Jacobs, Herbert and Katherine, First House
House in Madison, Wisconsin. Added to the National Register in 2003, and a National Historic Landmark.
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What it is
The Herbert and Katherine Jacobs First House, commonly referred to as Jacobs I, is a single-family home at 441 Toepfer Avenue in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Designed by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright for the family of the journalist Herbert Jacobs, it was completed in 1937 and is sometimes cited as Wright's first Usonian-style house. The house is a single-story, L-shaped structure covering 1,550 square feet (144 m2). It sits on a slope that descends toward Lake Wingra to the southeast.
Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The record
| Property type | Building |
| Address | 441 Toepfer Avenue, Madison, WI |
| County | Dane County |
| Listed | Jul 31, 2003 |
| Listed for | Architecture |
| Level of significance | National |
| Reference number | 03001037 |
| Architect | Frank Lloyd Wright |
| Type of place | house |
| Style | Usonian architecture |
| Designations | part of UNESCO World Heritage Site |
| Contributing resources | 1 building |
The nomination form, the document that argues why this place matters, is in the National Archives: Read the nomination ↗
Visiting
| Address | 441 Toepfer Avenue, Madison, WI |
| Website | usonia1.com ↗ |
| Coordinates | 43.0586° N, 89.4433° W · Directions ↗ |
| Also in Madison | 143 listed places in Madison → · walking tours → |
| Nearest national park unit | Ice Age National Scenic Trail · 65 miles · on Park Atlas |
Explore
Map
Nearby in Dane County
Local history books for Madison
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Guidebooks to historic places and travel in Wisconsin
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.
Reference
Questions people ask
When was Jacobs, Herbert and Katherine, First House listed on the National Register?
Jul 31, 2003. It is also a National Historic Landmark, the higher of the two designations.
Source: National Park Service
Who designed Jacobs, Herbert and Katherine, First House?
Frank Lloyd Wright, working in the Usonian architecture style.
Source: Wikidata
Can I visit Jacobs, Herbert and Katherine, First House?
Probably. Places of this type are usually open to the public, but the record lists no hours; the official website will have them.
Source: Official website
Where is Jacobs, Herbert and Katherine, First House?
441 Toepfer Avenue, Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin. The nearest national park unit is Ice Age National Scenic Trail, 65 miles away.
Source: Ice Age National Scenic Trail
Where is the nomination form for Jacobs, Herbert and Katherine, First House?
The National Archives holds the nomination form, the document that made the case for listing.
Source: National Archives
Is there cell service at Jacobs, Herbert and Katherine, First House?
FCC coverage maps show Verizon 5G, AT&T 5G, and T-Mobile 5G at the listed point. Coverage indoors and behind old masonry is another matter.
Source: FCC Broadband Map
Sources
Location, type and contributing counts come from the National Park Service's National Register spatial data. Listing dates come from the National Register office's spreadsheet where it carries the listing. Construction date, architect, style, photograph and encyclopedia link come from Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons, matched on reference number 03001037. Nothing here is transcribed by hand. The nomination form and photographs ↗ at NPGallery are the original nomination as filed with the National Park Service, and the form is often the best description of the place. The description under "What it is" is the opening of the Wikipedia article, CC BY-SA.