The Century of Progress Architectural District is a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

Beverly Shores, Indiana Beverly Shores is a town in Pine Township, Porter County, Indiana, Pine Township, Porter County, Indiana, Porter County, Indiana, United States, about east of downtown Chicago. The population was 613 at the 2010 census. History Beverly Shores beg ...

. The district is on Lake Shore Drive within the

Indiana Dunes National Park Indiana Dunes National Park is a United States national park located in northwestern Indiana managed by the National Park Service. It was authorized by Congress in 1966 as the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and was redesignated as the nation ...

. The district comprises five buildings, all from the Homes of Tomorrow Exhibition of the 1933 Century of Progress World's Fair which took place in Chicago. Intended to display the future of housing, the Century of Progress Homes reflect a variety of designs, experimental materials and new technologies. On June 30, 1986, the district was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

as the Beverly ShoresCentury of Progress Architectural District.

Architecture

The Beverly Shores/Century of Progress Architectural District is significant because it encompasses houses from the 1933–34 Chicago Century of Progress Exposition that comprised a portion of the ''Home and Industrial Arts Group''. These structures were innovative and included engineering and construction technologies that are integral parts of modern residential architecture. ''Note:'' This includes and Accompanying photographs. During the 1893

Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...

, the classicism of the French Beaux Arts tradition was popular along with the eclectic revivals of the Victorian architectural periods. This trend dominated American architecture during the first part of the twentieth century. Forty years later, Chicago's Century of Progress Exposition was the national showcase for new directions in American architecture, which once again followed a European precedent, the 1925 Paris Exposition." The Century of Progress Exposition was conceived in the prosperous 1920s, but the nation was deep in the Great Depression by the opening date. Modern technology, the general theme of the exposition, gave the nation something new during a bleak economic period. New materials, nontraditional construction methods, and efficient, new mechanical systems came together." Electric floodlights, searchlights and neon highlighted the polychromed facades and stylized motifs of the major exhibition buildings. The architecture of the Century of Progress Exposition was progressive, which meant either the Art Deco or International Style.."

Move to Beverly Shores, Indiana

After the closing of the 1933 World's Fair, in late winter 1935 the Century of Progress houses were moved from Chicago to Indiana. Robert Bartlett purchased the homes with the intent of using them to sell more properties in his new residential development called Beverly Shores. Owing to their lakefront location in Chicago and their future lakefront location in Indiana, it was determined the easiest way to transport the homes was by

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

. The houses were rolled off the barge on telephone poles onto a heavy timber crib built out into the lake. There were a series of three steps used to raise the houses to the level of Lake Front Drive.Images of America; Beverly Shores, A Suburban Dune Resort, Jim Morrow; Arcadia Press, Chicago, Illinois, 2001, pg 94

Contributing properties

The five

contributing properties In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distric ...

in the architectural district are:

Significance

The Beverly Shores Century of Progress Architectural District encompasses houses from the 1933–34 Chicago Century of Progress Exposition that comprised a "portion of an exhibit known as the Home and Industrial Arts Group. Many of these structures were innovative and displayed engineering and construction technologies that have become an integral part of modern residential architecture."Partsch, Dorothy; Century of Progress Architectural District; 86001472; National Park Service – nomination form; Washington, D.C.; June 30, 1986 In hosting the 1893

, Chicago made the classicism of the French Beaux Arts tradition popular with an American public coming from the Victorian architectural periods. This trend dominated American architecture during the first part of the twentieth century. Forty years later, Chicago's

Century of Progress Exposition A Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, from 1933 to 1934. The fair, registered under the Bureau International des Expositio ...

was the national showcase for new directions in American architecture, which again followed a European precedent, the 1925 Paris Exposition.

Current status

Four of the five houses have been restored; the House of Tomorrow awaits restoration. One day a year, the public is allowed access to the five homes.National Park Service, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Century of Progress 1933 World's Fair Homes and More, Annual Architecture Tour Featuring The Century of Progress Homes
/ref>

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Chicago history

{{National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Houses completed in 1933 National Register of Historic Places in Porter County, Indiana National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Dunes National Park Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Historic districts in Porter County, Indiana Modernist heritage districts Century of Progress Tourist attractions in Porter County, Indiana