The Octagon House, also known as the Colonel John Tayloe III House, is located at 1799 New York Avenue, Northwest in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C. After the British destroyed the White House during the War of 1812, the house served as the temporary residence of James Madison, President of the United States, for a period of six months. It is one of only four houses to serve as the Presidential residence in the history of the United States of America and one of only two (along with the White House) that still stand today.Colonel John Tayloe III, for whom the house was built, was born at Mount Airy – which he later inherited – the colonial estate built by his father, John Tayloe II on the north bank of the Rappahannock River across from Tappahannock, Virginia. By this time it was the centerpiece of a roughly 60,000 acre department of interdependent plantation farms-known as the Mount Airy department, located approximately one hundred miles south of Washington, D.C., in Richmond County, Virginia. He was educated in at Eton College and Cambridge University in England, served in the Virginia state legislature, and ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1800.John Tayloe III married Ann Ogle, daughter of Benjamin Ogle and granddaughter to Samuel Ogle of Ogle Hall Annapolis, Maryland, in 1792 at her familys country home Belair Mansion. Ann was only a year younger than her husband. Tayloe was reputed to be the richest Virginian planter of his time, and built the house in Washington at the suggestion of George Washington on land purchased from Gustavus W. Scott or Benjamin Stoddert, first Secretary of the Navy.[3] The Octagon was originally constructed to be a winter residence for the Tayloe family, but they lived in the house year-round from 1818–1855. The Octagon property originally included a number of outbuildings, including a smokehouse, laundry, stables, carriage house, slave quarters, and an ice house (the only surviving outbuilding). The Tayloes were involved in shipbuilding, horse breeding and racing, and owned several iron foundries—they were fairly diversified for a plantation family. The Tayloes owned hundreds of slaves, and had between 12 and 18 who worked at the Octagon.

This out-of-the-way gem is worth hunting down! I won’t ruin the interesting history of the place; you should go find out for yourself. It is FREE and very kid friendly - not one of those historical homes where every room is roped off. You can touch, sit on, open, and explore pretty much everything. Don’t miss it!

Neat, off-the-beaten path place to visit. Highly recommend this museum. Features a self-guided tour with a hands-on approach. You can lay on the beds, try on a dress or try carrying buckets up the stairs to get a feel for what life was like for some of the inhabitants back then. Supposedly haunted but didnt experience anything unusual during our visit.

Didnt go inside unfortunately so cant comment, but can share a picture.

You can’t get inside White House but you could there. Interesting place. No cover. Not people inside. You can take enough pics. Nice architecture.

Remarkable space and very old and historic. Dont miss the basement kitchen, very progressive for its time. Also, the brick circle in the basement used to be an indoor well, also innovative for the times.

This museum allows a self-guided tour with very detailed, laminated information sheets available to guests in each room. I particularly liked how much design information was explained that highlights the architectural features and finishes information on the home. Fascinating how the architect designed the home to allow for airflow, service stairway to allow the house functions to happen out-of-sight from guests, the best position on the lot to allow natural light to enter important rooms . The museum also highlights the significance of the home, its owners and its guests over the years. Highly recommend stopping in for a step back in time.

Went to my second event here. Found out the cool exhibits and events support diversity scholarships too!!

Historical of course, but did you know. . . . Well Ill just let the Oncall Tour Guide tell you. He was a gentleman and fresh faced with the right information.

Great for a quick and free visit. Very hands on, you can sit and touch the furniture. Each room has an information sheet hanging on the door to help with your self guided tour.

Well, I would love to give this place a proper review as we took a group of students to view and tour the museum but unfortunately when we arrived, there was a handwritten note saying the museum was not open as there was a board meeting. We had called ahead if time to confirm hours and had even checked the website the night before just to confirm it was open and operating. There were about 30 of us, including a few other groups who had come and everyone was very upset and disappointed. Be careful and call the day before to confirm they will be open.

I would not call the house a museum. It was historic and very small. Its worth seeing but would be low on the list in DC

This museum was one of the favorites for the kids. Interactive experience with a scavenger hunt for them. Staff was friendly and helpful. If youre looking for an obscure museum with a rich history that was very important to the history of the United States, this is the place for you. The Treaty of Ghent that ended the war of 1812 was signed in this house. The 5th President of the United States James Madison lived there after the British burned the white house.

