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Springtime at The Octagon House

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Best suited for ages 12 and older
Best suited for ages 12 and older
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Best suited for ages 12 and older
Event Description

By purchasing a ticket to a guided tour at The Armour-Stiner Octagon House, you (and your party) agree to WEAR A MASK THAT PROPERLY COVERS NOSE AND MOUTH AT ALL TIMES WHILE INSIDE THE HOUSE. There are no exceptions. Anyone who refuses to wear a mask inside the house will be asked to leave the tour without a refund. The Octagon House remains a private residence and we reserve the right to ask anyone to leave who does not comply with this requirement. Thank you


IRVINGTON-ON-HUDSON, NEW YORK —The Armour-Stiner Octagon House, a registered National Historic Landmark, will be offering a series of guided tours; “Springtime at The Octagon House: Historic Home and Landscape Tour” April 28 through June 27, 2022.  In an approximately one-hour guided tour, guests will experience this whimsical 1872 Summer home and its marvelously intact, 19th-century landscape during the most delightful time of the year.

Created as a whimsical summer retreat in 1872 by tea-importer Joseph Stiner, this National Historic Landmark's shape was based on the theories of Orson Squire Fowler, a phrenologist, who believed octagonal houses enclosed more space, allowed the sun in at all times, and permitted more views into the landscape.


The Armour-Stiner Octagon House and its grounds epitomize the 19th-century fascination with nature, and the desire to live with nature, to bring nature into American lives and homes.  This fascination was encouraged by the writings of AJ Downing, a young and brilliant horticulturist and amateur architect who revolutionized America's gardens and homes in the 19th century. We will see how the Octagon House gardens and architecture took Downing’s philosophy and maximized it to create a one-of-a-kind exemplar of the ethos of romanticism and the picturesque that so imbued this era. 

The tour will include a brief history of specimen plants original to the property, the carefully restored Lord and Burnham greenhouse, the wonderfully romantic foxglove garden, (shaped in the exact size and footprint of the house itself!), and the charming Octagonal birdhouse, (a scaled-down replica of the house).  Visitors will also experience the house’s wrap-around veranda that offers 360-degree views of the lush landscape, as well as particular architectural details which relate specifically to native plants and foliage of the grounds. Finally, the tour will continue inside the house with an interior tour of the first, second and third floors, which retain their magnificent ornamentation and furnishings.  


Please note: The approximately one-hour tour is best suited for ages 12 and up. Parking is free but very limited, we ask that guests arrive no more than 15 minutes prior to the event.  Babies and toddlers (although delightful) are not appropriate to bring along for this tour.

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The Armour-Stiner Octagon House 45 West Clinton Ave
Irvington, NY 10533
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