How did Chicago World’s Fair Houses end up in Indiana?

On Oct. 16, Indiana Landmarks provides the answer at Landmarks Experience: Century of Progress, a morning of interesting talks followed by lunch and tours of the five homes that made their way from the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago across Lake Michigan to the Indiana Dunes.

The day begins with talks at Portage Lakefront Pavilion in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore about Chicago’s 1933 Century of Progress World’s Fair, the fair exhibit houses that migrated to the Indiana Dunes, and the preservation project that has saved the buildings.

You’ll hear about plans for the House of Tomorrow, the most influential of the houses at the fair and the only one of the five not yet restored. You’ll also hear from the National Trust about its work to restore and preserve Modernist houses, including Philip Johnson’s Glass House and the Mies Van der Rohe-designed Farnsworth house in nearby Plano, IL.

After lunch at the Pavilion, you’ll tour all five of the houses in the Century of Progress historic district in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, seeing areas not open during the annual public tour, including the observation decks at the Florida Tropical House, Armco Ferro House and Rostone House. Four of the houses have been restored by private leaseholders. At the House of Tomorrow, three floors will be open to view the “before” conditions. Indiana Landmarks will start the restoration in 2017.

Landmarks Experience: Century of Progress runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and costs $50 per Indiana Landmarks member; $65 for the general public. The cost includes lunch, lectures and tours and shuttle transportation. Register by October 6 at centuryofprogressexp16.eventbrite.com or call Indiana Landmarks at 317-639-4534.

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Media contact: Todd Zeiger, director of Indiana Landmarks’ Northern Regional Office, 574-232-4534, tzeiger@indianalandmarks.org

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The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is one of 413 units of the National Park System ranging from Yellowstone to the Statue of Liberty. The national lakeshore includes 15 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline and 15,000 acres of beach, woods, marshes, and prairie. For more information, go to www.nps.gov/indu.

Indiana Landmarks revitalizes communities, reconnects us to our heritage, and saves meaningful places. With nine offices located throughout the state, Indiana Landmarks helps people rescue endangered landmarks and restore historic neighborhoods and downtowns. People who join Indiana Landmarks receive its bimonthly magazine, Indiana Preservation. Join us.