Wilmette's 1933 Worlds Fair 'House Of Tomorrow' Being Dismantled

WILMETTE, IL — Real estate developers who unwittingly purchased a Wilmette plot containing the last surviving demonstration home from Chicago's Century of Progress exhibition have begun the process of dismantling the rediscovered architectural artifact.

The Good Housekeeping Stran-Steel House was featured in the Homes of Tomorrow exhibition at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. The 1,300-square-foot Art Deco design was constructed of steel and iron enamel and originally sold for the equivalent of less than $150,000 in today's dollars. It was featured as a joint entry with the magazine and the Indiana-based steel firm in an attempt to create a modern and affordable home suitable for mass production and easy assembly.

At some point, the house was moved from Northerly Island to Wilmette where it fell into disrepair and its origins were temporarily forgotten.

MJK Homes purchased the 0.4 acre lot in the 2100 block of Chestnut Avenue that had been advertised as vacant for $915,000. It plans to build two new homes on the subdivided lot. But the discovery that the land actually contained the historic model home delayed the plans, even though the house had not been granted any landmark status and had no legal protection.

According to the village, it would have been a candidate for local landmark status and a place on the National Register of Historic Places if officials had known it existed.

The builders sought to find a party interested in preserving the structure and offered to help relocate it from their property.

In April, the preservation group Landmarks Illinois listed it among the state's "most endangered" buildings. Several potential suitors expressed interest, but no deal to preserve the house intact could be struck over the course of the year.

Deconstruction began last month and should be complete by the Christmas, Crain's Chicago Business reported. Dismantling the house will cost the firm about $45,000. The house's steel panels will be able to be assembled to achieve the original look, in the form of what would become effectively "steel wallpaper hanging on the outside of a new frame," according to local architect and preservationist John Eifler.

Max Kruszewski of MJK Homes told Crain's despite the extra costs associated with the yearlong delay in construction, attempting to save the house was the "right thing" to do.

Read more from Crain's Chicago Business

Related:

• Historic 'Endangered ' Wilmette World's Fair House Has No Takers
• Wilmette World's Fair House Named To 'Most Endangered' List
• Do You Want To Buy A World's Fair House In Wilmette?

Read more about the home from a brochure by Good Housekeeping, which partnered with Stran Steel on its construction: