STORY #29: The “House of Tomorrow”
One of the most fascinating homes in the Country Club Historic District is also the most unexpected.
While most houses in the neighborhood follow traditional Tudor or Colonial revival styles, one home looked boldly toward the future.
2043 North 53rd Street
Built in 1933, this striking Art Deco / Moderne house was known as the “House of Tomorrow.”
Designed by Omaha architect Reinholdt F. Hennig, the home was constructed of reinforced concrete floors and roof with thick cinder-block walls, making it both modern and fire-resistant — a dramatic departure from the brick revival homes surrounding it.
The design featured flat roofs, metal casement windows, stepped massing, and a semi-circular projecting wing, giving it a sleek, futuristic look rarely seen in Omaha at the time.
The project was created by the Omaha Junior Chamber of Commerce (Jaycees) as a civic fundraiser and a way to showcase the latest ideas in home design. Inspired by the experimental homes displayed at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair — “A Century of Progress,” the Jaycees wanted Omaha to have its own “House of Tomorrow.”
A $10,000 building permit was filed in October 1933, and remarkably, the home was completed in just six weeks.
From November 10 through December 31, 1933, the public was invited to tour the house and see its modern conveniences firsthand. More than 10,000 visitors paid admission during the two-month exhibition, with proceeds benefiting the Junior Chamber of Commerce.
The promotional campaign for the house was creative as well. At a city auditorium food show, pastry chef Albert Bruner of the Paxton Hotel even created a detailed sugar-cake replica of the House of Tomorrow to draw attention to the project.
After the exhibition closed, the house was sold in July 1934 to Miss Una V. Gross, president of the R-Na Club at Temple Israel. When she later left Omaha for an extended stay with relatives, the property was sold again in 1936 to S. W. Taft, an engineer for Northern Natural Gas Company.
Today, the House of Tomorrow remains one of the most architecturally unique homes in the entire Country Club Historic District — a reminder that even in a neighborhood known for its historic revival styles, Omaha briefly built a house that imagined the future.
Source: Country Club Historic District National Register Nomination, Omaha World-Herald, Omaha Bee.
Photo Captions:
The 'House of Tomorrow' home at 2043 North 53rd Street, photographed by Lynn Meyer.
Exterior rendering featured in an Omaha World-Herald news article on Oct. 15, 1933, page 30, of the home at 2043 North 53rd Street.
Interior rendering featured in an Omaha World-Herald news article on Oct. 15, 1933, page 30, of the home at 2043 North 53rd Street.
Omaha World-Herald photo featuring architect R.F. Hennig, the Junior Chamber president Dick Koch and one of the contractors, Vic Petersen Jr., in front of the 'House of Tomorrow.'
Pastry Chef, Albert Bruner, of the Paxton Hotel poses with the perfect scale replica cake of the 'House of Tomorrow', pictured in the Omaha World-Herald.
