Octagon house

Octagon houses were a unique house style briefly popular in the 1850s in the United States and Canada. They are characterised by an octagonal (eight-sided) plan, and often feature a flat roof and a veranda all round. Their unusual shape and appearance, quite different from the ornate pitched-roof houses typical of the period, can generally be traced to the influence of one man, amateur architect and lifestyle pundit Orson Squire Fowler. Although there are other octagonal houses worldwide, the term octagon house usually refers specifically to octagonal houses built in North America during this period, and up to the early 1900s.

History

Early examples, before Fowler:

Octagon House (Barrington, Illinois)

The Octagon House, also known as Hawley House, in Barrington, Illinois is a mid-19th century residence listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History and features

The Octagon House is an eight-sided, two-story structure originally intended for residential use. According to the National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form submitted in June 1978, the home was built in or around 1860 by a Mr. Brown, likely Joseph Brown. The structure is entirely wood-framed and covered with clapboards.

The Octagon House's most notable features are the intricately carved and jig-sawed brackets supporting the roof of the porch enclosing the house and similarly detailed screens that cover the foundation from view. Structural members of the house are fastened by hand-forged flat nails and glue. No machined nails were used in the original structure. At the time of its nomination, the house was painted all white; however, its current occupants have since repainted the structure in a combination of yellow, burgundy, and olive.

Octagon House

Octagon House may refer to:

See also