Madison Wright-Designed Usonia 1 House Awarded UNESCO World Heritage Recognition

Above is the interior of the Frank Lloyd
Wright-designed Usonia 1 house in
Madison, Wiscosnin.

Updated - Madison, Wisconsin — A Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house in Madison's Westmorland neighborhood on the near-west side was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List designation last weekend.

The Usonia 1 or Herbert and Katherine Jacobs House is one of eight Frank Lloyd Wright-designed buildings to newly achieve the Heritage distinction. 

The nomination and designation process was a 15-year effort effort led by the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, an "international organization dedicated to the preservation of all of Wright’s remaining built works," reports the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.

"It is an immense honor to have Frank Lloyd Wright’s work recognized on the world stage among the most vital and important cultural sites on Earth like Taj Mahal in India, the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt and the Statue of Liberty in New York," said Stuart Graff, president and CEO of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. "To have this unique American legacy placed alongside these precious few sites around the globe is meaningful because it recognizes the profound influence of this American architect and his impact on the whole world. . This designation is a great source of national pride, and while eight buildings are included in the inscription, it recognizes the importance of Wright’s work, embodied in every one of his buildings and designs. These sites are not simply World Heritage monuments because they are beautiful. It’s so much more than that. These are places of profound influence, inspiration, and connection."

James Dennis, emeritus professor of Art History of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, lives in the Usonia 1 house.

Herbert and Katherine Jacobs House in Madison, Wisconsin
is shown on CBS This Morning after achieving a designation
on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Dennis has long championed the social and cultural history of art and architecture.

Professor Dennis "should be pleased that his years of thoughtful stewardship contributed to the Jacobs House being recognized internationally as an important cornerstone to Wright’s work as a mid-20th century architect," said Anne Biebel, an architectural historian based in Cross Plains.

Biebel frequently works on projects with Taliesin Preservation, Inc.

In restoring the Jacobs house as his residence in the 1980s, Dennis involved a number of graduate students including Biebel, who was on-site to photographically document and keep notes on progress.

Said Biebel, "Jim Dennis essentially saved the Jacobs House by implementing much-needed structural repairs and thoughtfully completing the restoration of surfaces, finishes and landscaping. His recognition of the importance of this modest building and years of effort to restore and preserve it are exemplary."

From CBS This Morning, video is below: