The house was inscribed on the World Heritage List under the title "The 20th-Century Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright" in July 2019.

He was also a leading proponent of the style, presenting his designs to the American housewife in Ladies Home Journal[3] and to the architecture community in the Wasmuth Portfolio.

In 1936 Herbert and his wife Katherine visited Wright at Taliesen near Spring Green and challenged the architect to design and build them a home for $5,000 (equivalent to $109,363 in 2024).

[7]: 236  Taking up the Jacobs' challenge, Wright designed a modest L-shaped structure with an open floor plan and two bedrooms–1,560 square feet (145 m2).

Rumor maintains that redirected bricks from the Johnson Wax Building ultimately helped keep final construction costs to $5,000.

It is a single-story structure with an L-shaped footprint and a brick chimney mass at the corner of the L. To increase privacy, the street side outside the L is clad in a combination of brick and horizontal pine and redwood boards, with only a narrow band of windows high under the eaves.

The house rests on a concrete pad foundation and is covered by a flat roof with extensive eaves.

"[5] There was so much interest in the house after the Jacobs moved in that they began charging admission for tours, which eventually paid for Wright's design fee.

[12] After the Jacobs left in 1942, the house changed owners and underwent modifications and maintenance techniques of variable historical value.