Decatur House

Definitely consider this beautiful site for your wedding. We had our wedding here in August… an absolutely stunning venue in a beautiful neighborhood across from the White House and at the edge of a lovely park. We had our wedding vows ceremony and dance outside in the courtyard and the dinner inside in the carriage house. A lovely setting, sophisticated and the folks there are helpful are responsive to your concerns. Just a heads up: The only reason I noted four stars rather than five is the requirement that you use Sugarplum Tent company for the outdoor space if any tent at all is to be used. It is especially pricey and I would you suggest that before you make a booking at Decatur House you explore the full price of using the facility with a tent (if this is a need). The tent price for us increased the «venue price» by more than 70%…something that caught us off guard.

This place is closed to the public. My tour book had it listed as a place to visit. I found the Decatur House gift shop and went in and was told I was in the right place but that the house itself wasn’t open to the public. Was it recently closed to the public or was the person at the gift shop BSing me? She seemed nice and I don’t think she was joking… I think it really was closed. Either way, this place sucks because all you can do is take photos from the outside.

I was here for a catering tasting for my upcoming wedding. This is a beautiful historic venue that would make for an awesome event locale. We spent most of our time in the tented area in the back but from what I saw the space was lovely and the staff really nice.

Think twice before you get married here. They have a small clause in the contract that says you HAVE TO use Sugarplum tent company. They know they have you and are completely unhelpful, they insist their prices are discounted but they are not. Still a nice place to get married, just plan on a few more $k out the door and lots of frustration.

A friend of mine and I went to Jazz on Jackson Place at the Decatur House last week. We bought tickets in advance and were able to walk right into the tent. The live music was nice, and the appetizers were pretty good. A waiter even came over to our seats and offered us mini cupcakes while we were chatting. However, it was extremely hot that day, so the tent could have benefited from a couple of fans to keep everyone cool — especially considering this was a pretty old crowd. Which brings me to my point: this event is definitely for an older (50 – 70) demographic, apart from the flirty/​slightly creepy old men who perhaps were just pleased to see a couple of 30-​somethings there.
I’m glad we checked it out, and decided the jazz reception wasn’t really our thing. The venue is beautiful though, and I wouldn’t rule out going to a different event at some point in the future.

Very nice house and tour — I enjoyed this place, and would like to go back again!

This was my final stop in the day after doing Daughters of the American Revolution and then lunch at Heidi’s deli.
The place is under major renovation which was both cool and frustrating at the same time. There isn’t a lot of furniture so somethings are hard to picture, but at the same time, it’s kinda neat to see some of the walls ripped out exposing underlying brick, or to see the ten layers of paint that they have been applied over the past 200 years. It’s quite complicated in the center– it has three staircases!
Apparently they also do events there because there was a tent set up and a chef hard at work on some food. I found it odd timing for an event given all the construction (I mean some of the rooms were just NOT pretty.) but the garden outside was beautiful and totally worthy of hosting an event.
I learned a lot about the history of DC through this house– urban slavery conditions, encroaching urban sprawl and the famous guests it hosted given its proximity to the White House. I highly recommend this for native DC people (and by «native» I mean someone like me who has been living here for 7 years) who want to get into closer touch with their city.

The Decatur House, a townhouse, is one of the oldest surviving homes in the city. It was finished in the early 1800’s for a naval hero Stephen Decatur and his wife. After he did, the many U.S. American and foreign states people lived here. It was quite popular due to how close it is to the White House.
The most significant exhibit is one of D.C.‘s remaining slave quarters. It was where enslaved people worked and loved. One of the persons enslaved here, Charlotte Dupuy, filed a lawsuit petitioning for the freedom of herself her two children. Unfortunately, she was denied but she did gain freedom when she moved to another state.
*Spooky Alert*: The Decatur House is regarded as D.C.‘s Washington’s most haunted house due to unexplained sightings and events that have happened here. Oo ee oo. Mr. Decataur’s ghost has reportedly been sighted at the house.