"Top Cottage"

 residence, cottage, interesting place

Top Cottage, also known as Hill-Top Cottage, in Hyde Park, New York was a private retreat designed by and for Franklin D. Roosevelt. Built in 1938 to 1939, during Roosevelt's second term as President of the United States, it was designed to accommodate his need for wheelchair accessibility. It was one of the earliest such buildings in the country, and the first significant building designed by a disabled person.

Although it was meant as a retreat, FDR also received notable guests at the cottage, including Britain's King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and after half a century in private ownership it was restored and given to the National Park Service, which today operates it as part of the nearby Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1997. Guided tours of the cottage are available from the main site.

Top Cottage, a one-story stone building designed to accommodate Roosevelt’s wheelchair, was much like today’s Camp David, allowing the president to recharge and entertain visitors away from the public eye.
“I found that on my trips to Hyde Park from Washington, it was almost impossible to have any time to myself in the big house…Therefore, I began talking about building a small place to go to “escape the mob.” FDR commenting on plans for Top Cottage.

This hill was where Roosevelt had played as a child. In FDR's time, it had commanding views of the Hudson River and the Catskill Mountains, now obscured by trees. This building is the only building designed by a sitting U.S. President other than Thomas Jefferson.