William Thornton Re-examined by Bob Arnebeck

The Doctor Examined, or Why William Thornton Did Not Design the Octagon House or the Capitol by Bob Arnebeck Table of contents Chapter 11: Designing the Octagon Mrs. Thornton by Stuart 1804 Construction of the Octagon continued throughout 1800, but Mrs. Thornton's only description of the house came in her entry for January 7: "a beautiful clear day.... After dinner we walked to take a look at Mr. Tayloe's house which begins to make a handsome appearance." C. M. Harris counts that and the other seven walks in which she mentioned the house, without commenting on its appearance, as evidence that Thornton kept tabs on the house he designed. By the way, the Thorntons would have another reason to walk down New York Avenue toward the Potomac River. They owned lots in the Square 171 just below Square 170 where the Octagon was being built. In the spring, he would have it planted with buckwheat and fenced.(1)   The Octagon in 1807 On January 7, he had a special reas...