Frank Lloyd Wright’s John C. Pew House: A Poor Man’s Fallingwater? No, Fallingwater Is The Rich Man’s Pew House.

Ruth and John C. Pew House, 1938. Madison, Wisconsin. No138 of the #500fllwproject

The John C. Pew House—also known as the Ruth and John C. Pew House—was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1938 for research chemist John Pew and his wife, Ruth.

Tucked into a narrow lot along the sloping shoreline of Lake Mendota in Madison, Wisconsin, the two-story home cascades gently down the hill, harmonizing with the natural landscape.

Designed in Wright’s Usonian style, the house was intended to be both beautiful and economical—an accessible vision of modern living. Construction was overseen by William Wesley “Wes” Peters, a trusted member of Wright’s Taliesin Fellowship and his son-in-law.

Legend has it that Peters once remarked, “I guess you can call the Pew House a poor man’s Fallingwater.”
To which Wright replied, “No—Fallingwater is the rich man’s Pew House.”

Ruth and John C. Pew House, 1938. Madison, Wisconsin. No138 of the #500fllwproject