Octagon buildings and structures are characterized by an octagonal plan form, whether a perfect geometric octagon or a regular eight-sided polygon with approximately equal sides. The oldest known octagon-shaped building is the

Tower of the Winds The Tower of the Winds or the Horologion of Andronikos Kyrrhestes is an octagonal Pentelic marble clocktower in the Roman Agora in Athens that functioned as a ''horologion'' or "timepiece". It is considered the world's first meteorological stati ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, Greece, which was constructed circa 300 B.C.

Octagon house Octagon houses were a unique house style briefly popular in the 1850s in the United States and Canada. They are characterised by an octagonal (eight-sided) plan, and often feature a flat roof and a veranda all round. Their unusual shape and app ...

s were popularized in the United States in the mid-19th century and there are too many to list here, see instead

List of octagon houses This is a list of octagon houses. The style became popular in the United States and Canada following the publication of Orson Squire Fowler's 1848 book ''The Octagon House, A Home for All''. In the United States, 68 surviving octagon houses ar ...

. There are also octagonal houses built in other times and cultures. Below is a list of octagonal buildings and structures worldwide, excluding

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

s and

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called windmill sail, sails or blades, specifically to mill (grinding), mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and ...

Australia

* The office pods of Callam Offices in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

* Chinaman's Hat an octagonal gazebo-like structure in the South Channel of Port Phillip Bay, Victoria. * The Octagon Theatre at the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

. * The old site of Hotel Saville in

South Yarra, Melbourne South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a popul ...

, now unofficially referred to as The Blocktagon, which was renovated into a residential dwelling made up of six octagonal apartments during the eleventh season of reality show '' The Block''. * Nauru House 80 Collins St, Melbourne, Vic

Canada

Huron Historic Gaol-Huron County Gaol- Goderich-Ontario-12027-20220901

At least 19 historic octagon houses are known to exist in Canada distributed across 4 eastern provinces. For a list of these houses, See:

. In Canada, the octagon house craze also engendered an octagonal deadhouse phenomenon. This included octagonal deadhouses, pre-burial edifices, built in the mid to late 1800s along

Yonge Street Yonge Street (; pronounced "young") is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. Once the southernmost leg of provincial Hi ...

in south-central Ontario, from just north of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

. *

Bastion A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...

Nanaimo, British Columbia * Chapel at Dundurn, Hamilton, Ontario * Miscou Island Lighthouse – strategic

Baie des Chaleurs frame, Satellite image of Chaleur Bay (NASA). Chaleur Bay is the large bay in the centre of the image; the Gaspé Peninsula is to the north and the Gulf of St. Lawrence is seen to the east.">Gulf_of_St._Lawrence.html" ;"title="Gaspé Peninsula ...

octagonal colonial

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

* Huron County Gaol – distinctive octagonal jail design, 1839–41 *

Pachena Point Light Pachena Point Lighthouse is located on Vancouver Island, south of Bamfield, British Columbia, in Pacific Rim National Park. The octagonal wooden tower is maintained by the Canadian Coast Guard who employ lighthouse keepers at the station. Keepe ...

on Vancouver Island, British Columbia
Speedside United Church
in

Centre Wellington, Ontario Centre Wellington is a township in south-central Ontario, Canada, located in Wellington County. The primary communities are Elora and Fergus. The area is agricultural but also includes industries such as manufacturing. In the Canada 2016 Cens ...

China

Liaodi Pagoda The Liaodi Pagoda () of Kaiyuan Monastery, Dingzhou, Hebei Province, China is the tallest existing pre-modern Chinese pagoda and tallest brick pagoda in the world, built in the 11th century during the Song dynasty (960–1279). The pagoda stands a ...

, China (1000s) *

Lingxiao Pagoda The Lingxiao Pagoda () is a Chinese pagoda west of the Xinglong Temple in Zhengding, Hebei Province, China. History The original pagoda that stood at the same site was dubbed the Wooden Pagoda, and was built in 860 AD during the Tang dynasty (618 ...

, China (860) * Also many other pagodas

Egypt

Lighthouse of Alexandria The Lighthouse of Alexandria, sometimes called the Pharos of Alexandria (; Ancient Greek: ὁ Φάρος τῆς Ἀλεξανδρείας, contemporary Koine ), was a lighthouse built by the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, during the re ...

* Pharos of Abusir *

The Octagon The Octagon may refer to: *The Octagon, Christchurch, a former church in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand *The Octagon, Dunedin, the city centre of Dunedin, New Zealand *The Octagon (Egypt), the headquarters of the Egyptian Ministry of ...

