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.
Start collecting reviews today
Claim your business to immediately update business information, respond to reviews, and more!
This museum was one of the favorites for the kids. Interactive experience with a scavenger hunt for them. Staff was friendly and helpful. If you're 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.
Remarkable space and very old and historic. Don't 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.
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.
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 family's 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.
A little known historic building. Sorry I couldn't 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.
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.
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.
This museum provides a wonderful and unique perspective on the history of DC. It's definitely worth checking out if you're a local or if you're a visiting post-revolutionary war enthusiast!
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!
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.
Historical of course, but did you know. . . . Well I'll just let the Oncall Tour Guide tell you. He was a gentleman and fresh faced with the right information.
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.
Make sure to check out the basement with its slave quarters. It's a fascinating look back at how these men and women lived and worked in this environment and situation.
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!
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.
I'm giving this a 4-star rating only for history buffs. It's a free museum and if you like history, it's worth the visit. It's 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. It's a self-guided tour through three of the four floors and will take you only 20 minutes to see it all.
For those interested in history, a visit will take a few amazing minutes. Inspection of the building alone, without a guide. There are information signs. The museum is open from Thursday to Saturday. We took time out specifically to inspect the building. Despite the fact that the exposure is more than small, this museum is worth a visit.
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 didn't experience anything unusual during our visit.
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.com
