Join a National Park Service Ranger at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore for a tour of five historic homes from the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. These free tours are offered by reservation only on Saturday, October 22nd, between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Each tour lasts one hour and fifteen minutes and includes an inside look at the Cypress Log Cabin, House of Tomorrow, Florida Tropical, Armco Ferro House, and the Wieboldt-Rostone home.
The original 1933 “Century of Progress” houses featured innovative building materials, modern home appliances, and new construction techniques for their time. The houses were moved to northwest Indiana in 1935 to promote a new housing community and became a part of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in the early 1970’s. Today, these historic homes are undergoing rehabilitation with private funds through a partnership with the NPS, Indiana Landmarks and private citizens.
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore will be taking tour reservations starting September 9, 2011. Entrance to the homes is by tour and you must make an on-line reservation to be on a tour at a specific time. Make your reservation by following the link on Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore’s website at www.nps.gov/indu. Reservations include a free shuttle bus from remote parking lots. Follow the on-line reservation instructions carefully, be sure to print out your reservation ticket, and note the location of the event’s parking lots. Please allow at least 20 minutes for the Park’s shuttle to get you from the parking lot to the start of your tour at the Century of Progress homes. If you have difficulty with the reservation system or have additional questions, please call the National Lakeshore’s information desk at 219-395-1882.
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is one of 394 units of the National Park System ranging from Yellowstone to the Statue of Liberty. Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore includes 15 miles of the southern shoreline of Lake Michigan and 15,000 acres of beach, woods, marshes, and prairie in the northwest corner of Indiana. More than 2 million visitors come to this national park each year. More information can be found at www.nps.gov/INDU.