Ethiopia

* St. George's Cathedral, Addis Ababa

Germany

Palatine Chapel in Aachen The Palatine Chapel in Aachen is an early medieval chapel and remaining component of Charlemagne's Palace of Aachen in what is now Germany. Although the palace itself no longer exists, the chapel was preserved and now forms the central part of ...

, built c. 972 * Dragon House, 1870 garden folly,

Sanssouci Park Sanssouci Park is a large park surrounding Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam, Germany, built under Frederick the Great in the mid-1700s. Following the terracing of the vineyard and the completion of the palace, the surroundings were included in the stru ...

, Potsdam, Germany *

Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church (in German: Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche, but mostly just known as Gedächtniskirche ) is a Protestant church affiliated with the Evangelical Church in Berlin, Brandenburg and Silesian Upper Lusatia, a regi ...

, built 1961

Greece

, Athens, Greece

Hungary

* Rumbach Street synagogue, Budapest

India

Satyagnana Sabha, Vadalur Satyagnana Sabha (சத்ய ஞான சபை, Temple of Wisdom is a temple constructed (25.01.1872) by the saint Sri Raamalinga Swaamigal (Vallalaar) in the town of Vadalur in Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu Guide, Pg 53 Tamil Nadu Guide, ...

, Vadalur, Tamil Nadu

Iran

Ferdows Religious School Ferdows Religious School ( fa, مدرسه علمیه علیا – ''Madreseh Elmiyeh Oliya'') is a historic school with octagonal design, located in the southwest of Ferdows city, in the center of the ancient city of ''Toon'', in South Khorasan ...

, Toon *

Jabalieh Jabalieh or Rock Dome, also known as the Gabri Dome, is located in Kerman, Iran. Gonbad-e Jabaliyeh also goes by the names, Gonbad-e Jabaliyeh, Gonbad-e Jabalīyeh, gnbd jblyh, گنبد جبليه The dome, a place of historical importance in Iran ...

Israel

Dome of the Rock The Dome of the Rock ( ar, قبة الصخرة, Qubbat aṣ-Ṣakhra) is an Islamic shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, a site also known to Muslims as the ''al-Haram al-Sharif'' or the Al-Aqsa Compound. Its initial ...

, Jerusalem. 687-691 CE *

Chapel of the Ascension, Jerusalem The Chapel of the Ascension ( he, קפלת העלייה ''Qapelat ha-ʿAliyya''; el, Εκκλησάκι της Αναλήψεως, ''Ekklisáki tis Analípseos''; ) is a chapel and shrine located on the Mount of Olives, in the At-Tur district of ...

c. 382 CE by

Saint Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

; original octagonal shrine has been reconstructed multiple times.

Italy

* The Baptistery (5th century),

Albenga Albenga ( lij, Arbenga; la, Albingaunum) is a city and ''comune'' situated on the Gulf of Genoa on the Italian Riviera in the Province of Savona in Liguria, northern Italy. Albenga has the nickname of ''city of a hundred spires''. The economy is ...

Baptistery of San Giovanni The Florence Baptistery, also known as the Baptistery of Saint John ( it, Battistero di San Giovanni), is a religious building in Florence, Italy, and has the status of a minor basilica. The octagonal baptistery stands in both the Piazza del D ...

, Florence. (1059) * The Battistero or

Baptistery of Parma The Baptistery of Parma ( it, Battistero di Parma) is a religious edifice in Parma, northern Italy. Architecturally, the baptistery of Parma Cathedral marks a transition between the Romanesque and Gothic styles, and it is considered to be amon ...

(1196) *

Basilica of San Vitale The Basilica of San Vitale is a late antique church in Ravenna, Italy. The sixth-century church is an important surviving example of early Christian Byzantine art and architecture. It is one of eight structures in Ravenna inscribed on the UNESCO ...

, Rome (547) *

Castel del Monte (Apulia) Castel del Monte (Italian for "Castle of the Mountain"; Barese: ''Castìdde du Monte'') is a 13th-century citadel and castle situated on a hill in Andria in the Apulia region of southeast Italy. It was built during the 1240s by King Frede ...

, Andria (BT) (1240s) * Church of St. Giacomo, Vicovaro (1400s) * Tribuna of the Uffizi, Florence (1584)

Japan

* Yumedono at

Hōryū-ji is a Buddhist temple that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples, in Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture, Japan. Its full name is , or Learning Temple of the Flourishing Law, the complex serving as both a seminary and monastery. The temple was ...

Ikaruga is a shoot 'em up developed by Treasure. It is the spiritual sequel to ''Radiant Silvergun'' (1998) and was originally released in Japanese arcades in December 2001. The story follows a rebel pilot named Shinra as he battles an enemy nation u ...

