William Wesley Peters

Who was William Wesley Peters?

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 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. Peters raised their other son, Brandoch, on his own.