Marina City Online - History - Photographs by Mike Kobluk

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

(Above, left to right) Mike Kobluk, his father-in-law, Lester Foran, and wife, Clare, on the Kobluk’s west tower balcony in May 1964. (Photographer unknown.)

Two views from State Street bridge in June 1965 (above) and August 1965 (below). Noteworthy: Phillips 66 marina, Seay & Thomas Real Estate sign (owned by White Way Electric Sign & Maintenance Company, the same company that erected the television tower on the west residential tower), Marina City Restaurant, and what could be construction starting on the theater building (see detail at left).

(Right) Higher angle from Unitrin Building in June 1965, showing canopy leading to escalators down to concourse level (see detail above).

Photographs by Mike Kobluk

Mike Kobluk was an original member of Chad Mitchell Trio, a popular folk music group in the 1960s known for social commentary, mostly in the form of satire.

Born in 1937 in British Columbia, Mike moved to Chicago in 1963. He and his wife, Clare, lived in unit 4707 in the west tower at Marina City from 1963 to 1967.

The trio got together in 1958. Highlights of their career include singing with Harry Belafonte at Carnegie Hall and a concert tour of South America as part of a cultural exchange program sponsored by President Kennedy.

The group had six albums that peaked in the top 100 on the Billboard music charts, including a 1964 album, “Reflecting,” that was recorded soon after the Kennedy assassination. It included a medley of “In the Summer of His Years” and “Rally ‘Round the Flag.”

Kobluk continued to perform with the trio until 1968. He currently lives in Spokane.

Mike is third from left in the above ad (most likely from early 1961) for The Dinah Shore Show. Click on image to view larger version.

Chad Mitchell Trio Official Website

(Left) Views from the west residential tower, looking east toward Lake Michigan.

Notable in the first image from December 1964 is Equitable Building (completed in 1965, now known as 401 North Michigan Avenue) still being constructed.

On the Chicago River in August 1965, the Michigan Avenue, Wabash Avenue, and State Street bridges are raised to allow passage of a freighter.

Note the empty lot at the intersection of Wabash Avenue and Wacker Drive, where Seventeenth Church of Christ Scientist will be constructed in 1968.

Intersection of State Street and Wacker Drive, from west tower balcony in May 1964.

On the east side of State Street is Fritzel’s, a restaurant owned by Mike Fritzel that operated from 1947 to 1972. A hotel-condominium, theWit at State and Lake, was being constructed at that location in early 2008.

On the west side of State is Shangri-La, a Cantonese restaurant that operated from 1944 to 1968. The site is now occupied by Renaissance Chicago Hotel.

(Left) Looking north between towers from west tower (May 1964).

(Above) Aerial view of skating rink in February 1965. There is a logo on the base of the rink that is an aerial representation of Marina City. (Click on image to view larger version.)

(Below left) Looking down from west tower toward base of east tower (August 1963).

(Below right) Marina City from Unitrin Building (August 1965).

(Above left) Looking north from State Street outside Fritzel’s (June 1963).

(Above right) Closer view of signs on east tower. The top sign reads, “WCFL, The Voice of Labor, 1000 on the dial.” The middle sign reads, “A Daley Reminder, Keep Chicago Clean.”

(Right) Looking north from Unitrin Building in June 1965. Today, this view is dominated by 330 North Wabash and Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago.