Cultural Landscape Report for the Eleanor Roosevelt NHS, vol. II, Treatment

Auwaerter, John; Roberts, Laura

Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site was established to tell the story of the extraordinary woman who made her home at Val-Kill in Hyde Park, New York. Mrs. Roosevelt’s modesty, strong belief in a productive life, joy in her family, and love of nature are all evident in the landscape. Since taking custody of the site over thirty years ago, the National Park Service and its partners have done extensive work to preserve and enhance the property’s character as it was during Mrs. Roosevelt’s lifetime. However, natural changes to vegetation, maintenance backlogs due to staff and budget restrictions, and the need to accommodate contemporary visitor use and access have introduced challenges and led to many changes in the cultural landscape. This has resulted in a Val-Kill that continues to retain its overall historic appearance, yet does not fully reflect the domestic and lively character of Mrs. Roosevelt’s day. The Cultural Landscape Report (CLR) aims to direct management efforts towards the goal of preserving and enhancing a landscape’s historic character in both the short and long term. A cultural landscape treatment plan is developed within the framework of other park management goals, such as public access, natural resources conservation, recreation, and interpretation. Treatment does not typically address routine and cyclical maintenance, such as tree pruning and lawn mowing, which are necessary to retain the historic character of the landscape. Treatment may, however, touch on ongoing maintenance issues when they have the potential to significantly impact the character-defining features of the landscape. The methods used for this report follow A Guide to Cultural Landscape Reports: Contents, Process, and Techniques (NPS, 1998). The general framework and concepts for this treatment plan were initially developed through a State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry landscape architecture studio held during the spring of 2008. This report is organized into three chapters. The first establishes a framework for treatment based on the park’s enabling legislation and purpose, National Park Service cultural resource management guidelines, current planning efforts, and the findings of CLR Volume I. This framework articulates a treatment philosophy that describes the intended character of the landscape, establishes a primary treatment approach, and identifies a treatment date for use as an objective benchmark for assessing historic character. Based on the treatment philosophy, the second chapter describes general treatment recommendations, which address issues impacting the overall historic character of the landscape. The third chapter provides guidelines and tasks necessary to retain, enhance, and reestablish the historic character of the landscape. The report concludes with a summary table of treatment tasks identifying priorities, and an appendix additional resources and information. Treatment guidelines and tasks are organized by three landscape character areas: west region, east region, and historic core. These are taken from CLR Volume I, except that the orchard has been included in the west region instead of the historic core due to its location and agricultural character. Tasks are documented on a treatment plan for each of the three character areas. The period of significance for Val-Kill begins with Eleanor Roosevelt’s first direct association with the site in 1924 and extends until her death in 1962. The landscape has important connections to Mrs. Roosevelt and to areas of Politics and Government, based on her legacy as an activist for humanitarian and social causes and her contributions to American politics. The treatment philosophy proposed by the CLR calls for preserving and enhancing the historic character of the landscape as it had developed by the late 1950s to best convey the this period of significance.

Cultural Landscape Report for the Eleanor Roosevelt NHS, vol. II, Treatment

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