The original American Indian inhabitants of the area originally called the island, "Analostan." The Mason family owned the island for 125 years and John Mason built a mansion and gardens there in the early 19th century. Part of the mansion's foundation is all that remains today. The Masons left the island in 1831 when a causeway stagnated the water. Aside from a brief period in the Civil War when Union troops were stationed there, the island has been uninhabited since the Masons left. Locals continued to call it "Mason's Island" until the memorial was built there.
The Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Association purchased the 91-acre, wooded island in 1932 with the intention of erecting a memorial honoring Roosevelt. Congress appropriated funds for the memorial in 1960 which was dedicated October 27, 1967. The memorial was designed by Eric Gugler and contains a 17-foot statue by sculptor Paul Manship. The island is now maintained by the National Park Service.
Although the island is technically part of the District of Columbia, it is only accessible by a footbridge near the George Washington Memorial Parkway from Arlington, Virginia. No cars or bicycles are permitted on the island.
Links
National Park Service information (http://www.nps.gov/this/)
Theodore Roosevelt Association (http://www.theodoreroosevelt.org/)
RooseveltIsland, formerly known as Welfare Island, is a narrow island in the East River of New York City.
The RooseveltIsland Day Nursery, a private preschool licensed by the NYC Department of Health and accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, is also located on RooseveltIsland and serves children aged 2 to 5 with part time and full time programs.
RooseveltIsland is the site for the 2005 movie Dark Water where Jennifer Connely moves into a low rent apartment with her daughter and then is terrorized by the ghost of a dead girl that used to live upstairs.
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