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Announced during 2019 Modernism Week and building on the success of a partnership with the National Park Service that saved four Century of Progress homes from the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, Indiana Landmarks is offering the House of Tomorrow for a 50-year lease to a party that will undertake its restoration. In partnership with the Indiana Dunes National Park, Indiana Landmarks is accepting proposals for the restoration and long-term lease of the House of Tomorrow as a single-family residence. The National Park Service will continue to own this National Treasure throughout the lease.

To learn more or find out how to submit a letter-of-intent, view the listing.

When he designed a custom home in Highland Park, Illinois, in 1962, architect George Fred Keck couldn’t have suspected that it might one day play a role in saving his most famous building—the House of Tomorrow! But the Mid-Century Modern Dream House Tour on December 2-3 will do just that.

You are invited to get your fix of Modern architecture and design while supporting Indiana Landmarks’ rehabilitation of the House of Tomorrow, designated in October 2016 as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The House of Tomorrow was designed in 1933 for the Century of Progress World’s Fair in Chicago and moved by barge to what is now the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore after the fair ended.

The first-ever Mid-Century Modern Dream House Tour in the Chicago area is a collaboration between Chicago Bauhaus and Beyond and Wright Auctions. Keck’s 1962 home features an oval design built around an indoor swimming pool with retractable roof. Original details include a sunken bar, terrazzo floors, and built-in cabinets. Wright Auctions will furnish the home with rare vintage furniture and art objects. The 5-bedroom, 5-bath, 5,000+-square-foot ranch sits on a private, wooded 1.72 acre lot in Highland Park and utilizes passive solar heating principles. Visitors can learn more about Mid-Century design during short talks from experts throughout the day.

Come tour this one-of-a-kind home and help save a National Treasure! Details below.

What: Mid-Century Modern Dream House Tour

When: Saturday and Sunday, December 2 & 3, 10 a.m.—4 p.m.

Where: 2077 Partridge Lane, Highland Park, Illinois 60035

More Information & Tickets: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3118072

Although Palm Springs, California, is a long way away from the Chicago area, the home of the House of Tomorrow, that isn't stopping two events connecting the two during Modernism Week being held February 16-26, 2017.

The annual event, which celebrates and fosters appreciation of midcentury architecture and design, will take a deep dive into our work with America's first glass house on February 25 from 11:30-12:30 pm. The description is as follows:

Widely regarded as one of the most innovative and influential houses in modern architectural design, the House of Tomorrow, recently declared a National Treasure, is set for restoration through a partnership of Indiana Landmarks, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Park Service.

Todd Zeiger, director of Indiana Landmarks’ northern regional office, explores the history of the house, beginning with its construction for the 1933-34 Century of Progress World’s Fair in Chicago, the futuristic attributes of George Fred Keck’s design, how it came to reside in Indiana and the recently launched restoration project.

Keck’s innovations promised an easier life for people grappling with the Great Depression. Wildly popular, the house drew over 1.2 million people who paid an extra 10 cents to tour the house. After the Fair, the House of Tomorrow, along with four other Century of Progress homes, were purchased by developer Roger Bartlett and barged across Lake Michigan to their current location in Beverly Shores, Indiana, a town he attempted to develop as a vacation destination for Chicagoans.

Chicago Bauhaus and Beyond has graciously coordinated two scheduled home tours the day before (February 24 from Noon-3:00pm and 1:00-4:00pm), which will further explore the Palm Springs/Chicago connection with all proceeds benefiting the restoration of the House of Tomorrow:

One residence is a one-of-a-kind custom home built in 1960 as a vacation get-away for the Morses, a Chicago couple relocated to Los Angeles. Designated a Palm Springs Class 1 Historic site, the residence is now owned by musicians Joan and Gary Gand, founders of the Chicago Bauhaus and Beyond preservation group and active in the House of Tomorrow restoration project.

The second residence is the Leff/Florsheim house designed in 1957 by Donald Wexler AIA, of Wexler and Harrison. The former residence of Harold Florsheim, of Florsheim Shoes in Chicago, it has been meticulously restored, adding in conveniences for modern living today. Floating walls, terrazzo flooring and numerous intimate vignettes encompass the property with mountain vistas serving as a backdrop through floor to ceiling glass and atriums.

So, if you happen to be attending Modernism Week in Palm Springs be sure to check out both events supporting the restoration of the House of Tomorrow!

Supporters and stakeholders gathered at Chicago’s University Club on Wednesday, October 19^th for the announcement of the National Trust’s newest National Treasure campaign – the House of Tomorrow. Noted architectural critic Paul Goldberger believes that “The House of Tomorrow…is one of the true early monuments of American modernism, brimming over with a uniquely American idealism and earnestness about the twentieth century. George Fred Keck was…interested in casting his net wide and demonstrating how future architecture would present new ideas about technology, about space, about materials. He put all of this together into a whole that is truly one of a kind.”

The National Treasure designation received widespread coverage in Chicago and national media outlets, including the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tonight, WBEZ, Here and Now, and Curbed.

The media announcement was followed by an evening reception co-sponsored by Indiana Landmarks, Landmarks Illinois, Chicago Bauhaus and Beyond, Chicago Art Deco Society, and Chicago Home Curator at the Weinrib House, a 1962 Keck and Keck design in Highland Park. Over 100 people toured the home and heard about plans for the House of Tomorrow’s rehabilitation. It was a successful kick-off to this Treasure campaign and a great launch for Indiana Landmarks’ fundraising efforts – they hope to begin rehabilitation work on the House of Tomorrow in Spring of 2017.