Original Glass and Bronze Doorknob

This photograph of a glass and bronze doorknob original to Decatur House was taken by Bruce White for the White House Historical Association on September 2, 2015. Completed in 1818, Decatur House was the third building on Lafayette Square and its first private residence. It 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 Decatur subsequently rented out the house to foreign ministers and several secretaries of state.