No, I'm not talking about my dinner, I am talking about two buildings in downtown Chicago called Marina City... or to the locals, the Corncob Buildings. These 65 story buildings were built in 1964. At completion, they were the tallest residential buildings in the world! These two buildings contain identical floor plans with the bottom 19 floors forming a spiral parking ramp operated by valet only. Yes that is right, if you live here, you are not allowed to park your own car! The Corncobs have been featured in a countless number of films, most notably "The Hunter" when they drove a car off one of the buildings into the Chicago River.
The floor plans are very unique - they all form pizza slice wedges instead of your typical square room floor plan. Every bedroom and living room contains a balcony. The famous House of Blues is located between the two and underneath the buildings you can find a marina... hence the name Marina and the city part comes from the fact that you never have to leave the apartment buildings if you don't want to - there is a grocery store, dry cleaning, bowling alley, movie theater, etc. So there is your Chicago history lesson of the day!
Love them! I had a job one summer during college working at the Marina City management office and became well-acquainted with the pie-shaped rooms. I also got to meet Bertand Goldberg, the architect, about a year before he passed away One photo they had in the office was from the early 70s during Christmas. Someone organized a photo of the towers lined in white Christmas lights. Probably 99% of the residents put the lights on their patio railings, and it looked so cool!
ReplyDeleteEric and I have thought about moving here a couple times, but I don't think I can give up my in-unit washer and dryer (I'm spoiled, I know).
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you worked there, that is so cool! What a fun place to work. And this photo you speak of, I've got to see it, it sounds so wonderful. I haven't been very impressed with the number of balconies lined in Christmas lights the past couple years. I would LOVE to see that, google here I come.