BEVERLY SHORES, Ind. (CBS Local) — Indiana Landmarks has got a deal for you — a chance to live in a one-of-a-kind historic home, rent-free for 50 years. What’s the catch? You have to restore it to the tune of about $2.5 million. The “House of Tomorrow,” as it is commonly known, is on Lake Michigan inside the newly designated Indiana Dunes National Park. It was one of five “Century of Progress” homes moved there by barge after Chicago’s 1933-34 World’s Fair, CBS affiliate WSBT reported. The home was designed by Chicago architect George Fred Keck. It was a popular attraction. Visitors could see advancements in science and technology and a glimpse into the future. Is a duodecagon — it has 12 sides. It is estimated to be around 5,000 square feet. The ground level was designed as workspace. The top two floors were designed to be all plate-glass. “It was just a vision. [Keck] was trying to say, hey this is how we would be living in 100 years,” said Todd Zeiger, director of the Norther Regional Office of Indiana Landmarks. There was a dishwasher, an open floor plan and an attached garage — things unheard of in 1933. Despite the deterioration many of the original features remain, including the metal staircase and the modern metal kitchen. “We’d say 60 to 70 percent is still in place,” Zeiger said. The House of Tomorrow is the last of the homes to be renovated and will likely need about $2.5 million in work. Restoration would have to follow preservation standards and would include an approval process but Zeiger says the end result will be worth it. “[The homes] still draw attention all these years later,” said Zeiger. “Millions came through these houses because people were so fascinated by them. It continues today.”<doc-sep>Associated Press BEVERLY SHORES, Ind. — A preservation group is offering a lease for a futuristic home along Lake Michigan that was featured at Chicago's 1933 World's Fair. Indiana Landmarks says any party willing to restore the famed House of Tomorrow will be offered a 50-year lease to the residence in a partnership with the Indiana Dunes National Park. The unique home near Beverly Shores, Indiana, on the lake's southern tip needs nearly $3 million in work to preserve and repair its unusual architecture. The home debuted at the 1933 World's Fair and was among the first residential buildings to employ a glass curtain-wall structure. After the Chicago fair closed, it was one of five "Century of Progress" homes moved by barge and truck to an Indiana plot that's now part of the national park. Read more: Michigan 'bomb cyclone:' Prepare now for power outages Historic mansion that touches Lake St. Clair for sale for $7M<doc-sep>Chicagoans can now live in a piece of the city’s history by leasing America’s first glass house. Indiana Landmarks is seeking lessees to inhabit the House of Tomorrow, a 12-sided home designed by architect George Fred Keck for the 1933–34 Chicago World’s Fair. The fair’s theme was “Century of Progress,” and five innovative homes were built as part of an exhibition to inspire a streamlined vision for the future. The single-family house had an attached garage with a push-button opener, the first General Electric dishwasher, floor-to-ceiling windows, central air conditioning, and a modern open floor plan. The glass-wall structure was innovative at the time, predating even Philip Johnson’s Glass House and Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House. The living room in the House of Tomorrow. Photo: Chicago History Museum After the fair, homes in the exhibition were moved to Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Indiana Landmarks began leasing the homes from the National Park Service in the early 2000s. For the House of Tomorrow, the organization is looking to sublease the residence to someone who will finance its restoration, estimated at $2.5 million, in exchange for a rent-free, 50-year lease. “There are three basic things we’ll look for from folks,” says Todd Zeiger, director of the Northern Regional Office of Indiana Landmarks. “This can’t be their first restoration project. We want to know their experience and who’s on their project team. We want to know what their plan is for paying for it, and that they have the capacity to complete the project. But it can’t be an Airbnb or rented through another leasing platform. It needs to be used by the party,” Zeiger says. The House of Tomorrow in the present day. Photo: Lee Lewellen There will be an open house at the end of March and submissions are due May 17 through Indiana Landmarks. More from AD PRO: Has Instagram Made Design Shows Better? Sign up for the AD PRO newsletter for all the design news you need to know<doc-sep>
Overlooking Lake Michigan from windswept Indiana bluff, the groundbreaking glass house architect George Fred Keck created for Chicago’s 1933-34 Century of Progress World’s Fair is seeking a dedicated lover of modern design to cover its $3 million restoration. In return, the deep-pocketed patron will be granted a 50-year sublease to use the structure as a one-of-a-kind single family home. When it debuted at the Century of Progress, Keck’s creation offered an optimistic vision of the future and was nothing short of cutting edge. Its innovative use of a glass curtain wall was a precursor to the homes of Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson that came to define modern architecture. Other technological oddities included central air conditioning, an “iceless” refrigerator, and a push-button attached garage and airplane hanger. After the fair, Keck’s building—along with four other structures displayed at the “House of Tomorrow” exhibit—were moved by barge from Chicago’s Northerly Island to Beverly Shores in northern Indiana, about 60 miles southeast of downtown. The site later became part of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, overseen by the National Park Service. While its four siblings went on to receive restorations, Keck’s House of Tomorrow continued to sit empty and deteriorate. A partnership between Indiana Landmarks and the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, hope that the 50-year lease offering will entice a private party to tackle the estimated $2.5 million to $3 million project—a considerable chunk of cash to pay and not own the property. “Leasing the House of Tomorrow offers an unparalleled opportunity to live in a stunning work of architecture that comes with an equally spectacular view,” said Marsh Davis, president of Indiana Landmarks, in a statement. “We’ve engaged a stellar team of architects and engineers, and we now have the specifications—approved by the National Park Service—to bring yesterday’s House of Tomorrow into the future as a living, sustainable home.” A listing for the property can be viewed on the website of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In 2016, the Trust declared Keck’s House of Tomorrow a National Treasure, the first such designation in the state of Indiana.