ADDITIONAL NOTES:

Marina City, in 1959, is a thirty-six-million- dollar project built on only three acres of land in the heart of Chicago's Loop. A dramatic landmark in Chicago, it culminated thirty years of thought and development for Bertram Goldberg. Each of the twin, 60 story towers had 450 apartments in its upper two-thirds, with the lower third a continuous parking ramp that spirals upwards, accommodating 450 automobiles.

For many years Goldberg had felt there were advantages in the use of circular forms: the aerodynamic properties in a cylindrical high-rise structure; the structural equidistance from the center, and therefore uniform function of all parts; the absence of special corner conditions; and the creation of centrifugal or 'kinetic' spaces resulting from non-parallel walls.

The other elements of the 'city within a city' are a 16 story office building; a 1,750 seat theater and a 700 seat auditorium; stores, restaurants, bowling alleys; a gymnasium, swimming pool and skating rink; a marina for 700 small craft; and a sculpture garden at the base of the towers — all overlooking the Chicago River. -- paul heyer, via greatbuildings.com.

more chicago.

chicago: marina towers