$2.5 million buys the lot and railroad tracks

(Above) A check is presented to Chicago Title and Trust Company on December 22, 1959, to close the sale of the Marina City site. Left to right: Bertrand Goldberg, architect; Charles R. Swibel, president, Marks and Company; Thomas Burke, vice president, Building Service Employees International Union; Kendall Cady, vice president in charge of real estate, Chicago & Northwestern Railroad; William L. McFetridge, president, Building Service Employees International Union; Leo J. Sheridan, chairman, L.J. Sheridan & Company, agent for the seller; Clyde J. Fitzpatrick, president, Chicago & Northwestern Railroad; Paul W. Goodrich, president, Chicago Title and Trust Company; Frank C. Wells, vice president, L.J. Sheridan & Company.

“The land on which Marina City will be built is 135,000 square feet (more than three acres), which Building Service bought from the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad company for $500,000 less than the long-time asking price of $3,000,000. The land is the largest piece of vacant property on the Chicago River in the Loop vicinity.”
– December 1959 Service Employee, published for members of BSEIU

Although there are conflicting accounts of who exactly “discovered” the under-utilized land on which Marina City was built – some say it was Bertrand Goldberg, some say it was Charles Swibel – it would have been hard to miss. The 135,000 square foot lot was the largest vacant property in downtown Chicago.

Bordered by North State Street, West Kinzie Street, North Dearborn Street, and the Chicago River, the lot was empty except for a 34-foot-wide strip of railroad tracks that ran through the north half of the site and extended west to Merchandise Mart.

(Left) Abandoned railroad tracks, photographed in 2007, barely visible in the ground at lower right, extending east and west directly below a private driveway at Marina City. The grating at right is the driveway entrance from State Street.

Goldberg initially recommended it as a location for a new headquarters for Building Service Employees International Union, but the union decided that it would be too expensive. As a housing project, however, it made more sense.

1959 marched on as the union, represented by Swibel, negotiated with L.J. Sheridan & Company, agents for Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, owner of the property. Swibel, president of the mortgage banking firm, Marks and Company, met with Frank Wells, who represented L.J. Sheridan & Company.

The railroad wanted $3 million. Swibel got it down to $2.5 million.

(Left) 1959 map by Bertrand Goldberg Associates of their proposed Marina City site north of Chicago Loop.

On December 17, 1959, at 9:30 a.m., BSEIU president William L. McFetridge showed up at the site with a railroad spike and a check for $250,000. The check was a down payment. The spike was a symbol of the railroad tracks being relocated to make the land available for construction. McFetridge signed a contract with Clyde Fitzpatrick, president of the railroad.

That was on a Thursday. On the following Tuesday, December 22, 1959, in the 111 West Washington Street offices of Chicago Title and Trust Company, which had done a title search and insured title to the property, a check for the balance was presented to close the sale. Marina City was Chicago Title and Trust Company’s five millionth title insurance policy.

(Left) Photo from January 1960 Local 46 Union News. Left to right: Charles R. Swibel, William L. McFetridge, Paul W. Goodrich, Clyde J. Fitzpatrick, and Leo J. Sheridan.

Written by Steven Dahlman
Presented for nonprofit educational purposes

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