Marina Cinemas Marina Cinemas was a triplex movie theater at Marina City in the 1970s. It was owned by United Artists. It opened on September 25, 1970 with “The Hawaiians,” “Hello, Dolly!” and “M*A*S*H.” It closed in 1977 with “Rocky” and “Young Frankenstein.” According to a 1970 newspaper ad, UA Marina Cinemas were Chicago’s first mini-cinemas. “A dramatic new concept in comfort and convenience in motion picture entertainment. Three separate, intimate theaters – each one offering the ultimate in sight and sound. Attendant parking (at reduced rates), cocktail lounges, restaurants, shopping, bowling alley, ice skating rink – all within the Marina City complex.”

A Chicago Tribune article described the three theaters as “Chicago’s first fully automated movie theaters,” seating 296, 198, and 168 people, respectively.

In September 1976, one of the theaters was closed because the projectionist union demanded one projectionist per screen. Marina Cinemas was not profitable and closed in May 1977, despite UA having a lease until 1980.

The theaters were located beneath television studios for WFLD, Channel 32. Near the lobby of the theater was Tower Gallery, a small art gallery.

(Above) Artist sketch of Marina Cinemas. Newspaper ad on page 20 of Chicago Tribune for Friday, September 25, 1970.

Tax scandal of 1970

In October 1970, there was concern that some buildings in Cook County were being given unfair property tax breaks, and one of those buildings was Marina City.

With the personal property tax on individuals recently eliminated and lawmakers needing to make up the difference, the Illinois Senate started an investigation of the Cook County Assessor’s Office.

At the discretion of county assessor P. J. Cullerton, property taxes had been reduced for several buildings, including Prudential Building, Marina City, and Merchandise Mart. Cullerton said the owners of these properties had shown they could not afford higher taxes.

P. J. Cullerton (second from left) with Mayor Richard J. Daley (left), the mayor of Dublin (far right) and his wife at the 1962 annual banquet of the Irish Fellowship Club of Chicago.

However, the exact reasons were contained in confidential files. The files could not be made public, said Cullerton, because they included audits and income tax returns.

Benjamin Adamowski (1906-1982), a former state legislator who was running for assessor that year, demanded the confidential files be opened to show why some buildings enjoyed a tax break.

“The fact that the assessor’s office admits to such files increases my suspicion that there is hanky panky. If a homeowner went into that office and told them he couldn’t pay his taxes because he had a lot of medical expenses they would throw him out the window.”

Deputy assessor Russell Johnson responded, “They come in here with a certified audit and an income tax return and show us how much they’re losing. Then we make an economic determination. If we didn’t give them an adjustment they wouldn’t be able to pay their taxes and we would have to go to court and sue them.”

Johnson said assessments on the buildings in question were based on condition, depreciation, and rental income. A “condition factor” that normally would have been 87 percent for Marina City was instead 55 percent.

However, the biggest adjustment was for Brunswick Building, 69 West Washington Street, now the location of the Cook County Administration Building. Its usual condition factor was 88 percent but on request had been lowered to 30 percent.

Marina City Bank robbery

On Friday, April 28, 1972, at about 10:30 a.m., a 20-year-old woman walked into Marina City Bank and handed a note to 20-year-old teller Ava Butler.

“I have a gun. Give me all your money or die. Any funny stuff and I’ll get you before they get me. Put money in black zipper bag.”

The woman did not display an actual gun, but held her hand in her long dark blue coat with gold buttons as if she had a gun.

Ava put about $33,000 into the bag and after the robber walked out, she alerted other employees. She did activate the bank alarm, though.

Responding to an anonymous tip, the FBI arrested Butler and charged her with being an accessory to the robbery. They caught the robber, Vickey Stevens, in North Carolina on May 4. A man was also being sought. In his house, federal agents found more than $30,000 from the bank robbery.

(Left) Marina City Bank, circa March 1973, from State Street. Photo by Mike Chunko.

By the end of 1974, Marina City Bank would outgrow Marina City and move its main banking facilities to the Old Republic Building on North Michigan Avenue. Marina City would be a full-service but remote location.

Marina City Bank was a footnote in Chicago history in February 1978, when it was disclosed they had $2 million in deposits from the Teamsters Union pension fund. The fund was in trouble for having $178 million in shaky loans.