For its era, the suite was modern, as it had state of the art innovations such as electricity, a modern bathroom, and a central heating system. It was also spacious, having four rooms that collectively amounted to about 600 sq—feet in size, 14’ ceilings, a fireplace, and French doors.
Only a few buildings in the college could boast of such modern facilities and splendor.
Upon moving into the suite, Roosevelt and his mother decorated the rooms in high Victorian style to suit his taste. The Victorian-styled suite remained that way throughout the length of Roosevelt’s stay at Harvard from 1900 to when he graduated in 1904.
From 1904 till 1961, various students occupied the rooms, with each student redecorating the suite as he deemed fit. Following Eleanor Roosevelt’s visit to Harvard in 1961, the college converted the suite to a study. However, in the early 2000s, Harvard set the rooms aside to be restored to the way they were during Roosevelt’s stay at Harvard. The reason for doing this was to create a memorial in honor of Roosevelt, and this has been the mission of the FDR suite since then.
Equipped with privately raised funds, the restoration of the suite began in earnest in 2008. Michael Weishan, the director of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Foundation Inc., spearheaded the process of restoring the suite, under the guidance of the Foundation.