In the early 1930s, as America was in the grips of the Great Depression, the House of Tomorrow showed millions of World’s Fair attendees in Chicago—and people all over the world—a gleaming, technology-driven vision of what domestic life could be like in the future.

More than 39 million people attended the 1933-34 Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago, clamoring for a glimpse of the future at exhibits like the House of Tomorrow. Architect George Fred Keck’s design included many features Depression-era Americans had not seen before, such as central air conditioning and the first-ever General Electric dishwasher.

After the Fair, five Century of Progress houses were shipped by barge to Indiana where they remained in private hands until the land became part of the Indiana Dunes National Park. Despite recognition by the New York Times as an “indisputable architectural masterpiece,” the House of Tomorrow has sat vacant and deteriorating since 1999.

The National Trust and Indiana Landmarks collaborated with the National Park Service and respected architecture firms including bKL Architecture and Bauer Latoza Studio to prepare restoration plans for the House of Tomorrow. In 2023, the House of Tomorrow received a $2 million grant from the Great American Outdoors Act, funded through the U.S. Department of the Interior. Restoration of the House of Tomorrow’s exterior and concrete slab floors should begin in spring 2024, a critical first step to ensuring the long-term preservation of this innovative and unique Modern landmark.