It was the first major use of slip-form construction, and the construction of Marina City was widely watched and admired. The project featured numerous design and construction innovations. Intended to be a “City within a City”, Marina City included a 16-story commercial office building, theaters, restaurants, recreational spaces (bowling alleys, pools), an ice skating rink and a marina with extensive boat storage capacity. Marina City included some 900 residential apartments as well as many varieties of commercial real estate. The first apartment tower was finished in 1962 and eager tenants moved in while the second tower was still going up, completed in 1963. An intriguing blend of sculpture and structure, the round, “corn-cob” shaped apartment buildings, the towers rose from the plaza and, as described by critic Allan Temko, supported themselves as they ascended, “uncommonly strong and efficient.” Even before completion there were 3,500 applications from prospective tenants hoping to rent one of the coveted apartments. Prior to construction, full-size mockups were made of both the apartments and the office building, allowing people to test the designs. Based on a “pie-shaped” layout, there was a gentle flaring in the layouts directing the viewer to the outdoors views. The apartments were built for economy, with large windows and balconies to enhance the views. The residential towers included twenty lower floors of ramped parking and forty floors of apartments. Marina City consists of 5 buildings - two residential towers, an office building (now a hotel), theater building and a large base structure upon which the buildings are sited.

The result was Marina City, a multi-building complex built on the banks of the Chicago River in downtown Chicago. Goldberg was a believer in the economy and cultural life of cities and wanted to create a place that would enable people to live and work downtown. Rendering of 400 Lake Shore towers.In the decades following World War II, millions of Americans fled to the suburbs, vacating downtowns and spilling out into office parks and tract houses. What's next: The first 72-story tower should be finished in early 2027.

Approximately 622,000 pounds of steel was also used in preparation for the concrete pour, which is the equivalent of about 150 automobiles.

That's the same amount of concrete needed to fill a 9-mile-long sidewalk.

It was announced last year that two new towers would finally be built on that location.ĭrone footage of the 400 Lake Shore construction site, courtesy of Related Midwestīy the numbers: Last Thursday, 250 trucks delivered 9 million pounds of concrete to the site to begin setting the foundation of the new building.Yes, but: Funding dried up and the building never materialized, leaving a 76-foot-deep hole that sat dormant for 15 years. The big picture: Construction on the foundation of the new 400 Lake Shore skyscraper has begun and 470,000 gallons of concrete have been poured into the old Spire hole.Ĭontext: In 2007, construction started on The Spire, a thrilling new 150-floor skyscraper poised to join Chicago's world-renowned skyline. The second most infamous hole in Chicago is being filled.

Chicago skyscraper concrete