Tickets to the 1937 Inauguration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Following yesterday’s festivities in Washington, D. C., we felt it might be nice to share with you a piece of presidential inaugurations past. Shown below is a ticket to the 1937 inauguration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, his second inauguration, and the accompanying invitation to meet with Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.

From the Frank A. Daniels Papers (SHC Collection #4481, finding aid):

Inauguration tickets from 1937
Invitation to meet the Roosevelts
Invitation to meet the Roosevelts

10 thoughts on “Tickets to the 1937 Inauguration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt”

  1. I am in possession of two tickets to the 1937 inauguration. One was used and one was not. They look absolutely nothing like the ones shown on this site.

    The ones I have show photos of the President and Vice President on the front of the ticket. What’s the difference between the ones I have and the one shown here?

    The ticket stub says, ” This ticket will not be honored if sold or offered for resale at more than the price hereon, or if otherwise used contrary to the conditions under which it was accepted by the original purchaser.
    It is suggested that the larger portion of this ticket be retained as a souvenir of the first inaugural ever to e held on January twentieth.”

    The back states “North side of Penns. Ave. between Madison Place & 15th St. Stand 7 Gate 8 Sec. M, Row 6, Seat 25. On the larger portion it says “Inauguration of the President and Vice President of the United States. Washington, D.C. January 20, 1937. Admit One. $6.00 Tax Exempt.”

    Just curious.

  2. Hi Bonnie,

    That’s a great question. I’m certainly no expert on presidential memorabilia, but I can offer up some additional info based on my little bit of extra sleuthing.

    I have a feeling that the differences in our tickets would be attributed to the location that the ticket bearer would have been sitting (or standing). The ticket which we posted here belonged to Frank A. Daniels and admitted him to sit in “Section C of the Inaugural Platform,” close to the President. I suspect that Daniels obtained this VIP ticket because of his family connections.

    Frank A. Daniels was the son of Josephus Daniels (1862-1948) who was Secretary of the Navy under Woodrow Wilson. Actually, Franklin Roosevelt served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy under Josephus Daniels.

    The tickets that you have sound really wonderful and even more graphically interesting than those posted here. My best guess is that the person carrying the tickets you have would have been seated down the National Mall quite a bit, towards the Washington Monument. Note the Google Map below (area around Madison and 15th St.):

    http://tinyurl.com/leq38u

    I hope this helps! If you are interested in learning more about these tickets you may want to consider contacting the folks at the Roosevelt Presidential Library:

    http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/

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