Truman Home Second Floor Photos

The main staircase of 219 North Delaware Street, the Truman Home

NPS, Historic American Buildings project

What is now called the Truman Home was built by Bess Wallace Truman's grandparents, George and Elizabeth Gates, and was completed in 1885. The home itself is in good shape, but quite fragile.

The second floor of the Truman Home is not open to the public. There are several reasons for this:

*When Margaret Truman Daniel agreed to open her family's home to the public, she requested that the tours be of the first floor only. Although Mrs. Daniel died in 2008, we continue to honor her wishes.

*The second floor is not Americans with Disabilities Act accessible for visitors. To make it so it cost prohibitive, and would forever alter the architectural integrity of the building.

*Access to the second floor is by two staircases, which are very fragile and cannot support the stress of tens of thousands of people using them yearly.

*There is no emergency egress on the second floor.

On this page you will see photographs of the second floor taken shortly after the death of Bess Wallace Truman. Many of the objects you see in these photographs remain in place. Some are preserved in an off-site storage facility for their protection.

 

 

Open Transcript 

Transcript

No audio. Silent film.

Duration:

3 minutes, 7 seconds

This black and white silent film shows photographs of the second floor of the Truman Home, using photographs taken shortly after the death of First Lady Bess Wallace Truman. The photographs were taken as part of the National Park Service's "Historic American Building Survey" project.