The Chicago City Council is just a step away to designate Chicago's original "city within a city" development as a city landmark. The Commission on Chicago Landmarks unanimously voted yesterday to recommend Chicago Landmark status to the Marina City complex.
According to Curbed, the vote took less than three and a half minutes, and that the Chicago City Council will have the drafted resolution for a final vote in December. The iconic twin towers that line the Chicago River has been a favorite landmark of photographers.
Built in the early 1960s, the Marina City complex was designed by architect Bertrand Goldberg with modern aesthetics, within the windy city.
The staff of the Commission on Chicago Landmarks calls Marina City the most forward-thinking post-war urban renewal project in Chicago in a time defined by ambitious urban renewal projects.
The design of the complex is a poetic expression that combined residential, commercial and entertainment uses to make it as "a city within a city," and is now one of the most recognizable structures on the Chicago skyline.
If the recommendation for Chicago Landmark status of the Marina City complex is approved by the City Council, it would make a significant exception to the recent demolition of mid-century concrete buildings around the city, including Goldberg's Prentice Women's Hospital in Chicago.
The Chicago Tribune said there is still no word from the complex's owners on how they reacted to the city's move. Marina City complex nearly has 900 condominium units and LaSalle Hotel Properties. A Bethesda, Md.-based real estate investment trust owns the hotel and the commercial spaces of the complex.
When the twin towers were finished in 1963, they were the world's tallest structures, according to the landmark's commission report. The report also asserted that the towers were, "Goldberg's career-defining commission, catapulting him onto the world stage and solidifying his reputation as one of the most innovative architects of the twentieth century."
Buildings receiving preliminary landmark status are protected from demolition, even though they are not yet official city landmarks.
