Chicago has many iconic buildings, but perhaps none as instantly
recognizable as Bertrand Goldberg's Marina City, commonly referred to as
the "corncob buildings." Occupying an entire city block, the mixed-use
riverside complex consists of two cylindrical sixty-five-story
residential towers, a saddle-shaped auditorium, and a midrise office
building. Each tower contains more than four hundred apartments and a
continuous, upward-spiraling ramp of parking spaces. Built in 1964 at a
moment when Chicagoans were fleeing to the suburbs, the hugely ambitious
project was architect Goldberg's attempt to save the city of Chicago.
In Marina City,
authors Igor Marjanovic and Katerina R edi Ray present the first
history of this architectural landmark. Featuring newly available
archive photographs and drawings, this unique building's biography
contains lively essays that explore not only the building s
architectural achievements, but also the ingenious marketing campaign
and complex network of political partnerships necessary to realize
Goldberg's vision. As the architect's self-penned glossy brochures
detailed, Marina City offered residents a self-contained world
that included a theater, restaurant, bowling alley, health club,
ice-skating rink, grocery store, bank, and parking garage. It is no
wonder that before it was finished 2,500 applications had been submitted
to rent 896 apartments. The culmination of thirty years of thought and
development, Marina City became an instantaneous icon that made Bertrand
Goldberg the first Chicago architect to achieve superstar status with
one project. From the financing to the structural engineering, this
one-of-kind volume fills in missing chapters of modern architecture,
urban politics, and labor history.
