This hall, the Theodore Roosevelt Rotunda above, and the Central Park West entrance opened in 1936 as New York State’s official memorial to Theodore Roosevelt, Governor of New York (1899-1901) and 26th President of the United States (1901–1909).

In 1869, the future president’s father, Theodore Roosevelt, Sr., gathered prominent New Yorkers in his East 20th Street home to sign the charter for this Museum. In 1872, Theodore, Jr., then 13, made his first donation to the collections, including the skull of a red squirrel.