This exhibit showcases the innovative homes designed for the Century of Progress exhibit at the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago. For the event, architects designed display houses using modern design ideas, new construction materials and prefabrication. The Wieboldt-Rostone House introduced Rostone, a building material made of waste shale and limestone. The Florida Tropical House attempted to show how people live in that state's semitropical climate. The House of Tomorrow included an airplane hangar. Except for its porcelain enamel siding, the Armco-Ferro-Mayflower House was fairly traditional for the time.
After the exposition closed in 1934, barges moved the homes across Lake Michigan, where they were reassembled in the Beverly Shores subdivision. But, development in the area never caught on, and the National Park Service purchased the structures in 1980. In 1986 they were added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 1993, the Historic Landmark Foundation placed the Century of Progress Homes on its list of the Ten Most Endangered Landmarks in Indiana.
Wieboldt-Rostone House
UPS shipping fee approximately $40
IHS home page, the Education
Division, the Exhibition's Department, or the list of available exhibits.