Marina City

마리나 시티

Bertrand Goldberg's twin round towers on the Chicago River, nicknamed the "corncobs" for their stacked petal-shaped balconies; the lower 19 floors are an open spiral car park.

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At a glance

Country: United States
Location: Chicago, USA
Built: 1968
Height: 179 m
Type: Skyscraper

Quick answers

Where is Marina City?

Marina City is in Chicago, USA, United States.

When was Marina City built?

Marina City was built in 1968.

How tall is Marina City?

Marina City is about 179 m tall.

Marina City is a mixed-use complex of homes and businesses on the north bank of the Chicago River in Chicago, Illinois, directly across from the Loop. It was designed by the architect Bertrand Goldberg and opened between 1963 and 1967. Its two round towers, each 587 feet (179 metres) and 65 storeys, have balconies shaped like petals, and people nicknamed them the 'corncobs'.

The complex also has a 10-storey building that was an office and later a hotel, and a saddle-shaped auditorium that was first a cinema. Under the raised platform, at river level, there is a small marina for boats, which gives the complex its name. Parts of Marina City were designated a Chicago Landmark in 2016.

A city within a city

Goldberg designed Marina City in 1959, and it was built from 1961 to 1968 for about 36 million dollars, paid for largely by a union of building janitors and elevator operators who wanted to stop people leaving the downtown. It was built as a 'city within a city' with a theatre, gym, swimming pool, ice rink, bowling alley, stores, restaurants and the marina. When finished, its towers were the tallest residential buildings and the tallest reinforced-concrete structures in the world.

Inside the towers

In each tower the bottom 19 floors are an open spiral parking ramp with about 896 spaces. The 20th floor holds a laundry room with panoramic views, floors 21 to 60 hold 450 apartments, and the 61st has a 360-degree open-air roof deck. Apartments have almost no right angles. Each is a pie-slice unit, with sixteen around a circular hallway, and each ends in a semi-circular balcony of 175 square feet, so every living room and bedroom has a balcony.

Firsts and fun facts

Marina City was the first building in the United States built with Linden climbing tower cranes. A TV station, WLS-TV, transmitted from an antenna on its top until the Willis Tower was finished. The apartments use only electricity, with no natural gas, because the local power company supplied transformers for free if buildings were all-electric. It is widely credited with beginning the residential renaissance of American inner cities.

Fun facts

The lowest 19 floors of each tower are a spiral car park.
It takes about 33 seconds for the high-speed elevator to reach the 61st floor roof deck.
The towers have almost no right angles inside the apartments.
The complex was funded largely by a union of building janitors and elevator operators.
It includes a marina beneath the platform, at river level.