Decatur House (Lafayette Square historic residence)

Built in 1818 for naval hero Commodore Stephen Decatur, Decatur House is one of the oldest surviving residences facing Lafayette Square and exemplifies early 19th-century urban domestic architecture. Architectural attribution has often been given to Benjamin Henry Latrobe, but that attribution is disputed among historians. The preserved house now operates as a historic house museum interpreting the domestic life of Washington's elite and the property's connections to slavery and emancipation.