Loved this little museum. So much history wrapped up in a little house. Was worth the walk.

Im giving this a 4-star rating only for history buffs. Its a free museum and if you like history, its worth the visit. Its one of the oldest homes in DC and this is where the White House was set up after the White House burned down in the War of 1812. Its a self-guided tour through three of the four floors and will take you only 20 minutes to see it all.

Grew up in DC but never knew about this gem. I knew the white house burned down but had no idea this was where the President lived till the new house was up and running. This museum is very interactive and gives a great representation of what it would be like to live there back in the day. It is filled with neat replicas and very cool architecture!

The scavenger hunt was a huge hit with my elementary school aged kids. The exhibits helped to facilitate good discussions about slavery with my little kids and teens alike.

A little known historic building. Sorry I couldnt get in to look at the interior (Sunday). Just glad to get some nice photos and to be able to tell others about the part it played in American history.

Ducked in here with my family one day just to get out of the heat, and we all had an amazing time checking out this museum. Super quirky and interesting place to visit.

The Octagon House, also known as the Colonel John Tayloe III House, is located at 1799 New York Avenue, Northwest in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Colonel John Tayloe III, for whom the house was built, was born at Mount Airy – which he later inherited – the colonial estate built by his father, John Tayloe II on the north bank of the Rappahannock River across from Tappahannock, Virginia. By this time it was the centerpiece of a roughly 60,000 acre department of interdependent plantation farms-known as the Mount Airy department, located approximately one hundred miles south of Washington, D.C., in Richmond County, Virginia. He was educated in at Eton College and Cambridge University in England, served in the Virginia state legislature, and ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1800.John Tayloe III married Ann Ogle, daughter of Benjamin Ogle and granddaughter to Samuel Ogle of Ogle Hall Annapolis, Maryland, in 1792 at her familys country home Belair Mansion. Ann was only a year younger than her husband. Tayloe was reputed to be the richest Virginian planter of his time, and built the house in Washington at the suggestion of George Washington on land purchased from Gustavus W. Scott or Benjamin Stoddert, first Secretary of the Navy.[3] The Octagon was originally constructed to be a winter residence for the Tayloe family, but they lived in the house year-round from 1818–1855. The Octagon property originally included a number of outbuildings, including a smokehouse, laundry, stables, carriage house, slave quarters, and an ice house (the only surviving outbuilding). The Tayloes were involved in shipbuilding, horse breeding and racing, and owned several iron foundries—they were fairly diversified for a plantation family. The Tayloes owned hundreds of slaves, and had between 12 and 18 who worked at the Octagon.

Cute little spot with great history!

A small but cool museum. You can finish browsing through the whole thing in 30 minutes. If you are too tired walking outside with the heat waves, visit this place as a cool break.

Octagon maintained by AIA and others is a glimpse of early Washington and had minimal renovation in the last 100+ years but it was painted nice colors in 2017.

An interesting landmark. Great to see the many phases of construction styles too. Historical indeed.

Such history and beauty!

Nothing fancy but still a nice little museum.

This house has a ton of history. Tours are self guided. Very worth the visit although not ADA friendly. Just a few blocks from the metro.

A hidden treasure, especially if you like presidential trivia and seeing behind the walls of old buildings.

Free admission and fabulous architecture! A must-see, and right near the White House.

Love the architecture and the history but wish the politically correct tone was shifted to include ALL the history. I never did learn much about the actual family that built it.

Very nice piece of history. Off the beaten path

This museum provides a wonderful and unique perspective on the history of DC. Its definitely worth checking out if youre a local or if youre a visiting post-revolutionary war enthusiast!

Beautiful architectural exhibit behind a refeshingly peaceful garden.

Make sure to check out the basement with its slave quarters. Its a fascinating look back at how these men and women lived and worked in this environment and situation.

Repairing the steam line to the museum

I had really hoped to learn more about octagons.

Amazing Small hidden treasure of architectural history in America and Washington DC

Nice place!

A delight. Quick tour.

Cool place to check out after the major museums

Yeah... for preserving history

One of the oldest houses in DC.

The staircase are amazing

The house served as the temporary White House after the British attack on September 24th 1814 when the White House and US Capitol where burned.

Kg ah

I heard this place was haunted.

Great history

Very cool tour.

Excellent