Top Cottage was designed and built by FDR in 1938 on a ridge at the eastern end of his family estate overlooking the Hudson River Valley and Catskill Mountains. The retreat offered the President a rare opportunity for privacy and independence, and he used it for entertaining and quiet conversation with friends, members of his administration and Allied leaders. Guests included England’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and Prime Minister Winston Churchill. A National Historic Landmark, Top Cottage was incorporated into the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site and opened to the public in 2001.