The Octagon Hotel is one of the only hotel building types with an octagon form of its kind. The building gained added fame as a location that Theodore Roosevelt visited during his campaign for Governor. He also gave a speech from here in 1907 while President of the U.S. By 2008, however, the building was in poor condition. The owners wanted to tear it down and build a replica. What followed was an effort by preservation advocates, led by the Oyster Bay Main Street Association to assess the feasibility for the rehabilitation of the building. An over $2 million dollar rehabilitation followed, bringing much needed new housing and commercial space to the Hamlet of Oyster Bay.
Timeline
- March 2008, efforts to rehabilitate the Octagon Hotel begin when an article comes out announcing possible demolition
- August 2008, Gerry Charitable Trust makes offer of $10,000 to assist the Oyster Bay Main Street Association with pre-development.
- November 9, 2008, report titled Preserving the Octagon Hotel: Summary Report Findings and Observations completed by Stephen Tilly Architect
- March 12, 2009, engineering report of existing conditions of Octagon Hotel completed by Old Structures, an engineering firm from New York City.
- October 2009, Melissa Umberger completes research document The Octagon Hotel 1851-2009: An Analysis of Historic Preservation and Adaptive Reuse