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Marina City | The Most Beautiful Places in Chicago with Geoffrey Baer

Marina City
Marina City
Marina City has been a signature of Chicago’s skyline since the late 1960s. Credit: James Pintar / iStock (left); Meredith Francis for WTTW (right)

Marina City

Architect Bertrand Goldberg wanted his dynamic corncob duo to become a “city within a city.” Completed in 1967, the residential units of Marina City also had access to a theater, bowling alley, an office building, shops, and a place to dock your boat all on the same site. This iconic residential “mixed-use” concept was instrumental in the attempt to reverse the exodus of city dwellers moving to the suburbs. As for the design itself, Goldberg thought that if there are no right angles in nature, why should there be any in architecture? Goldberg once described the curvilinear shape of the buildings as a “tremendous sunflower.” However, the corncob comparison took off, and Marina City has become an iconic part of Chicago’s skyline.