(739) * Octagonal Hall of Eisan-ji, Gojō (760-764) * Hokuendō of

Kōfuku-ji is a Buddhist temple that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples in the city of Nara, Japan. The temple is the national headquarters of the Hossō school. History Kōfuku-ji has its origin as a temple that was established in 669 b ...

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

(1210) * Saiendō of Hōryū-ji, Ikaruga (1250) * Main Hall of Keikyuin of Kōryū-ji,

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

(1251) * Three-Story Pagoda of Anraku-ji, Ueda (1290s) * Aizendō of

Tōfuku-ji is a Buddhist temple in Higashiyama-ku in Kyoto, Japan. Tōfuku-ji takes its name from two temples in Nara, Tōdai-ji and Kōfuku-ji.Japan ReferenceTōfuku-ji/ref> It is one of the Kyoto ''Gozan'' or "five great Zen temples of Kyoto". Its ...

, Kyoto (1333-92) * Main Hall of Busshō-ji,

Mito Mito may refer to: Places *Mito, Ibaraki, capital city of Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan *Mito, Aichi, a Japanese town *Mito, Shimane, a Japanese town * Mitō, Yamaguchi, a Japanese town * Mito District, a district in the province of Concepción, Per ...

(1585) * Nanendō of Kōfuku-ji, Nara (1789) *

Nippon Budokan The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally built for the inaugural Olympic judo competition in the 1964 Summer Olympics. While its primary purpose is to host martial arts con ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

(1964) * Pagoda of Genjo Sanzoin Complex in

Yakushi-ji is one of the most famous imperial and ancient Buddhist temples in Japan, and was once one of the Nanto Shichi Daiji, Seven Great Temples of Nanto, located in Nara, Nara, Nara. The temple is the headquarters of the Hossō school of Japanese Buddh ...

, Nara (1991) * Sugamo Ohdai Kannondō in Taisho University, Tokyo (2013)

New Zealand

, the former Trinity Congregational Church in Christchurch, New Zealand

Norway

Ankenes Church Ankenes Church ( no, Ankenes kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Narvik Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the village of Ankenesstranda. It is the main church for the Ankenes parish which is part of the ...

Bardu Church Bardu Church ( no, Bardu kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Bardu Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is located in the village of Setermoen. It is the main church for the Bardu parish which is part of the Senja ...

Buvik Church Buvik Church ( no, Buvik kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Skaun municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the village of Buvika. It is the church for the Buvik parish which is part of the Orkdal prosti ( dea ...

Dolstad Church Dolstad Church ( no, Dolstad kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Vefsn Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located in the town of Mosjøen. It is the church for the Dolstad parish which is part of the Indre Helgeland pr ...

, mixed octagonal-cruciform * Klæbu Church * Røssvoll Church *

Støren Church Støren Church ( no, Støren kirke) is a parish church of the Church of Norway in Midtre Gauldal municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is located in the village of Støren. It is the church for the Støren parish which is part of the Gauld ...

Trinity Church (Oslo) Trinity Church (in Norwegian, Trefoldighetskirken), is a church in the Hammersborg neighborhood in central Oslo, Norway. Trinity Church is neighbor of the government buildings in Regjeringskvartalet. It is the parish church of the parish of Trini ...

, octagonal-cruciform combined * Vinje Church (Hemne)

Portugal

* Convent of Christ (Tomar, Portugal), 12th-15th Century. The adjacent chapel is only one of two octagonal chapels in the world. The other is in Jerusalem.
Charola
Portuguese Info on the Chapel of the Convent of Christ.

Singapore

Lau Pa Sat Lau Pa Sat (), also known as Telok Ayer Market ( ms, Pasar Telok Ayer; ), is a historic building located within the Downtown Core in the Central Area of Singapore. It was first built in 1824 as a fish market on the waterfront serving the peop ...

, a dining hall and market

Spain

Jerez de la Frontera-Torre Octógona de noche

Alcazar of Jerez de la Frontera Alcazar or variant spellings may refer to: * Alcázar, a type of Islamic castle or palace in Spain and Portugal ** ** Arts, entertainment and literature * Alcazar (group), a Swedish europop/dance music group * '' Alcazar: The Forgotten Fortress' ...

has an Octagonal Tower, in Almohad style *

El Miguelete EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...

is the

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

of the

Valencia Cathedral Valencia Cathedral, at greater length the Metropolitan Cathedral–Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady of Valencia ( es, Iglesia Catedral-Basílica Metropolitana de la Asunción de Nuestra Señora de Valencia, ca-valencia, Església Cated ...

Sweden

Hedvig Eleonora Church Hedvig Eleonora Church ( sv, Hedvig Eleonora kyrka) is a church in central Stockholm, Sweden. It is located at Östermalm and belongs to the Church of Sweden and is parish church for Hedvig Eleonora Parish in the Diocese of Stockholm. The church ...

