Designed by Gordon Bunshaft during World War II, Hostess House provided respite and welcome for thousands of cadets who trained at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Chicago. Noted for its dramatic overhangs, soaring laminate wood trusses, and connection with the surrounding landscape, Hostess House is an early example of SOM’s pioneering dedication to integrated architecture and engineering.

Project Facts

Completion Year: 1942
Project Area: 22,000 ft²
Number of Stories: 1

Project Awards

1955 • AIA • Award of Merit
1950 • Architectural League of New York • Gold Medal

Hostess House is the only surviving World War II-era building designed by Gordon Bunshaft. This reception and recreation center at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center, an early application of SOM’s mixed-use open-plan design approach, offered a welcoming, comfortable space for cadets who trained at the base during and after the Second World War.

Containing recreation areas, lounges, a double fireplace, and a terrace, Hostess House is noted for its cantilevered roof and soaring wood-laminate trusses supported by steel columns at each end. Inside, the space could accommodate up to 3,000 visitors, and perforated metal screens could be repositioned to divide the recreation area. Designed for a narrow site facing a ravine, the structure’s exposed-beam ceiling, rich wood siding, and extensive glazing integrate Hostess House with both the surrounding landscape and neighboring campus buildings.

Opened less than a year after the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, today Hostess House is an elegant example of America’s rapid wartime industrialization. SOM designed and erected the graceful, economic structure in less than six months using an efficient, seven-day-a-week work schedule. Bunshaft finished the design—one of his first—immediately before he entered the Army in 1942. After returning to SOM, he went on to design several modern masterpieces (including the 1952 Lever House in New York and the 1963 Beinecke Library at Yale University in New Haven), and was awarded the Pritzker Prize in 1988.

After both Hostess House and the nearby SOM-designed Gunners’ Mates School fell into disrepair, the Navy considered possible demolition. Recognizing both buildings as outstanding examples of mid-century design, several organizations—including the AIA, Illinois State Historic Preservation Office, National Trust for Historic Preservation Midwest, and Mies van der Rohe Society—participated in the campaign to preserve and restore the two campus buildings. Hostess House is now under consideration for future uses, including a possible Naval Museum.