Picnic Fireplace

NPS Photo

This fireplace was constructed on the picnic lawn in 1933. Nancy Cook prepared simple sketches from which Henry Toombs, architect of the cottage at Val-Kill, made final drawings. Made from local fieldstone, it has five feet of grilling length with warming shleves on either side. The fireplace was an important and central feature to the many picnics hosted by the Roosevelts at Val-Kill, including FDR's annual picnic for the press, ER's annual picnic for the boys at the Wyltwick School, and holiday gatherings for the large Roosevelt family.