House of Tomorrow, Beverly Shores
One of America's earliest glass houses links Chicago's World's Fair optimism to Indiana Dunes preservation and to the difficult work of making...
Watchlist Blog
House of Tomorrow emerges from its exterior restoration
George Fred Keck's 1933 glass house is visible again after major structural and exterior work, shifting attention toward its interior and final use.
March 20, 2026
House of Tomorrow, Beverly Shores
Updated 2026
The most technically difficult of Beverly Shores' Century of Progress houses has reached a new preservation milestone after years under protective wrapping.
The House of Tomorrow is again readable as architecture rather than as a preservation emergency hidden behind plywood and weatherproof wrapping. Indiana Landmarks reported on March 20 that exterior restoration was nearing completion after the project recovered the form, glass walls, and concrete structure of George Fred Keck's experimental 1933 World's Fair house in Indiana Dunes National Park.
That progress moves the story into a different phase. The question is no longer only whether the exterior can be stabilized, but how the interior, building systems, interpretation, access, and final use will carry the house's modernist significance forward.
Read the complete Century of Progress and preservation history in House of Tomorrow, Beverly Shores.
Once the glass house is visible again, preservation shifts from emergency enclosure to the harder question of lasting use.
What Changed
The federally supported phase launched in 2024 addressed the exterior and concrete slab floors of a building vacant since 1999. Indiana Landmarks reported in March 2026 that exterior work was expected to finish in the spring, with planning for interior work and grounds restoration beginning in summer.
Why The Milestone Matters
The house was an experimental system as much as an object. Reconstructing its glass-walled presence restores the central idea that fair visitors encountered in 1933 and makes comparison with later modernist houses possible again.
What To Watch Next
Project leaders must define interior scope and final use. Public access, long-term stewardship, modern mechanical performance, and interpretation of both the Chicago fair and Beverly Shores afterlife remain the essential questions.