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Ed O'Keefe

@edwardokeefe

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CEO @trlibrary + author, “The Loves of Theodore Roosevelt”; 📕 tour updates —www.edwardfokeefe.com; formerly @shorensteinctr @cnn, @nowthis, @abcnews

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Edward F. O’Keefe (@edwardokeefe) writes about Edith Roosevelt and a First Lady who reshaped both the White House and the way power moved through it. She oversaw the creation of the West Wing, expanded its social operation and became one of Theodore Roosevelt’s closest advisers.

Her influence came through proximity and judgment, and through a president who often listened, though not always.

Read the full piece at the link in our bio.

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Inside Look: Creating the Multi-Surface “Legacy” Experience at @trlibrary

As the final site-specific media piece and emotional anchor of the presidential library, we realized early on that Legacy carried an enormous responsibility. The installation’s design offered two unique projection surfaces: a sweeping 25-foot-wide movie screen and a massive wood slab cut from a copper beech tree Roosevelt planted in 1895.

As something planted in Roosevelt’s lifetime that had endured into our own, we immediately recognized the tree as a physical expression of TR’s legacy. In our film, tree rings animate to become timelines and archival images emerge from the wood’s surface as ghostly visions from the past.

On the sweeping movie screen, we combined present day imagery with thoughtful narration, using Roosevelt’s own words from various speeches, letters, and writings to shape the farewell address that he never was able to give. A diverse group of American luminaries including @oprah, @jonbatiste , @joebiden, and @georgewbush narrates Roosevelt’s words with renewed meaning.

Together, the tree, the archive, and those modern voices transform Roosevelt’s legacy from a fixed memory into a living challenge to citizenship, service, and action.

Directors: @skleinstudio & @tommason
Executive Creative Direction: @futureofstorytelling
Exhibit Design: @local_projects
Producer: @stevenjholloway
Cinematography & Editing: Tom Mason
Animation: @phlea.tv
VFX Compositing: @thehotspring
Colorist: Stephen Derluguian
Re-Recording Mix: @chobanstagram
A/V: @electrosonic.av & @scalabledisplay
Exhibit Fabrication & Installation: @dimensional_innovations

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The board and staff of The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library carried TR’s spirit from start to finish.

Dare greatly: They ran a three stage international design competition at the absolute height of the pandemic, coaxing design teams out to the wilds of the North Dakota Badlands. As if that was not daring enough they set a must hit opening date of July 4, 2026, less than six years for design and construction.

Think Boldly: They fully embraced the idea that the library was for all. That most of the building and landscape - like the cool shade of the breezeway captured here - can be experienced without the purchase of a ticket. That a hike, a book in a rocking chair, an ascent up the roof, or a seat at the restaurant were as presidential an experience as the story-telling exhibits and artifacts. Public focused thinking that prioritizes humane and common over grand and elite.

Care Deeply: They put the community and the state of North Dakota in the foreground, and ensured they lived up to their promises by engaging existing businesses and traditions, embracing local materials and craft, and filling staff roles with regional talent. They actively address the challenging parts of TR without lionizing him, setting trust and space for healing and discourse. They’ve committed fully to the highest standards for ecological stewardship, and are on track to achieve the full living building certification as a result.

Live Passionately: Each member of the owner team was dedicated completely to delivery of the project: long days and nights traveling, working through challenges, and celebrating. All along the way, there were too many toasts to count, real gratitude, constant kindness, a can-do North Dakota spirit, and a I Like Big Things opening party to end all openings!

Cheers to you, Ed, Allison, Robbie, Courtland, Ken, Tony, Jenn, Candace, Amy, Glenn, Sue, Kristie, Alyssa, Matt, Dan, Nicole, Chris, Addison, Cora, Marcie, and the full foundation board and staff past and present.

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Wonderful to celebrate the grand opening of @trlibrary and the legacy of a man who loved North Dakota, nature, and wide open places. “There can be no greater issue than that of conservation in this country.” -Theodore Roosevelt

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Two hundred and fifty years ago, a handful of people bet everything on an idea. They didn’t get it perfect, but they got it started, and it’s been ours to carry ever since.

Theodore Roosevelt put it best: It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly. That’s America’s story in one line. Not a finished monument, but a work still being done, by people still willing to show up for it.

Here’s to 250 years in the arena. Here’s to the next 250.

I could not have imagined a better place to celebrate America today than in Medora, ND for the Grand Opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. TR came to North Dakota to somehow cope with unimaginable grief and he emerged a future U.S. President.

Thank you to my mom, Teri, for joining me out here and supporting my work as Chair of the Grand Opening Committee of the Board of Trustees. Thank you to my fearless colleagues Ben Plumer and Liam Loughlin for joining me on the trek out West. Thank you to Hilary Hamm for inviting me to join the Board of Trustees of the Theodore Presidential Library. A huge congratulations to @edwardokeefe and @robbielauf3 and the entire TR Library team. I also loved watching Stephanie Condello show me once again why she is the best in the business and to see the DuFour team in action. H/T to Tim Tripepi for his flawless protocol work. Happy 4th of July! 🇺🇸 📸: @leighvogel #america250 #theodoreroosevelt #theodorerooseveltpresidentiallibrary #TR250

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🇺🇸A very special 4th of July at the grand opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in North Dakota - including an interview with Roosevelt’s great and great great grandsons 🇺🇸

#disneycelebratesamerica

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The Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library officially opens today in the Badlands on the 250th birthday of the U.S.A. The design started with a phone call chatting about concepts with Craig Dykers while we were all working from home in the early summer of 2020. I was at my workshop in Queens and quickly made this small concept model. The model ended up being the driver for the design. I call the building A Layer in the Badlands.

The library is located in the small town of Medora, North Dakota. It's not easy to get to but worth the trip.

Project photos by @nic.lehoux

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Yesterday was one of the most meaningful and joyful days of my life. We dedicated the Gershman Overlook at the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, @trlibrary, opening this weekend, a true testament to my parents’ lives, work, and dedication to service above all.

The Overlook is, to my eyes, one of the most breathtaking places I’ve ever seen - an infinity loop that millions of visitors will walk, with ever-changing perspectives and levels, a pause, an opportunity for sheer, quiet awe.

I’ve known @edwardokeefe, the visionary CEO of the @trlibrary and actual reason this monumental museum exists, my entire life. Eddie, thank you for this gift to our beloved home state, thank you for giving the Gershman family this beautiful opportunity to support the mission and be a part of her history, thank you for marrying @allisonokeefe so I can love her, and thank you for being my life long friend. I love you.

I couldn’t be prouder to be my parents’ daughter, they are the two most extraordinary examples of community and service.

And folks: I don’t have words for the @trlibrary. It’s more than a museum. It’s a fully experiential and immersive space that truly rises to the example of integrity, honor, conservation, community, progressivism, and hope that Teddy Roosevelt embodied. You must must go. @snohetta: otherworldly.

(Seventh pic: Wiz and me with Ted Roosevelt V!!)

Thx for @leighvogel at @gettyimages for so many of these shots.

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The bison and the Badlands once drew Teddy Roosevelt to North Dakota. Now, a new presidential library rises in the distance on the same rugged lands. Here’s a longer look at our tour from our story on @erinburnettoutfront. 🎥: @davidvonblohn @_jjsimon_

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Rough Riders

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An amazing opening to the TR Library in North Dakota. Congrats to @edwardokeefe on a truly GRAND opening!

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