Historical Images of Porter County

The Florida Tropical Home, Century of Progress, 1933
Beverly Shores, Indiana

Date: 1933
Source Type: Photograph
Publisher, Printer, Photographer: Kuhne, James S., and Percival Goodman. 1933. The Florida Tropical Home at A Century of Progress 1933. New York, New York: Kuhne Galleries. 38 p.
Postmark: Not applicable
Collection: Steven R. Shook
Remark: The Florida Tropical Home is along the shores of Lake Michigan in the Porter County, Indiana, community of Beverly Shores. The home was constructed in 1933 as part of the Homes of Tomorrow Exhibition during the 1933 World's Fair (Century of Progress) that took place in Chicago. Today, it is part of the Century of Progress Architectural District, a historic district. The exterior of the home was designed in the modernist style by architect Robert Law Weed and painted a Floridian pink. The Florida Home was built in 1933 for the Homes of Tomorrow Exhibition of the 1933 World's Fair by the State of Florida to showcase itself and to entice tourism to the state. The construction was carried out by the Deigaard & Preston construction firm for a total of approx. $15,000. The home was moved to its current location in Beverly Shores by real estate developer Robert Bartlett. Bartlett, who wanted to establish a resort community in the area complete with a golf course, hotel, and botanical garden, was responsible for moving six of the exhibition's homes to the area, brought to Beverly Shores by barge in 1935. The Florida Tropical Home, along with four other exhibition homes from 1933, were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986, collectively known as the "World's Fair Houses." The other five homes are scattered around Beverly Shores; four of them are close neighbors of the Florida Tropical Home.

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Image and related text prepared by Steven R. Shook