Freedom From Mildew (FDR Library)

[groovedaddy]

(Ironic that the New Deal itself is in similar "disrepair!" GD)

THE Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum at Hyde Park, N.Y., the nation’s first presidential library, is literally falling apart. The roof leaks, the basement floods, asbestos is flaking from old steam pipes, an ancient electrical system could send the whole place up in smoke. This sorry situation is an insult to the person the library and museum honor: the founder of the New Deal, the greatest investment in our nation’s modern development.

Roosevelt inaugurated the tradition of national presidential libraries when he donated his personal and presidential papers to the government, as well as land from his estate along the Hudson River. Friends of the president formed a nonprofit corporation to raise money to build the library, which was designed by Roosevelt himself with a facade to incorporate the native Hudson Valley fieldstone that he loved. Construction started in 1939 and finished in 1941. Much of it has not been updated since. (Yes, the visitors’ center, which opened in 2003, is new, but that’s not where the archives and the historical collection are stored.)

The National Archives and Records Administration runs the library and museum. It is a modest place compared with more recent presidential libraries, but the importance of the New Deal and World War II to researchers of 20th-century American history guarantees that the library’s archives are among the most used of the 12 presidential libraries. And with 110,000 visitors last year, it was among the most popular presidential museums.

While the library sits high above the river, its basement lies below the water table. Sump pumps installed in 1939 are supposed to keep it dry, but don’t. Storms have caused flooding in the basement where collections are stored and in restrooms and public areas. What’s worse, storm and sewer drainage run together, which means they mingle if there’s a backup in the basement.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/28/opinion/28taylor.html?th&emc=th

[jwirr]

1. I would be glad to help any fund designated to correct this. Anyone

know a link?

[groovedaddy]

2. Here's the contact info for the library:

Email: [e-mail]
Phone: 1-800-FDR-VISIT
or [phone]

[Muttocracy]

3. kick. That's really sad. And we're having a rainy summer here so I bet it's bad there. nt