Jacobs, Herbert and Katherine, Second House
Hemicycle house in Madison, Wisconsin. Built 1948 by Frank Lloyd Wright. Added to the National Register in 2003, and a National Historic Landmark.
What it is
The Herbert and Katherine Jacobs Second House is a house in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1946–1948, the house was designed for the journalist Herbert Jacobs and his wife Katherine, whose first house he had designed a decade earlier. The Solar Hemicycle name is derived from the house's semicircular-arc floor plan, its use of natural materials, and its energy-saving orientation. The Jacobs Second House has been praised for its architecture over the years, and Wright went on to design other houses with circular design motifs. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and declared a National Historic Landmark in 2003.
Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The record
| Property type | Building |
| Address | 3995 Shawn Trail, Middleton, WI |
| County | Dane County |
| Listed | Jul 31, 2003 |
| Listed for | Architecture |
| Level of significance | National |
| Reference number | 03001038 |
| Built | 1948 · more from the 1940s |
| Architect | Frank Lloyd Wright |
| Type of place | single-family detached home |
| Style | modern architecture |
| Designations | National Historic Landmark, listed in the Wisconsin State Register of Historic Places, Madison Landmark |
| 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 | 3995 Shawn Trail, Middleton, WI |
| Coordinates | 43.0738° N, 89.5350° W · Directions ↗ |
| Nearest national park unit | Ice Age National Scenic Trail · 63 miles · on Park Atlas |
Explore
Map
Nearby in Dane County
Local history books for Dane County
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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, Second 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
When was Jacobs, Herbert and Katherine, Second House built?
1948, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, in the modern architecture style.
Source: Wikidata
Can I visit Jacobs, Herbert and Katherine, Second House?
No public access is recorded. A National Register listing recognizes a place; it does not open it to visitors.
Source: National Park Service
Where is Jacobs, Herbert and Katherine, Second House?
3995 Shawn Trail, Middleton, Dane County, Wisconsin. The nearest national park unit is Ice Age National Scenic Trail, 63 miles away.
Source: Ice Age National Scenic Trail
Where is the nomination form for Jacobs, Herbert and Katherine, Second 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, Second 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 03001038. 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.