Private Events
Host Your Event Where the West Still Feels Wide Open
Perched above the Little Missouri River on the edge of the North Dakota Badlands, the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library offers a setting unlike anywhere else in the country. Designed by Snøhetta and built into the landscape that shaped a president, the Library is a place where architecture, history, and the American West come together — and where your guests will remember the night long after they've left.
Most venues are a room. This is a place.
The Library sits on a butte in Medora, the frontier town where a young Theodore Roosevelt rebuilt himself after tragedy and left with the convictions that would define his presidency. Our participants walk the same horizon he did. Your guests will, too.
Inside, light pours through expanses of glass framing the Badlands. Outside, terraces open onto one of the most dramatic landscapes in North America. Whether you're planning a conference dinner, a wedding, a product launch, or a private gathering, the setting does work no ballroom can.
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Auditorium
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Pre-Function Space
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The architecture. Snøhetta's design weaves the building into the land itself — a grass roof you can walk across, materials drawn from the region, and sightlines that never let you forget where you are.
The galleries. Rent the Library after hours and your guests move through exhibits that tell one of the great American stories, with Roosevelt's own voice, artifacts, and ideas as the backdrop to cocktails and conversation.
The landscape. Sunset over the Badlands is not a detail. It's the headline.
The town. Medora is a place people remember. Wooden sidewalks, a working ranch country just beyond, and a sense that you've traveled somewhere — not just gone somewhere.
Events We Host
The Library is a natural fit for organizations that want their people to step out of the ordinary and into a place with real gravity.
- Board retreats and leadership offsites — Private conference space, galleries that prompt conversation about courage, conservation, and long-term thinking, and a location remote enough that phones genuinely go down
- Incentive trips and client experiences — Reward your top performers or clients with an itinerary that pairs the Library with horseback rides through the Badlands, Medora's historic Main Street, and dinners with sunset views
- Product launches and brand activations — Architectural spaces that photograph beautifully and tell a story about ambition, legacy, and the American West
- Annual meetings and company milestones — A setting that signals to your team and shareholders that this moment matters
Ask us about pairing meetings with curator-led tours, guest speakers drawn from the Roosevelt scholarly community, or private after-hours access to the galleries.
Couples who choose the Library are choosing a place — the mesa, the horizon, the sense of occasion that comes with a building built into the land.
- Ceremonies — Indoor and outdoor options, including terrace spaces that overlook the Little Missouri River and the Badlands beyond
- Receptions — Seated dinners and cocktail receptions in galleries and event spaces most guests will only ever see once
- Rehearsal dinners and welcome events — Smaller, intimate gatherings the night before
- Anniversary and milestone celebrations — Significant birthdays, vow renewals, and the kind of gathering you want people to remember
We work with a curated list of regional caterers, florists, and planners who know the Library and know Medora.
The Library is designed for convenings — groups that come together around ideas, civic purpose, and shared mission. Roosevelt's legacy as a conservationist, reformer, and public servant makes this a meaningful backdrop for the organizations carrying that work forward.
- Conferences and symposia — Plenary spaces, breakout rooms, and galleries that can anchor a multi-day program
- Galas and fundraising dinners — A setting that helps your supporters understand why their investment matters
- Donor recognition and stewardship events — Private access, curator engagement, and programming tailored to your organization's mission
- Policy convenings and summits — A non-partisan venue grounded in civic tradition, well-suited to substantive, cross-perspective conversation
Associations and foundations working in conservation, public service, education, and civic engagement find natural alignment here.
Some of our most memorable events are the smallest. The Library can be reserved for intimate gatherings in spaces designed to feel singular — a dinner in a gallery after hours, cocktails on a terrace as the light drops behind the Badlands, a reception in an architectural space most visitors only glimpse.
- Private dinners — Seated experiences for groups from 12 to 60
- Cocktail receptions — Standing gatherings that use the building and the landscape as the evening's centerpiece
- Welcome receptions and pre-event gatherings — For groups in town for a larger conference, wedding, or family event
- Founders, trustees, and benefactor gatherings — Stewardship experiences for the people closest to your organization
Not Seeing Your Event?
If what you're planning doesn't fit a standard category, ask us anyway. We've hosted everything from film crews to foundation boards to family reunions, and the most memorable events are often the ones that started with a planner saying I'm not sure if this is possible, but…
What's Included
Every event at the Library includes access to our professional events team, a curated list of preferred caterers and regional partners, and the option to add guided exhibit experiences, curator-led tours, or programming drawn from the Roosevelt collection.
We'll help you build something your guests haven't done before.
We know Medora is a journey. That's part of what makes an event here memorable — your guests arrive having traveled somewhere, and they leave having experienced something. Our events team works with local hotels, transportation providers, and regional partners to make the logistics seamless, so the only thing your guests have to think about is the view.
Host Your Event Where the West Still Feels Wide Open
From intimate dinners to corporate retreats to weddings under the Badlands sky, every event at the Library is custom. Tell us what you're planning and we'll build it around you.