THE BIOGRAPHY OF CHICAGO’S MARINA CITY
Written by Steven Dahlman

Fire at the bowling alley

Fire on Wednesday, December 20, 1978, did $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.

The bowling alley was back in the news on January 3, 1981, when day manager John Davidson was robbed at gunpoint of $1,500. It happened on a Saturday morning, as Davidson was counting money from the cash register. He was tied up with a telephone cord before the gunman left.

Then & Now: Bowling at Marina City, 1965 and 2011

Illustration by Steven Dahlman

(Left) A woman bowls at Spencer’s Marina City Bowl around 1965. Several people, most of them men wearing ties, are in the background. Behind them are lockers and Marina City’s distinctive interior columns.

(Right) United States Bowling Congress champion Missy Parkin bowls what will be a strike in the GEICO PBA Team Shootout at 10pin Bowling Lounge on June 1, 2011. Her team, 900 Global, won the shootout and $70,000, beating three other teams. ESPN videotaped the competition for broadcasts that first aired on June 25, 2011.

Last updated 25-Sep-11