The distinctive exterior of the House of Tomorrow in Beverly Shores has been restored with the recent installation of floor-to-ceiling windows on all 12 sides of its second and third floors.
Windows were always the prominent feature of what is considered to be the first glass house built in America.
It is one of five houses specially built for the Century of Progress exhibit from the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago. After the fair closed, Robert Bartlett, a local developer, in 1935 had the five houses moved by barge across Lake Michigan and reassembled along Lake Front Drive in Beverly Shores.
Today, the homes are an important attraction of the Indiana Dunes National Park. Thousands of visitors every year stop to take pictures and read educational placards that explain the history of each house.
“It’s the first time it’s looked like this since it was first built in 1933,” said Todd Zeiger, field director of the Indiana Landmarks Northern Office. Zeiger explained that the original windows were replaced when the House of Tomorrow was moved to a bluff looking out toward Lake Michigan in 1935.
While the House of Tomorrow arguably has the most historic significance out of all the Century of Progress Homes, over the years, it became a house in decline.
The Indiana Landmarks, along with the National Park Service, has had long-term lease agreements with those who have lived in the five Century of Progress Homes. The National Park Service decided last year to make the Cypress Log Cabin available for public rental. Once a year, the Century of Progress Homes are open for a public tour.
The House of Tomorrow has been unoccupied for more than 10 years. Its windows were covered with plywood boards, and the interior has also significantly deteriorated.
A $16 million Great American Outdoors grant, awarded in 2021 to Indiana Dunes National Park, was the first step toward the rescue of the House of Tomorrow. Money is also being used for renovation projects at the Bailly Homestead and the Good Fellow Camp Lodge.
The National Park Service devoted $4 million toward the restoration of the exterior of the House of Tomorrow.
Berglund Construction of Chesterton began the project in May 2023. The exterior should be substantially finished by the year’s end, said Blake Swihart, the field officer for the Indiana Landmarks Northwest Office.
Jim Trout of Trout Glass & Mirror in Valparaiso said it was an honor for his company and crew to participate in the project.
“It’s just a really cool piece of history to work on,” Trout said.
Installing the glass certainly presented its share of challenges because the House of Tomorrow is up on a bluff.
For the second floor, each pane of triple-glazed glass was 126 inches by 98 inches and weighed 960 pounds. Panes installed on the third floor are each 73 inches by 96 inches and weigh 700 pounds.
Trout said a crane had to be brought in to put the windows in place.
With advances in technology, the glass installed today is actually better than the original, Trout said.
“It’s closer now to what the architect originally intended,” Trout said.
George Fred Keck is the Chicago architect and professor who designed the House of Tomorrow. The project turned out to be a pioneering use of solar power, as it was discovered that having so many windows generated heat on sunny days, even in wintertime. The house is also known for having the basement serve as a hangar for a small airplane.
The next step is for work to start on the interior, which needs extensive renovation.
Zeiger said the interior construction cost is estimated to be between $1 million and $1.5 million. He said that phase of the project could take two years.
It needs to be determined whether there will be a private owner who would lease the property and help with the refurbishment cost, or if the property would be available for public rental, like the Cypress Log Cabin, which could generate some income, Zeiger said.
For now, at least, those who pass the property can better see the vision from the 1930s about what a home in the future would look like, rather than an eyesore.
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
