In the mid-19th century, eight-sided homes began to pop up across America. These were the idea of Orson Squire Fowler, who was a proponent of phrenology and the author of quite a few books. One of them was A Home for All The Gravel Wall and Octagon Mode of Building, published in 1854. Fowler's ideas included home designs that had plenty of windows, and rooms radiating from a central staircase. A wrap-around porch completes the luxurious look. Many of them were quite beautiful.
One of the best examples of an octagonal house is the Armor-Stiner house in Irvington, New York (shown above). The house built in 1859 is not only octagonal, it has a two-story dome! The Armor-Stiner house was so grand that it was rescued from ruin in the 1970s by the the National Trust for Historic Preservation, who then sold it to a preservationist architect, whose family still lives there. Read the history of America's octagonal houses and take a tour of the Armor-Stiner house at Messy Nessy Chic.
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