Beverly Shores - Century of Progress Architectural District
Posted by: 
adgorn
N 41° 43.500 W 086° 54.120
16T E 508150 N 4619248
The houses were built for the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair and relocated to the Indiana Dunes area thereafter. Take Route 12 to Broadway in Beverly Shores (right by the South Shore Train Station) and go north until you Lake Shore Drive and turn left.
Waymark Code: WM3QM3
Location: Indiana, United States
Date Posted: 05/05/2008
Views: 19
The House of Tomorrow (including airplane hangar garage), the Florida Tropical House, the Wiebolt-Rostone House, the Armco-Ferro Enamel House and the Cypress Log House. Undergoing major restoration by modern preservationists armed with dreams and dollars.
The houses were built for the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair to celebrate a “Century of Progress” and demonstrate modern architectural design, experimental materials, and new technologies such as central air conditioning and dishwashers. The exhibit homes within the Home and Industrial Arts Group “utilized new techniques of design, construction and prefabrication in an attempt to bring the out-of-date housing industry into line with more efficient manufacturing practices such as those used by the auto industry.”
After the close of the Fair in the fall of 1934, five of the houses were sold to Chicago real estate developer Robert Bartlett. He brought them by barge and truck to the Indiana dunes, hoping that these would entice buyers to his resort community of Beverly Shores, IN.
Bartlett intended to furnish the five World’s Fair houses, open them to the public, and sell them starting in October 1935. However, his dreams were never fulfilled. By 1938, only one house — the House of Tomorrow — had been sold. Seasonal renters occupied two houses, and two were vacant. Prospects for the houses and for the development became even bleaker with the approach and outbreak of World War II. By 1946, Bartlett had sold off his interests in the resort; and in 1947 the community incorporated as a municipality.
The homes were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. Beverly Shores--Century of Progress Architectural District (added 1986 - District #86001472), also known as World's Fair Houses, at 208, 210, 212, 214, and 215 Lake Front Drive.
The national lakeshore and the Historic Landmarks Foundation entered into a formal agreement in 1996 to protect and maintain the houses through a long-term residential leasing program.
Street address:
208, 210, 212, 214, and 215 Lake Front Drive
Beverly Shores, IN USA
County / Borough / Parish: Porter County
Year listed: 1986
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering
Periods of significance: 1925-1949
Historic function: Domestic, Recreation And Culture
Current function: Domestic, Landscape
Privately owned?: yes
Season start / Season finish: From: 01/01/2008 To: 12/31/2008
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Hours of operation: Not listed
Secondary Website 1: Not listed
Secondary Website 2: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.