National Park Service LogoU.S. Department of the InteriorNational Park ServiceNational Park Service
National Park Service:  U.S. Department of the InteriorNational Park Service Arrowhead
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshorelarge building with trail going in the front and the beach and lake michigan visable in the back
view map
text size:largestlargernormal
printer friendly
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
Florida Tropical House
old black and white picture of flat roofed house with large windows with palm trees in landscaping
Florida Tropical House, front elevation, from "A Century of Progress" homes and furnishings as exhibited at the World's Fair, Chicago, 1934, Dorothy Raley, Editor, M.A. Ring Company Publishers, Chicago.
The Florida Tropical House lies east of the Wieboldt-Rostone House on Lake Front Drive. Miami architect Robert Law Weed, inspired by the tropical climate of Southern Florida, designed this house. Weed sought to blend the indoor and outdoor environments, bringing together a spacious two-story living room, with overhanging balcony, and large open terraces on the roof. The original specifications called for poured concrete walls, however, to save money, the house was framed in wood, and finished with a lightweight concrete stucco. The bright pink house became a well-known landmark for mariners.
a sea of tall grasses and catails in a marsh setting and trees in the background  

Did You Know?
Cowles Bog is not a true bog but rather a fen because it has an underground water source. This water source has contact with limestone bedrock, making the fen’s water slightly alkaline. Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is restoring a portion of this fen.

Last Updated: September 13, 2006 at 13:44 EST