William Wesley Peters
Encyclopedia
William Wesley Peters was a noted architect and engineer, apprentice to and protégé of Frank Lloyd Wright
.
Born in Terre Haute, Indiana
, Peters was educated at Evansville College (now the University of Evansville) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
. He then became Wright's first apprentice, joining the Taliesin Fellowship in 1932, and remained extremely loyal to the Wright organization throughout his entire career.
Among his accomplishments were assisting Wright in the construction of Fallingwater
and the Johnson Wax administration building
in Racine
. Peters was responsible for the structural designs of the Guggenheim Museum
and for the laboratory tower at Johnson Wax, among many other projects. Peters and Taliesin Associates are credited with the design for the Kaden Tower
in Louisville, Kentucky
, and the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts, in San Jose, California
. Peters also designed the Pearl Palace in Iran
on request from Princess Shams Pahlavi
.
In 1935 he married Wright's adopted daughter, Svetlana (who died in an automobile accident in 1946, along with their son Daniel). Peters raised their other son, Brandoch, on his own. Peters was later briefly married to Svetlana Alliluyeva
, the youngest child and only daughter of Joseph Stalin
, in a union arranged by Wright's widow, Peters's mother-in-law, and Fellowship matriarch Olgivanna Wright
. The couple had a daughter, Olga (now Evans).
Peters served as Chairman of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation from 1985 to 1991. He died in Madison, Wisconsin
.
In 1990, he gave a remarkable interview to Wolfgang von Freeden from Luebeck, Germany, about his life and work, including his part in realising Tehran's "Pearl Palace
" with the help of glass craftsmen from Murano, Italy.
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...
.
Born in Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
, Peters was educated at Evansville College (now the University of Evansville) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
. He then became Wright's first apprentice, joining the Taliesin Fellowship in 1932, and remained extremely loyal to the Wright organization throughout his entire career.
Among his accomplishments were assisting Wright in the construction of Fallingwater
Fallingwater
Fallingwater or Kaufmann Residence is a house designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 in rural southwestern Pennsylvania, 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh...
and the Johnson Wax administration building
Johnson Wax Headquarters
Johnson Wax Headquarters is the world headquarters and administration building of S. C. Johnson & Son in Racine, Wisconsin. Designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright for the company's president, Herbert F. "Hib" Johnson, the building was constructed from 1936 to 1939...
in Racine
Racine, Wisconsin
Racine is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city had a population of 82,196...
. Peters was responsible for the structural designs of the Guggenheim Museum
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is a well-known museum located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. It is the permanent home to a renowned collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions...
and for the laboratory tower at Johnson Wax, among many other projects. Peters and Taliesin Associates are credited with the design for the Kaden Tower
Kaden Tower
Kaden Tower is a 15-story office building at 6100 Dutchmans Lane in suburban Louisville, Kentucky. The building opened in 1966 as the headquarters for Lincoln Income Life Insurance Company and was originally named Lincoln Tower. Designed by a student of Frank Lloyd Wright, the building is notable...
in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, and the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts, in San Jose, California
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
. Peters also designed the Pearl Palace in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
on request from Princess Shams Pahlavi
Shams Pahlavi
Princess Shams ul-Mulk Pahlavi Persian:شمس پهلوی was the elder sister of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran...
.
In 1935 he married Wright's adopted daughter, Svetlana (who died in an automobile accident in 1946, along with their son Daniel). Peters raised their other son, Brandoch, on his own. Peters was later briefly married to Svetlana Alliluyeva
Svetlana Alliluyeva
Svetlana Iosifovna Alliluyeva , later known as Lana Peters, was the youngest child and only daughter of Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin and Nadezhda Alliluyeva, Stalin's second wife...
, the youngest child and only daughter of Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
, in a union arranged by Wright's widow, Peters's mother-in-law, and Fellowship matriarch Olgivanna Wright
Olgivanna Lloyd Wright
Olgivanna Lloyd Wright was the third and final wife of Frank Lloyd Wright and had significant influence in his life and work, due in part to her extensive Theosophical associations. She was a Serb Montenegrin dancer...
. The couple had a daughter, Olga (now Evans).
Peters served as Chairman of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation from 1985 to 1991. He died in Madison, Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
.
In 1990, he gave a remarkable interview to Wolfgang von Freeden from Luebeck, Germany, about his life and work, including his part in realising Tehran's "Pearl Palace
Morvarid palace
Pearl Palace Pearl Palace Pearl Palace (kakh-e Morvarid in Persian, also known as kahk-e Shams - (كاخ مرواريد ( شمس) is a large estate designed by Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation on instructions from Shams Pahlavi, elder sister of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran...
" with the help of glass craftsmen from Murano, Italy.