film, Burns chatted with us about the best places to feel the ghosts of great historical figures, relax with the family, and have some good old-fashioned fun.
Franklin Roosevelt’s Home
Hyde Park, Ages 8+
“[Franklin D. Roosevelt has] had an amazing, amazing importance in American history and you can feel that in the house! There’s also a library that’s now just been rebuilt with a superb exhibition and if you want to understand the United States in the 20th century, you couldn’t do better than to walk through the exhibit of Franklin Roosevelt’s life and his world. You can understand about his struggles with polio, find out about his depression, and learn about the first and second World Wars.” nps.gov/hofr
Eleanor Roosevelt’s Home
Val-Kill, Ages 8+
“There are two other important houses: the property farther away, Val-Kill, Eleanor Roosevelt’s house, and a beautiful little cottage called Top Cottage, where the President served the King and Queen of England the first time they came to the United States in 1939.” nps.gov/elro
Theodore Roosevelt’s Home
Sagamore Hill, Ages 8+
“[Theodore Roosevelt] loved being at Sagamore Hill, he loved presiding over games and races and horses and dogs and swimming and boats and all sorts of stuff. He was the most energetic of our presidents and it’s really clear there. It’s a big, rambling house with three stories and a gazillion bedrooms.” nps.gov/sahi
Brooklyn Bridge
All Ages
“Brooklyn Bridge is one of the greatest experiences! The historian David McCullough says it’s like standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon and I believe it. And as you walk across, you can see the great expanse of lower Manhattan but also Midtown through the beautiful cables, the seagulls, the harbor, there is the Statue of Liberty and now Brooklyn, which is getting ever more vibrant. I don’t know how many times I walked across it, maybe a hundred, and it never fails to excite me!” nyc.gov
Chautaugua Institution
All Ages
“The Chautaugua Institution is the pursuit of happiness made manifest. I’ve been there three times and bringing my family for an entire week. It’s just a spectacular place. There’s a little beach for kids to swim on and boats to rent and sailboats to on in and there are baseball games, it’s a number of things. It’s a life of the mind, a life of the spirit, a life of the body, a life of the heart.”ciweb.org
Women’s Rights National Historical Park
Seneca Falls, All Ages
“It would take too many decades until women got the right to vote, but all during the rest of the 19th century and into the 20th century, history has been giving women more and more rights and [Seneca Falls] is the birthplace of that impulse. I am the father of four daughters, but it’s for anybody who cares about it, because there’s nobody alive who doesn’t have a mom. It’s very important to honor them. You could get to see the house of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, you could see a wonderful museum.” nps.gov/wori
Baseball Hall of Fame
Cooperstown, All Ages
“There is no more perfect place to have the National Baseball Hall of Fame than in Cooperstown, New York, at the base of Lake Otsego, a beautiful lake. You don’t have to be a baseball fan [to visit] because you can go there and enjoy the Glimmerglass Opera, there’s a great cinema, Cooper Museum, and a farm museum for kids! It has got to be, like the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge, on everyone’s bucket list no matter what your preference in sports is.” baseballhall.org
