July 10, 2013 – A project for a national public radio series is revisiting Marina City, curious about whether present-day Marina City is still living up to its original purpose.

For a class titled Buildings As Evidence, four students from the University of Chicago researched and wrote a segment for Curious City, a series about American cities aired locally on WBEZ.

Their sleuthing uncovered a collection of maps that showed what the city block – on which Marina City is now located – looked like in 1951, nine years before construction started. The maps show very little development of the riverfront north of the Loop. Marina City was just a small rail yard and little else.

The work is also presented on the WBEZ website. It covers a brief history of Marina City, how the complex was intended to slow an exodus to the suburbs that had been going on since the end of World War Two, what living at Marina City was like in the early 1960s and what it is like today.

“Without a doubt,” the project concludes, “Marina City succeeded in becoming a Chicago icon.”

Marina City Online assisted with information, video, and other images.

(Above) Researchers and reporters (left to right) include Angela Lee, Gus Springmann, Dan Cioffi, and Colin Griffin. Professor Sarah Lopez teaches their University of Chicago class, Buildings As Evidence.

According to Gus Springmann, the research and writing is complete and the project will air soon. Curious City is heard every Wednesday afternoon on WBEZ 91.5 FM. By the end of July, says Springmann, the team’s full write-up will be available on the WBEZ website.

Web pages:

• Curious City
• Marina City: Ideals in concrete