“The Other Washington Monument”: Alice Roosevelt Longworth
Alice with her dog Leo in 1902
Alice Roosevelt Longworth was the strong-willed and only daughter of Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt and Teddy Roosevelt. Born on February 12, 1884, both her mother and paternal grandmother died two days after her birth. Her father, President Teddy Roosevelt, was an assemblyman at the time. During his long absences for work, she was raised by her aunt — a woman named Anna Carow. Her father married Edith Carow in 1886 who then raised her and her five half-siblings at Sagamore Hill.
In 1901, Alice made her debut at the White House during her father’s presidency. Her antics were despised by her father and step-mother, but the public adored her. Alice was known to smoke on the roof of the White House, carry a snake in her purse, and bet on horse races. Later in life, she kept a pillow at her tea table that said: “If you can’t say something good about someone, sit right here by me.” The media was fascinated by her free spiritedness and took to calling her “Princess Alice” throughout her life. Teddy Roosevelt spoke of his daughter and famously said “I can be President of the United States or I can attend to Alice. I cannot possibly do both!”
Alice married Nicholas Longworth in 1906 in a White House wedding. Longworth was a Representative from Ohio and 14 years her senior, and their marriage quickly became little more than a political arrangement. Both Nicholas and Alice were known to take on lovers. Alice's most famous lover was the Senator from Idaho, William E. Borah. Nicolas and Alice’s relationship was also rife with alcoholism and gambling as this was the Prohibition Era of American history. The couple crafted their own liquor in their home at DuPont Circle. Alice made her peace with the affairs and other dysfunctions of their marriage, but the couple drifted politically when Alice supported her father’s bid for the presidency as a Progressive in opposition to Nicholas’s Republican Party.
Alice and her husband, Nicholas Longworth, outside the Capitol
In 1925, Nicholas became Speaker of the House and Alice gave birth to her only daughter, Paulina. It is rumored that Paulina’s father was actually Senator Borah, however. Paulina adored Nicholas and never truly recovered from his death in 1931. By the time of his passing, Nicholas had gambled away much of their fortune and Alice found herself in a hard spot, putting their home at DuPont Circle up for sale at one point for $70,000 (nearly $1.3 million in 2021). However, after there were no takers, she stayed there for another 40 years. Tragically, Paulina took her own life at age 31with a toxic combination of medication and alcohol. Alice was entirely distraught but took it upon herself to adopt her granddaughter Joanna, since Paulina’s husband passed away six years prior.
Alice was an outspoken, political woman even before women had the right to vote in the United States. She lobbied against Woodrow Wilson and the League of Nations, using her political prowess to make sure the treaty was struck down. Alice knew every president from Benjamin Harrison to Jimmy Carter and maintained her status, attending White House receptions through 18 administrations. Her quick wit and sharp tongue produced well remembered one-liners that often targeted the sitting president. Not even her cousin Franklin Roosevelt was spared when Alice dubbed him, “two-thirds mush and one-third Eleanor.”
Alice and her daughter, who was two years old at the time
Invites to her home were some of the most coveted in town for decades, but as Alice aged, the state of her home deteriorated and fewer people came to visit. Alice lived until she was 96, passing away on February 20, 1980. Joanna followed her grandmother’s wishes at the time of her passing and buried her in Rock Creek Cemetery without any fanfare.
Alice’s memory lives on as her favorite color, a pale blue-grey, became “Alice Blue” and later inspired the song “In My Sweet Little Alice Blue Gown” in the Joseph McCarthy and Harry Tiereny musical Irene. Her vivacious, strong-willed spirit won her the title of “the other Washington Monument” as she carried the memory of her father and her family, but also ensured her own memory after she passed.
Her home still stands at 2009 Massachusetts Avenue in DuPont Circle and is featured on our newest tour: Millionaires, Mansions, and Moonshine where guests take a step back to the Prohibition era and learn about the prominent DC socialites of the time. Check out that tour and many other tours with Historic America here.