Theodore Roosevelt's (Sort of) Birthplace at 28 East 20th Street
"I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot...The bullet is in me now, so that I cannot make a very long speech, but I will try my best." New York City's only president, Theodore Roosevelt was born on this spot on October 27th, 1858. The son of a northern father and a southern mother, his childhood was spent teetering between happy curiosity (he studied nature by bringing in dead mice and snakes into the house) and familial tension (his parents were frequently at odds during the Civil War, his Georgian mother sending care packages to the Confederacy while his New York City father lobbied for improved living conditions for Union soldiers.) After the war, the founders of the American Museum of Natural History (which included Roosevelt, Sr.) would sign the charter in the Roosevelt's parlor in 1869. "Theedie" (never "Teddy") lived there until he was 14, when his family moved uptown to 57th Street.