The house was the center of official and social life as the home of the Tayloe family. It achieved particular distinction when used as the Executive Mansion by President Madison for more than a year after the burning of the White House by the British in 1814. The building was later used at various times as a Government office building. The Government Hydrographic Office, with its drafting rooms, was located there, and the building was also used for storage. During the 139 years it appears to have suffered little from damage and deterioration. [Illustration: OCTAGON HOUSE] The Octagon House became the home of the American Institute of Architects on January 1, 1899, through the particular efforts of Charles F. McKim, Cass Gilbert, and Frank Miles Day, former presidents of the institute, and complete ownership of the property was acquired in the year 1902. One of its present treasures is the table on which the treaty of Ghent was signed by President Madison. DOLLY MADISON HOUSE The Dolly Madison House, at the corner of H Street and Madison Place NW., adjacent to Lafayette Square, was built by Dolly Madison’s brother-in-law in 1818. [Illustration: DOLLY MADISON HOUSE] After the death of President Madison in 1833 Mrs. Madison returned to Washington and resided in the house until her death in 1849. In her day it was a little gray residence, but a place where she presided as a charming hostess for many years. The purchase by Congress of the Madison Papers for $30,000 made it possible for her to live there. Born in the year 1768, she became intimately acquainted with many who took part in the Revolutionary War, and through her long life linked her generation with that of the present day. Among the men and women of importance who were frequent visitors in her home, who exerted an influence to strengthen the seat of government and became noted characters in American history, were Mr. and Mrs. John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, Mrs. Alexander Hamilton, Mrs. Stephen Decatur, Mrs. William Thornton, Mrs. Tobias Lear, and Gen. John Peter Van Ness. During the Civil War the house was occupied by Gen. George B. McClellan, at that time in command of the Army of the Potomac, and about the year 1885 the house was purchased by the Cosmos Club, which now occupies it. DECATUR HOUSE The Decatur House, located at the corner of H Street and Jackson Place NW., was designed by Benjamin Latrobe and built about 1819 by Commodore Stephen Decatur, it is said, from Barbary pirates’ prize money. [Illustration: DECATUR HOUSE] Scarcely had the house been completed and through the trophies of the naval hero made a place of great interest when, on March 22, 1820, Decatur was mortally wounded in a duel with Commodore James Barron which took place at Bladensburg, Md. Decatur died in his home that night and was buried at Kalorama, a prominent estate in those days in northwest Washington.