Second Floor Parlor in Decatur House

This photograph of Decatur House's second floor parlors was taken by Bruce White for the White House Historical Association on January 12, 2012. To the left of the picture is a pier mirror marble table, in the upper center is a chandelier, and to the right is the painting, Diana and Her Handmaidens along with a Steinway piano. Decatur House was designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, the architect of the Capitol and several other famous buildings, for Commodore Stephen Decatur and his wife, Susan. Tragically, in 1820 Stephen Decatur was mortally wounded during a duel and his widow Susan subsequently rented out the house to foreign ministers and several secretaries of state. The house was eventually sold and passed through several hands, including the Gadsby family, the U.S. Subsistence Bureau, and the Beale family. Marie Ogle Beale, a society maven and the last owner left the house to National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1961. In 2010, the White House Historical Association and National Trust entered into co-stewardship arrangement and the house now serves as the David M. Rubenstein National Center for White House History.