The Octagon House

About

One of the oldest buildings in DC, temporary White House for the Madisons from 1814 to 1815, and headquarters of AIA from 1898 to 1970.

Story

Completed in 1801 for John Tayloe III of Mount Airy, VA and his wife Ann Ogle Tayloe, and designed by William Thornton, the original architect of the U.S. Capitol, the Octagon is one of the most significant and elegant buildings to remain standing from the early federal city. The Octagon served as the temporary White House for the Madisons after the British burned Washington in 1814 during the War of 1812.

After the Tayloe family moved out in 1855, the house served as a girls' school, the offices of the US Hydrographic Office, an a tenement apartment building. Finally, in 1898, the American Institute of Architects selected the building to be their national headquarters, and they continued to use the building as such until 1970.

Today, the Octagon is operated as a museum by the AIA Foundation, and features guided and self-guided tours, changing exhibitions, and public programing.