Serving the Loop and Near North neighborhoods of downtown Chicago

May dates in
Marina City history

May 8, 1963 – Hilton Hotels Corporation signs a $2 million lease to operate restaurant and catering facilities at Marina City. It is the first time Hilton operates a restaurant in a private complex that is not a Hilton Hotel.

Herold Chalmers May 1963 – Marina City’s first grocery store opens. The owner is Herold Chalmers, pictured at left.

Mickey One

May 1964 – Scenes are filmed at Marina City for Mickey One, a film by Arthur Penn that stars Warren Beatty as a nightclub comic fleeing the Detroit Mob for Chicago.

(Left) Warren Beatty in front of a Marina City apartment in a scene from Mickey One.

May 1964 – Marina City Management launches a newsletter, From Marina City.

May 19, 1967 – June Fleck, a 39-year-old woman, falls to her death from the 50th floor of the east tower.

May 4, 1972 – Vickey Stevens is arrested in North Carolina and charged with robbing Marina City Bank the previous week of $33,000.

May 5, 1972 – Gloria Kirkpatrick, the young, pretty manager of the movie theaters at Marina City, is stabbed to death at 3:35 p.m. Her assailant is unknown. Motive is unknown.

Chicago Police Department
(Above) Chicago police report on murder of Gloria Kirkpatrick at Marina City on May 5, 1972.

May 12, 1972 – A charity tournament, the Bikini Open, is held at Marina City’s nine-hole miniature golf course. It features the “Gaslight Girls,” buxom ladies in saucy costumes.

May 1977 – Marina Cinemas closes.

May 3, 1991 – Police raid a Marina City apartment and seize about 250 guns, the largest single seizure of weapons in Chicago. But the owner of the apartment, Francis Samp, turns out to be a licensed gun collector. After eight years of prosecution, Samp is not convicted and every weapon seized is returned to him.

May 6, 1991 – A suspect in two 1989 rapes in downtown Chicago, Donald Williams, who had escaped earlier in the day from Cook County Jail, is captured at Marina City after allegedly attacking a woman in the lobby.

DePaul University

May 18, 2003 – A two-hour reception honors 19 original residents – people who were the first tenants of their respective apartments.

(Left) Dolores McCahill, a religion reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times in the early 1960s, one of 19 original residents honored at a reception in 2003.

May 2, 2008 – A four-foot version of Marina City, constructed of LEGO bricks, makes its first appearance at Looptopia, a dusk-to-dawn artistic celebration.

May 15, 2008 – A hard-fought building permit is issued to Dick’s Last Resort to construct a bar/restaurant at Marina City.

May 29, 2008 – Marina City resident Gary S. Kimmel pleads guilty to federal charges of money laundering.

One paroled, one convicted: The disparate paths of two 2023 River North garage robbers
One paroled, one convicted: The disparate paths of two 2023 River North garage robbers
Rental Bidding Wars: North Side seekers pay thousands over asking
Rental Bidding Wars: North Side seekers pay thousands over asking
Federal judge weighs dismissal of Beat Kitchen suit over ‘rigged’ Riverwalk bidding
Federal judge weighs dismissal of Beat Kitchen suit over ‘rigged’ Riverwalk bidding
Theater of the Mind: 15,000-square-foot sensory playground inhabits Reid Murdoch Building
Theater of the Mind: 15,000-square-foot sensory playground inhabits Reid Murdoch Building
The Assessor’s War: Kaegi vs. The Machine
The Assessor’s War: Kaegi vs. The Machine
City council resolution moves ‘Route 66’ starting point to Navy Pier
City council resolution moves ‘Route 66’ starting point to Navy Pier
Pews to penthouses: Church conversion anchors the rise of ‘Gold Coast West’
Pews to penthouses: Church conversion anchors the rise of ‘Gold Coast West’
From mansions to mail boat jumps, Lake Geneva still delivers
From mansions to mail boat jumps, Lake Geneva still delivers
Domestic violence protection is focus of new apartment lease
Domestic violence protection is focus of new apartment lease
Fed lowers rates but home buyers face tough times ahead
Fed lowers rates but home buyers face tough times ahead
ChicagoFilming.com