Herbert and Katherine Jacobs First House

Madison, United States

Exterior only

Visible from the street; the inside is private.

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The Herbert and Katherine Jacobs First House in Madison, Wisconsin, is Frank Lloyd Wright's pioneering 1937 Usonian design for a young newspaper journalist and his family. Completed for just $5,500, this single-story, L-shaped structure of 1,550 square feet marked Wright's first foray into affordable housing and became so celebrated that the Jacobses charged admission to visitors. Sited on a slope descending toward Lake Wingra, the house features two wings running along the western and northern boundaries, with a street-facing wall of brick, boards, and battens contrasting with expanses of glass doors and windows opening to a rear garden. The innovative design includes a concrete pad foundation with radiant floor heating, flat roofs with deep eaves, and a prominent brick chimney mass at the corner of the L that integrates the kitchen and workspace. The living and dining areas occupy the western wing, while the northern wing contains three bedrooms and a study. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the house remains a landmark of Wright's vision for modern, economical domestic architecture.