Architects Foundation
Washington D.C., DC
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The Octagon
Washington, DC
Architects Foundation Board statement on The Octagon
The staff and board of the Architects Foundation, owner of The Octagon, want to share the AIA Board statement on systemic racial injustice. As the philanthropic partner of AIA, we agree that systemic racial injustice in any form, whet… Read More
From the beginning, the Octagon was considered one of the city’s finest residences and hosted many luminaries of social and political Washington, including Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Andrew Jackson, and the Marquis de Lafayette. This Peter Waddell painting is a trompe l’oeil of an overmantle mir… Read More
If you visited the Octagon prior to 1995, touring it today, the most obvious difference you’ll see is the color of the walls and the entry hall, the central stairway, and several of the public rooms. Gone are the twilight hues you would have seen a few decades ago; in their place are sunny peach an… Read More
In the early 1800s, the majority of people lived in structures with only two to four rooms; rooms were multi-purpose. For only the wealthiest people, dining rooms became independent rooms in houses and were used only for the serving of food. Matched sets of dishes became fashionable for the first … Read More
Special furniture forms played a role in the taking of meals as well; sideboards served as staging areas for the meal. Balance, an important classical patterning device, was achieved by placing a knife box at either end with decanters, presentation pieces, and serving plates arranged in between. S… Read More
Interior architectural elements of the Federal period give a nod to Classic Greece (see ornamentation at ceiling); popular at this time was the use of Antiquity to call to mind the lofty ideals of classical Rome and Greece and the ideals of republicanism and equality. To this end, columns were used… Read More
The Octagon was constructed between 1799 and 1801. The Tayloe family of Virginia moved into the house in the fall of 1802.
The Octagon was originally constructed to be a winter residence for the Tayloe family, but they lived in the house year-around from 1818-1855. The Octagon property originally… Read More
