The Mansion on O St, near Dupont Circle in Washington DC, was founded by H.H. Leonards-Spero and opened on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 1980. The house itself boasts “over 100 rooms and 70 secret doors” spread throughout four maze-like floors. Part of this elaborate layout is due to the strange design of the mansion, which is not a mansion at all, but actually four row houses opened to one another and turned into one elaborate hotel/museum/private club.
Though a few items are part of the O Mansions “permanent collection,” for the most part every item of which there are many thousands piled throughout the mansion – many of which are acquired from local junk shops and garages sales – in each themed room is for sale, including the thousands of books on the numerous floor to ceiling bookcases.
Because the Mansion also functions as a hotel not all rooms will necessarily be open to the public at the time of your visit, even so, a self-guided tour of the house can still take hours. Each themed room – some themes include a log cabin room, the french renaissance room, and the billiards room – contains hundreds of pieces of art, books, and other “treasures” to examine and ponder. The mansion also includes also a large amount of Beatles and John Lennon memorabilia, including a Sgt. Peppers jukebox in the John Lennon Room.” Perhaps the best room in the hotel is the penthouse which has a somewhat seventies theme and features a large wooden hot tub that has its own private elevator, and which has its own private elevator.
The Mansion on O & O Street Museum also features concerts, private dining, receptions, weddings, Mitzvahs, meetings and events, as well as their popular tours and Treasure Hunts, all of which must be booked online. The O Mansion is open to the public daily for tours from 11-5pm, based on availability, with the last tour starting at 3pm. Online reservations are required.
