The White House may be the most well-known home in Washington, D.C., but just blocks away from the presidential mansion sits a lesser-known residence with its own unique piece of U.S. history.

The Octagon is an approximately 10,000-square-foot home designed by William Thornton, who served as the first architect of the U.S. Capitol. The building is located at the corner of New York Avenue NW and 18th Street NW in Washington, D.C., and was completed in 1801.

Built as a second residence for Virginia’s prominent Tayloe family, who were friends of George Washington, this more than 200-year-old building gets its name from the distinctive octagonal shape of the main room at the entrance.

Amanda Ferrario, the manager of The Octagon, explains that the house now functions as both a museum and an event space. It is owned and maintained by the Architects Foundation, the philanthropic partner of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

Ferrario describes the house as “the absolute epicenter of all of the activity,” particularly highlighting the lives of enslaved people who lived and worked in the home. “Not only for the enslaved who would live and work here, they were sleeping here. They were working here around the clock, but also in order to operate a house of this caliber,” she adds.

The Octagon also played a significant role in early American history. President James Madison and his wife, Dolley Madison, temporarily relocated to the home after the British burned down the White House in 1814.

Ferrario shares that the rent for their six-month stay was about $6,000. She also reveals why the British spared the home during their invasion. “Mr. Tayloe was quite savvy and invited a French ambassador to stay here,” she says. “He knew that if there was a French flag flying, no one’s going to touch this house.”

As a result, The Octagon was spared from destruction. Dolley Madison even sent over a few of her prized possessions to keep them safe during that tumultuous time.

President Madison used the residence to conduct official business, including signing the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812. He signed the historic document in the home’s circular office, Ferrario told CBS News.

Dolley Madison brought cherished items from the White House, including curtains, silverware, and her pet bird. The former first lady also hosted social gatherings known as “squeezes” in the first-floor sitting room. These events brought together Washington’s elite of the era.

Over the years, The Octagon’s function has evolved. It has served as a Catholic school for girls, a federal office building, and later as tenement housing. Its storied past includes numerous reports of spooky and unexplained events—doors opening, lights flickering, and security alarms going off without explanation have been common occurrences.

“We have an ongoing, I guess it’s kind of an ongoing joke with our security monitoring company that if the security monitors go off on the second or third floor, everything is okay. It’s just our friends playing,” Ferrario humorously remarks.

Ferrario also recalls a chilling experience reported by Jackie Kennedy Onassis, known then as Jackie Bouvier, when she was working for a local newspaper. “She wrote about a time when she came through The Octagon and was standing right where you’re standing,” Ferrario explained to CBS News. “She felt an overwhelming presence and a smell of lilac, which is equated to Dolley [Madison]. What she said was, it was like a former first lady looking over the shoulder of a future first lady.”

Currently, The Octagon is undergoing renovations to become a prominent and cohesive part of the new headquarters for the AIA, set to open later this year. The house will also play a role in America’s 250th Independence celebration after receiving a National Park Service grant for restoration efforts.

Jennifer Calvert Hall, Executive Director of the Architects Foundation, hopes visitors will develop a deep appreciation for the architecture of America’s early history.

“I want them to have this sense of that moment in time where our founding, sort of the people who founded the United States of America, were interested in very progressive ideas, and that those progressive ideas were reflected in its architecture. I want them to feel that,” Calvert Hall said.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-look-inside-the-octagon-one-of-washington-d-c-s-oldest-and-most-haunted-homes/