August 15, 2008

August 15, 2008

Who is buried in Grants Tomb? That is what we set out to find today by heading via subway to Harlem to see the General Grant Memorial. It is the largest tomb in America. I am surprised at how nice it looks. I had always read that it had been allowed to deteriorate badly. I guess the National Park System has money for maintenance now. Inside the massive round mausoleum sit two, yes two, pink granite sarcophagi containing Ulysses Grant and his wife Julia. Now you know the real answer! The tomb also contains some exhibits on Grant’s life. After Grant retired from his Presidency, he moved to New York City to live near his son, and made an unwise Wall Street investment losing his entire savings. He soon discovered he had terminal throat cancer. Hoping to provide for his family, he spent the last days of his life writing his memoirs, with Mark Twain as editor. He died a week after finishing, but the autobiography was an instant success.

From the Grant Memorial we return south to Midtown Manhattan and take a nice stroll across the southern end of Central Park. At the eastern end we are pleasantly surprised to encounter a Saint-Gaudens memorial statue of General Sherman of Civil War fame. The statue is well done but the gold leaf coating is peeling badly.

After enjoying lunch near Fifth Avenue we take the subway south to the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site. TR was born in this NYC brownstone, surprisingly the only president from NYC. We get a guided tour of this 1840’s vintage property by an excellent guide who brings the history alive. The basement has an extensive biography of TR’s life along with amazing artifacts. The Roosevelts were big time pack rats to have kept all this. I now understand why TR is on Mt. Rushmore. He was an amazing character. Born sickly and asthmatic, he exercised hard to overcome his afflictions and became an avid outdoorsman. Early in life he became famous as an adventurer, cowboy, hunter, and prolific author. In politics, as NYC Police Commissioner and NY state governor he was an ardent reformer and corruption buster. The NY Republican machine got him nominated as VP to get him out of the state. When President William McKinley was fatally shot, TR became our youngest President ever. He had unlimited energy. For example, when Congress had gone into recess, TR went to his summer home and wrote a biography of Oliver Cromwell.

This is our last day traveling into NYC proper. It has been a good visit but we are looking forward to sleeping late. Aimee and I have been pleasantly surprised how friendly the natives have been, especially in comparison to the stuffed shirts of New England. New Yorkers don’t deserve their brash reputation.