Home Destinations USA District of Columbia Washington, D.C. Sights Decatur House

Decatur House Review

Read our Washington, D.C. sights reviews. Or post your own.

Decatur House

Address: 748 Jackson Pl. NW, White House area, Washington, DC | Map It
Phone: 202/842-0920
www.decaturhouse.org

Category: Houses/Mansions
Location: White House area

Write a review

Fodor's Review:

Designed by Benjamin Latrobe, Decatur House was built for naval hero Stephen Decatur and his wife, Susan, in 1819. A redbrick Federal-style building on the corner of H Street and Jackson Place, it was the first private residence on Lafayette Square. Decatur had earned the affection of the nation in battles against the British and the Barbary pirates. Planning to start a political career, he used the money Congress awarded him for his exploits to build this home near the White House. Tragically, only 14 months after he moved in, Decatur was killed in a duel with James Barron, a disgruntled former navy officer who held Decatur responsible for his court-martial. Later occupants of the house included Henry Clay, Martin Van Buren, and the Beales, a prominent western family whose modifications of the building include a parquet floor with the state seal of California. The house, now operated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, has a first floor furnished as it was in Decatur's time. The second floor is done in the Victorian style favored by the Beales, who owned it until 1956 (thus making Decatur House both the first and last private residence on the square). The museum shop around the corner (entrance on H Street) sells books, postcards, and gifts.

Many of the row houses along Jackson Place date from the pre-Civil War or Victorian period; even the more modern additions, though—such as those at 718 and 726—are designed to blend with their more historic neighbors. Count Rochambeau, aide to General Lafayette, is honored with a statue at Lafayette Square's southwest corner.

Cost: Free
Open: Tues.-Sat. 10-5, Sun. noon-4; tours every hr at quarter past the hr
Metro: Farragut W

Find more sights in Washington, D.C. »