| Address | 300-340 N. State St; 301-351 N. Dearborn Street, Chicago, IL |
|---|---|
| Built | Not stated |
| Architect | Bertrand Goldberg Associates |
| Status | Designated Chicago Landmark |
| Designation Date | February 10, 2016 (Final)City Council Journal of the Proceedings, p. 19018 |
| Type | Apartment building |
Direct quotes from the Chicago Landmark Designation Report
“The project was the first planned development project in Chicago, and the first and largest federally-insured downtown housing project in the country. Marina City was the brainchild of William Lane McFetridge, president of the Building Service Employees International Union, and real estate developer Charles Swibel.”
“The scope of the project led to an expansion of Goldberg's practice known as Bertrand Goldberg Associates. The firm's next major project was the Raymond M. Hilliard Center (1966, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007) built for the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) to provide public housing for seniors and families with children.”
“The development's use of the Chicago River as an amenity was also years ahead of its time. At the time of its construction, Marina City was the most ambitious and innovative real estate development in the city.”
“Using concrete allowed for a more efficient and cost-effective construction of the desired form. When they were completed, the residential towers at Marina City were the tallest reinforced concrete structures in the world.”
“This complex is regarded as one of the most socially successful public housing projects in the nation, attributed largely to Goldberg's design, which successfully balanced community amenities and the individual needs of residents.”
“In his design for Marina City, Bertrand Goldberg pioneered the use of concrete in high-rise construction. Goldberg had attempted to create a cylindrical design using steel framing before Marina City, and was disappointed in the limitations of the material.”
“In Chicago, the largest example of union-sponsored housing was Parkway Garden Homes on the city's south side (listed on the National Register in 2011), a 35-building cooperative apartment complex that was built by the Community Development Trust for the Dining Car Workers Union and completed in 1955.”
“Goldberg was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects in 1966, and was awarded the Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French government in 1985.”
“Marina City, in turn, would prove to be the defining project of Goldberg's career. BERTRAND GOLDBERG, EARLY LIFE AND WORK (1913-1959) Marina City was the seminal work of Chicago-based architect and engineer Bertrand Goldberg, who possessed an unusual combination of three perspectives that shaped his six-decade long career and which coalesced for the first time in his design for Marina City.”
“Although the rents never rose to the level of the luxury high rises along the Gold Coast, rents for all units in Marina City were raised substantially almost immediately after opening, even though union workers had complained that the first rent schedules were beyond the reach of working class people.”