Marina City, State Street, River North, Chicago, IL
Built in 1963-1968, this Modern complex was designed by Bertrand Goldberg in 1959 to serve as a mixed-use complex with apartments geared towards middle-class residents, a marina, an office tower, a movie theater, a parking garage, swimming pool, gymnasium, ice rink, bowling alley, and retail shops within the complex, catering to a demographic that was rapidly leaving the city for the suburbs at the time, and setting a precedent for dense urban housing for the middle class that inspired many other residential and mixed-use urban projects over the next several decades. The complex occupies most of a city block on the north bank of the Chicago River, with two 587 foot (179 meter) tall 65-story “corn cob” cylindrical towers rising from the riverbank above a podium that cantilevers over the edge of the river and a marina at river level, creating an iconic landmark design that was among the first high-rise buildings to be built north of the Chicago River after World War II, kickstarting the transformation of the low-slung industrial district into a modern high-rise neighborhood full of skyscrapers, and the first skyscrapers on the north side of the Chicago River to be located away from Michigan Avenue. The complex’s tallest section are two reinforced cylindrical concrete towers, which feature a ring of columns at the perimeter and cylindrical cores housing stairs and elevators that extend past the primary roofline of both towers, with the lower 20 floors of each tower being largely open spiral-ramp parking garages with shallow arches between each column and minimalist wire railings, which terminate at a double-height story with a recessed unadorned wall, above which is a floor with storefronts in each bay between the columns, housing amenities for each residential tower above. Above the amenity space floors, the towers feature semi-circular balconies on each bay with metal railings, glass storefronts in each bay, and 450 wedge-shaped residential units inside with service areas, including kitchens, closets, and bathrooms, close to the core and away from the exterior, and living spaces, including living rooms, dining rooms, and bedrooms, along the exterior perimeter of the units. The semi-circular balconies give the two towers a distinctive “corn cob” appearance, and terminate at the primary roofline of the building, above which rises the cylindrical mechanical penthouses, which are ringed by open air roof decks. Originally apartments, the residential units were converted into condominiums in 1977. Below the parking garages, the towers sit atop a podium with a rooftop plaza that sits just above street level, which has a shorter upper level, which houses retail shops and restaurants, and a taller lower level, which houses the marina with multiple docks and boat slips between a grid of concrete columns at the river level, with the base of the columns at the river level being inundated beneath the Chicago River. Atop the plaza are multiple irregularly-shaped one-story structures that house shops and restaurants, with the largest structure atop the plaza being the former Movie Theater, now a music venue, which is a sculpturally-shaped curved structure made of concrete and metal, and clad in metal panels, with a saddle-shaped roof and curved facade. At the north end of the complex is a ten-story office tower that soars above a four-story podium containing retail shops, and appears to float over the podium at the ends, being supported by concrete legs with curved and flared tops, which support the end walls of the structure, and continue underneath the entire office building, with the north and south facades featuring closely-spaced concrete ribs separating the narrow window bays, and the structure is capped by a low-slope roof. Marina City continues to be a desirable residential address, and retains a robust collection of restaurants and shops, with the largest changes being that the office building has been converted to a hotel, and the movie theater into a music venue. The complex is an iconic work of Modern architecture, and was designated a Chicago Landmark in 2016.
Marina City, State Street, River North, Chicago, IL
Built in 1963-1968, this Modern complex was designed by Bertrand Goldberg in 1959 to serve as a mixed-use complex with apartments geared towards middle-class residents, a marina, an office tower, a movie theater, a parking garage, swimming pool, gymnasium, ice rink, bowling alley, and retail shops within the complex, catering to a demographic that was rapidly leaving the city for the suburbs at the time, and setting a precedent for dense urban housing for the middle class that inspired many other residential and mixed-use urban projects over the next several decades. The complex occupies most of a city block on the north bank of the Chicago River, with two 587 foot (179 meter) tall 65-story “corn cob” cylindrical towers rising from the riverbank above a podium that cantilevers over the edge of the river and a marina at river level, creating an iconic landmark design that was among the first high-rise buildings to be built north of the Chicago River after World War II, kickstarting the transformation of the low-slung industrial district into a modern high-rise neighborhood full of skyscrapers, and the first skyscrapers on the north side of the Chicago River to be located away from Michigan Avenue. The complex’s tallest section are two reinforced cylindrical concrete towers, which feature a ring of columns at the perimeter and cylindrical cores housing stairs and elevators that extend past the primary roofline of both towers, with the lower 20 floors of each tower being largely open spiral-ramp parking garages with shallow arches between each column and minimalist wire railings, which terminate at a double-height story with a recessed unadorned wall, above which is a floor with storefronts in each bay between the columns, housing amenities for each residential tower above. Above the amenity space floors, the towers feature semi-circular balconies on each bay with metal railings, glass storefronts in each bay, and 450 wedge-shaped residential units inside with service areas, including kitchens, closets, and bathrooms, close to the core and away from the exterior, and living spaces, including living rooms, dining rooms, and bedrooms, along the exterior perimeter of the units. The semi-circular balconies give the two towers a distinctive “corn cob” appearance, and terminate at the primary roofline of the building, above which rises the cylindrical mechanical penthouses, which are ringed by open air roof decks. Originally apartments, the residential units were converted into condominiums in 1977. Below the parking garages, the towers sit atop a podium with a rooftop plaza that sits just above street level, which has a shorter upper level, which houses retail shops and restaurants, and a taller lower level, which houses the marina with multiple docks and boat slips between a grid of concrete columns at the river level, with the base of the columns at the river level being inundated beneath the Chicago River. Atop the plaza are multiple irregularly-shaped one-story structures that house shops and restaurants, with the largest structure atop the plaza being the former Movie Theater, now a music venue, which is a sculpturally-shaped curved structure made of concrete and metal, and clad in metal panels, with a saddle-shaped roof and curved facade. At the north end of the complex is a ten-story office tower that soars above a four-story podium containing retail shops, and appears to float over the podium at the ends, being supported by concrete legs with curved and flared tops, which support the end walls of the structure, and continue underneath the entire office building, with the north and south facades featuring closely-spaced concrete ribs separating the narrow window bays, and the structure is capped by a low-slope roof. Marina City continues to be a desirable residential address, and retains a robust collection of restaurants and shops, with the largest changes being that the office building has been converted to a hotel, and the movie theater into a music venue. The complex is an iconic work of Modern architecture, and was designated a Chicago Landmark in 2016.