Special Exhibits

Current Exhibit

Votes for Women! / TR & The Women's Suffrage Movement  |  through November 12, 2018

The New York State Museum’s traveling exhibit, Votes For Women, is currently on display at the TR Site, where it is augmented by an additional panel exploring Theodore Roosevelt’s complex relationship to the women’s suffrage movement. 

Curated by staff at the New York State Museum, Votes for Women is designed to “raise public awareness of the struggle for women’s suffrage and equal rights in New York State from the 1848 Seneca Falls Conven­tion through 1917 when New York State granted women the right to vote. The exhibition…also address[es] the nationally significant role of New York State leaders in regards to women’s rights and the feminist movement through the early 21st century.” 

Under the auspices of a Vision Grant from Humanities New York, the TR Site worked with Dr. Shannon Risk (Niagara University) and exhibit designer Lauren Becker to enhance the traveling exhibit with a panel that examines how TR’s thinking on the subject of women’s suffrage evolved.

Previous Exhibits

From FATHER, to SON, to CITY: The Preservation Legacy of Olaf & Bill Shelgren / Western New York, 1909-2010  | Summer/Fall, 2017

Father and son architects, Olaf & Bill Shelgren, gave Western New York many fine buildings, but their most enduring gift still transcends the tallest spire they ever designed.  As Buffalo's preservation pioneers, they saved dozens of sites (including what is now the TR Site!) and helped teach Buffalonians to love and appreciate our old buildings, the same buildings we celebrate and protect -- and still use -- today.  Thanks to their leadership and initiative, our city is rich with historic places, and we have laws and processes to guide us into the future.  We're building today's resurgence on the work of yesterday's preservationists.

It May Be Old...But It's NEW to Us!  |  2017 edition

This annual exhibit showcases additions that were made to the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site’s historic collection in the previous year.  More than 70 items were added to the TR Site’s collection during 2016, including a number of donation receipts from a local effort that tried -- but failed -- to turn the former Wilcox home into a TR-related memorial during the 1930s.

It May Be Old...But It's NEW to Us!  |  2016 edition

This annual exhibit celebrates additions that were made to the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site’s historic collection within the last year. More than 50 items were added to the TR Site’s collection during 2015.

It May Be Old . . . But, It's NEW To Us!  |  2015 Edition

This annual exhibit showcases additions that were made to the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site’s historic collection within the last year. More than 350 items were added to the TR Site’s collection during 2014, including over 200 photographs taken by a Western New Yorker who helped to build the Panama Canal.  

Building the Panama Canal  |  Fall, 2014

This special exhibit highlights the experiences of a Western New Yorker who spent six years working in the Canal Zone. Frank P. Sasse’s collection of more than 200 photographs provides a unique look at life during the construction era.

New Perspectives On Old Favorites  |  Summer, 2013 

Back in January, Curator Lenora Henson presented Intern Ally Spongr with a rather vague challenge: "Use your skills as a photographer to give our visitors a new perspective on the TR Site's historic collection."  The result, an exhibit called New Perspectives on Old Favorites, has been generating enthusiastic comments since it was installed on May 16th.   The exhibit showcases a selection of Ally's striking artifact photos alongside the objects themselves, prompting a closer examination of both.  When the project got underway, neither Ally nor Lenora knew exactly what the final product was going to look like, but it turned out to be a very enlightening project all around.  Ally, a recent graduate of Buffalo State College's Fine Arts program, had the opportunity to expand her photography skills and learn a little bit about artifact handling in museums.  Lenora, who helped choose artifacts and create interesting arrangements, was amazed at the new connections and incredible detail that were brought to life through the lens of Ally's camera.  In fact, Ally's photographs were so beautiful that the TR Site turned some of them on postcards, which are on sale in the museum shop.

It May Be Old . . . But, It's NEW To Us!  |  Spring, 2013

This annual exhibit showcases additions that were made to the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site's historic collection within the last year. Among the items on display this year are a 1904 campaign pin shaped like Roosevelt's trademark pince-nez glasses, a soup bowl from the Kathryn Lawrence Dining Rooms, and a one-of-a-kind scrapbook from Buffalo's 1901 Pan-American Exposition. There's also a wonderful circa 1920 photograph of the Wilcox home blanketed in snow, a number of postcards commemorating TR's inauguration, and much more!  

BULL MOOSE ON THE LOOSE: TR & THE ELECTION OF 1912  |  Summer/Fall, 2012
When Theodore Roosevelt left the presidency in March of 1909, he never imagined that he would break the pledge he made on the eve of his election. After all, he had personally chosen his successor (William Howard Taft); surely, his promise to never again run for president was a safe one. Perhaps, if Taft had furthered conservation efforts, TR could have stayed on the sidelines. Maybe if Taft had really reduced the tariff, TR would have retired without a ruckus. As it was, Taft turned his back on the progressive agenda launched by his popular predecessor. Disappointment with the Taft administration left many reformers wishing for the days when TR was President; they began to wonder, would he consider challenging Taft for the Republican nomination? Entering the race for President in 1912 not only meant that TR was going back on his word. It would defy two long-standing political traditions. The first held that incumbent presidents, so long as they wanted to run again, could be assured of re-nomination by their party. Also, ever since George Washington willingly relinquished the presidency following his second term, no one had served more than eight years as President.  Given his reputation for independence, it came as no surprise when, by February of 1912, Roosevelt resolved to challenge his former friend. He famously declared, "MY HAT IS IN THE RING. THE FIGHT IS ON AND I AM STRIPPED TO THE BUFF."  Arriving in Chicago for the Republican National Convention, Theodore Roosevelt was optimistic about his chances to wrest the nomination away from Taft. After all, he had accumulated impressive wins in three-quarters of the party's state primaries. When a reporter asked for a comment, TR responded, "I FEEL LIKE A BULL MOOSE!" Ultimately, Roosevelt's bid for the Republican nomination fell victim to party politics. When Taft was named to lead the ticket, TR's supporters got up and walked out of the convention. The Progressive Party was created in the hours after TR's followers "bolted" the convention. Its dramatic birth solidified the rift that had been growing within the Republican Party for years and gave rise to the most successful third party candidacy in United States' history.