Happy 50th Anniversary, Marina City

Fifty years ago last week, construction began on my apartment building at Marina City.

I’ve lived here for 5 ½ years now and I still love it. About six years ago, I was downtown walking by these goofy buildings and, on a whim, decided to see what the apartments looked like and asked to see one. The leasing agent showed five of them to me and I signed a lease soon after.

I get to live in a true Chicago landmark. Whenever anyone asks where I live, they always smile when I tell them.

“Are the apartments really wedge-shaped?” they ask.

Yes, a little bit, but not as much as you’d think.

A realtor friend of mine has recently been encouraging me to buy a condo. I’d really like a two-bedroom place but there’s no way I could afford the half-million dollar price tag for one at my beloved Marina Towers. I don’t want to give up living here either. My studio apartment on the 50th floor suits me fine.

This place looks like a 1960s comic book rendition of futuristic housing. One can practically envision George Jetson and Astro flying their space-car onto one of the balconies. I don’t want to give up my comic-book apartment, especially to live in a normal, non-descript two bedroom condo. No way.

Oh, check this out. Here are two 10-minute films of Marina City being built during the early sixties. Be sure to check out the stylish clothes in second video. (I love the soundtracks to these films - - they’re a hoot.)














Here are some photos I’ve taken through the years:

From my balcony:

From the roof. (That tall building is where I work)

A night view from the balcony:

A Chicago winter is pretty brutal out on the balcony:

And a summer thunderstorm can be pretty rambunctious:

An artsy black & white view:

Happy 50th anniversary, Marina City!