The historic Octagon House, also known as the Colonel John Tayloe III House, is located one block from the White House on New York Avenue in Washington D.C.  It was designed by William Thornton, the first architect of the US Capitol, and built between 1798 and 1800.  John Tayloe was one of the richest plantation owners of the time and built the Washington house at the suggestion of George Washington.  In 1814 Tayloe offered the use of his home to President James Madison and his wife Dolley, for a temporary "Executive Mansion" after the British burned the White House.  Indeed, Madison used the house's circular room as a study and signed the Treaty of Ghent there, which established Peace with Great Britain. 

The Tayloe's sold the house in 1855.  It was used as a hospital during the Civil War and as an apartment building after the war.  The three-story house was built on an irregular shaped lot and departed from the traditional late Georgian and early Federal houses that were the norm in Washington. 

In 1899 the Octagon House became the home of the American Institute of Architects.  Since then it has undergone extensive renovation to restore it to the original period appearance.  It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960.  Today the house is the oldest museum in the U.S. dedicated to architecture and design and serves as a reminder of the great beauty of early American design and the lasting value of architectural excellence.

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The Octagon house is reported to be the most haunted home in D.C.  There is some evidence that the walled back yard may have served as a slave market and it has been established that the rear of the building did indeed house the family's slaves.  Apparitions have been reported in the garden area in the rear.  They are announced by the ringing of bells.  Two of Colonel Tayloe's daughters are said to haunt the house.  One died by falling down the stairs after a quarrel with her father.  "She" has been seen crumpled at the bottom of the stairs, on the second floor landing near the stairs, and as a candle moving up the staircase.  The other daughter haunts the third floor landing and the stairs between the second and third floors.  These apparitions have been reported by members of the public, curators of the museum, and other employees of the museum.