Banking on Marina City

The teller windows were at least a year away from being built, but in August 1962, a group of bankers announced plans for Marina City Bank. Jacob M. Arvey, chairman of the bank, William Fuller Gregson, president, Patrick H. Hoy, vice president, along with Theodore K. Lawless, R. S. Holsom, and Thomas F. Flannery, would start the bank with $2 million in capital.

Arvey (1895-1977) was senior partner in the Chicago law firm of Arvey, Hodes & Mantynband (now known as Arvey, Hodes, Costello & Burman). He was Chairman of the Cook County Democratic Central Committee from 1946 to 1950, and Democratic National Committeeman from Illinois from 1950 to 1972. 175 pages of correspondence between him and President Truman are kept at the The Harry S Truman Library and Museum.

Hoy was president of the Material Services division of General Dynamics Corporation. He would be indicted in 1970 on charges of concealing liabilities from banks that were loaning him $2 million between 1962 and 1966 for an insurance venture that failed.

Theodore K. Lawless (1892-1971) was a noted dermatologist and philanthropist. Known for his work with leprosy and syphilis, Lawless was also involved in various charitable causes in the U.S. and Israel. After graduating in 1924, Lawless returned to Chicago to open his dermatology practice in a lower-income African-American neighborhood. Later, while teaching at Northwestern, he established the school’s first clinical laboratory for dermatology.

Some familiar names were added to the board of directors in June 1963. Elected at a special shareholders meeting were William McFetridge and Charles Swibel.

Among the bank’s 13 directors were John H. Johnson, publisher and editor of Ebony magazine, Raymond Shoessling, president of Teamsters Joint Council Number 25, and Thomas F. Flannery Jr., president of Whitney Electric Sign and Maintenance Company.

Marina City Bank opened on February 25, 1964 on the main floor of the office building. There were electric adding machines out for customers to use. A sweeping circular wrought iron staircase, with a round, brushed stainless steel elevator in the middle, led to the vault in the basement.

Drive-in and walk-up windows were available outside the bank. You could see the teller on closed-circuit television. This “Teleview Teller” was also in the lobby of the apartment towers for use by Marina City residents.

The Teleview Teller was located near Item 14 in the above map, near the tunnel to the office building.

The bank had been accepting deposits since December 1963 and by opening day they totalled $372,575. By March 1964, Marina City Bank had $12 million in deposits and was, according to American Banker magazine, one of the 2800 largest banks in the U.S.

On Friday, September 10, 1964, James Douglas Bell, age 30, walked up to a teller at Marina City Bank and demanded money. Bell did not appear to have a weapon on him and the teller refused. The would-be robber fled but was soon caught by the bank’s chief guard, Maurice Walsh. Bell was arraigned on federal charges later that same day.