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July 12, 1970. A freighter from Thunder Bay, Ontario, is stopped east of the LaSalle Street Bridge near Marina City. The bridge is stuck after expanding due to the heat. When the frustrated skipper blows the ship’s whistle about 100 times, hundreds of Marina City residents call police and the skipper is issued a citation.
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April 21, 1971. (Above) Seen from North Clark Street in this UPI photo, the Central Cold Storage Warehouse is being demolished. Marina City is in the distance at right. Built in 1916, the 14-story warehouse at 350 North Dearborn Street was 222 feet in height. The Westin Chicago River North and 353 North Clark now occupy this area.
May 12, 1972. A charity tournament called the Bikini Open is held at Marina City’s nine-hole miniature golf course. The tournament features the “Gaslight Girls,” buxom ladies in saucy costumes (left) composed of tight-fitting corsets and fishnet tights The Gaslight Club, located nearby on Rush Street, was the inspiration for the Playboy Clubs.
August 6, 1972. Firefighters extinguish a fire on the marina level of Marina City. Two speedboats were destroyed, there was damage to the roof of the marina, and smoke was reported in an apartment lobby above but there were no injuries. Pete Peters captured this image (below) for the Chicago Sun-Times.
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August 18, 1974. (Right) A boat speeds past Marina City in a race that was part of Chicago’s 17th annual Lakefront Festival.
Racers reached speeds of 85 mph as they competed for cash prizes, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Pulitzer Prize winner Bob Fila captured this image. People at Marina City are watching the race from the marina level – under the large “Apeco Marina” sign – and from the plaza level.
“Apeco” stood for American Photocopy Equipment Company, which manufactured and marketed photocopy machines starting in 1952. In 1968, Apeco entered the marina products industry. Its focus shifted in 1985 to costume jewelry and its name changed to Lori Corporation. Since 1995, it has been known as Comforce Corporation, supplying personnel to other companies for management and engineering assignments.
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November 18, 1975. Jose Martinez is the first person to walk from the west tower to the east tower without using the plaza or lower levels.
He used a tightrope suspended about 60 feet up between the two towers. He performed a variety of tricks along the way. Martinez, who was from Ecuador and performed around the world, was in town on to promote newly expanded facilities at Chicago Health and Tennis Club, located at Marina City.
This photo by Gene Pesek, which appeared in the Chicago Sun Times on November 19, 1975, was taken from the west tower parking ramp. It shows the tightrope anchored to the east tower at about the seventh floor.
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December 20, 1978. Fire does $2,500 damage to the bowling alley on the second floor of the office building. It started in a storage room at Spencer’s Marina City Bowl. An electrician, George Lieberman, suffered burns on his arm and upper chest when the electrical system he was working on short-circuited.
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