WASHINGTON, D.C. — October 9, 2026 — The Architects Foundation has received $750,000 from the National Park Service Semiquincentennial Grant Program to support fire and life-safety improvements at The Octagon, one of the nation’s most architecturally and historically significant Federal-era buildings and a National Historic Landmark.
This is the second consecutive year The Octagon has received funding through the program. The new award follows $749,723 granted in 2025 for structural stabilization, bringing total grant support to nearly $1.5 million. The work will help secure The Octagon’s long-term future as an active museum.
“Fire is among the greatest threats to a historic house like The Octagon,” said Jennifer Calvert Hall, Executive Director of the Architects Foundation. “This grant brings modern fire and life-safety systems into a building that has stood for more than 225 years, protecting the house and the people who visit it. We are grateful to the National Park Service for its continued investment in The Octagon.”
Created by Congress to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary, the National Park Service Semiquincentennial Grant Program supports restoration and preservation at sites and structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Octagon Rehabilitation Phase II is supported in part by a grant from the Historic Preservation Fund, administered by the National Park Service and the U.S. Department of the Interior. Funding comes from Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas lease revenue, not tax dollars.
About The Octagon
Designed by Dr. William Thornton, architect of the U.S. Capitol, and built between 1799 and 1801, The Octagon became the official residence of President James Madison and First Lady Dolley Madison after the White House burned during the War of 1812. Madison signed the Treaty of Ghent in the house’s second-floor study in February 1815, ending the war. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) purchased The Octagon in 1902 to serve as its headquarters. Its comprehensive rehabilitation was one of the first major preservation projects in the United States, establishing important precedents for historic building conservation.
About the Architects Foundation
Architects Foundation inspires and empowers the next generation of designers and the communities they serve. The Foundation awards national scholarships and global fellowships, funds pro bono design help for communities through Communities by Design, and stewards The Octagon on the AIA Global Campus for Architecture & Design in Washington, D.C. Learn more at architectsfoundation.org.
Media Contact
Olivia Hutto
Senior Manager of Development & Marketing
oliviahutto@aia.org | 202-626-7455
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