National Park Service buys 500 Roosevelt heirlooms at auction.(Chicago Tribune)

WASHINGTON_The National Park Service was able to acquire more than 500 rare Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt heirlooms and artifacts at a New York auction this week that the agency feared might disappear into private collections.

"We feel that we did very well," said Bruce McKeeman, deputy superintendent of the Roosevelt National Historic Site in Hyde Park, N.Y., where the objects, pictures and papers will be placed on public view.

More than 3,000 Roosevelt items were sold for $2.7 million during the auction, held Wednesday and Thursday at the New York firm Christie's.

The Park Service and the Franklin Roosevelt Library, also located on the Hyde Park …