, Stockholm (1737)

United Kingdom

* Abbot's Kitchen, Glastonbury *

Abbot's Kitchen, Oxford The Abbot's Kitchen in Oxford, England, is an early chemistry laboratory based on the Abbot's Kitchen at Glastonbury Abbey, a mediaeval 14th-century octagonal building that served as the kitchen at the abbey. History Chemistry was first rec ...

* Avenue Methodist Church in

Sale, Greater Manchester Sale is a town in Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, in the historic county of Cheshire on the south bank of the River Mersey, south of Stretford, northeast of Altrincham, and southwest of Manchester. In 2011, it had a population of 134 ...

* Dutch Cottage, Rayleigh, Essex * 18th century replicas of the Athenian

in the ornamental gardens of the following stately homes: **

Mount Stewart Mount Stewart is a 19th-century house and garden in County Down, Northern Ireland, owned by the National Trust. Situated on the east shore of Strangford Lough, a few miles outside the town of Newtownards and near Greyabbey, it was the Iris ...

Shugborough Hall Shugborough Hall is a stately home near Great Haywood, Staffordshire, England. The hall is situated on the edge of Cannock Chase, about east of Stafford and from Rugeley. The estate was owned by the Bishops of Lichfield until the dissolutio ...

West Wycombe Park West Wycombe Park is a country house built between 1740 and 1800 near the village of West Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England. It was conceived as a pleasure palace for the 18th-century libertine and dilettante Sir Francis Dashwood, 2nd Bar ...

* Naze tower, Walton on the Naze * Octagonal

chapter house A chapter house or chapterhouse is a building or room that is part of a cathedral, monastery or collegiate church in which meetings are held. When attached to a cathedral, the cathedral chapter meets there. In monasteries, the whole communi ...

s at the following

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

s:Ousby, Ian, ''Blue Guide: England'', 11th ed. 1995, various pages, London: A & C Black ; New York: WW Norton **

Liverpool Cathedral Liverpool Cathedral is the Cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool, built on St James's Mount in Liverpool, and the seat of the Bishop of Liverpool. It may be referred to as the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool (as recorded in the ...

Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England. The cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese of Salisbury and is the seat of the Bishop of Salisbury. The buildi ...

Southwell Minster Southwell Minster () is a minster and cathedral in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England. It is situated miles from Newark-on-Trent and from Mansfield. It is the seat of the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham and the Diocese of Southwell and N ...

Truro Cathedral The Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Church of England cathedral in the city of Truro, Cornwall. It was built between 1880 and 1910 to a Gothic Revival design by John Loughborough Pearson on the site of the parish church of St Mary. It i ...

Wells Cathedral Wells Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England, dedicated to St Andrew the Apostle. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, whose cathedra it holds as mother church of the Diocese of Bath and Wells. Built as a ...

York Minster The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Archbis ...

* Octagon Centre, Sheffield * Octagonal lantern tower,

Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, is an Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral has its origins in AD 672 when St Etheldreda built an abbey church. The presen ...

, Ely *

Octagon Chapel, Norwich The Octagon Chapel is a Unitarian Chapel located in Colegate in Norwich, Norfolk, England. The congregation is a member of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches. History The chapel is a grade II* listed building. Comple ...

* Octagon Temple at

Cliveden Cliveden (pronounced ) is an English country house and estate in the care of the National Trust in Buckinghamshire, on the border with Berkshire. The Italianate mansion, also known as Cliveden House, crowns an outlying ridge of the Chiltern H ...

* Dreghorn & Springside Parish Church * St James Church, Teignmouth * Great Pagoda, Kew Gardens, London * Storm Tower at Compass Point,

Bude Bude (; kw, Porthbud) is a seaside town in north east Cornwall, England, in the civil parish of Bude-Stratton and at the mouth of the River Neet (also known locally as the River Strat). It was sometimes formerly known as Bude Haven.''Cornish ...

, Cornwall * St. John’s Methodist Church, Arbroath * United Reformed Church in

Cheadle Hulme Cheadle Hulme () is a suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England,. Historically in Cheshire, it is south-west of Stockport and south-east of Manchester. It lies in the Ladybrook Valley, on the Cheshire Plain ...

* The main tower of Hadlow Castle, Kent * The Butter Market,

Barnard Castle Barnard Castle (, ) is a market town on the north bank of the River Tees, in County Durham, Northern England. The town is named after and built around a medieval castle ruin. The town's Bowes Museum's has an 18th-century Silver Swan automato ...

, County Durham *

Hertford College Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colle ...

's Middle Common Room, Oxford

United States

References

{{reflist

Octagonal In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, whi ...

* *