THE BIOGRAPHY OF CHICAGO’S MARINA CITY Written by Steven Dahlman
1981 PM Magazine Video
Mike Leiderman produced this television feature about WFLD’s Rich Koz for PM Magazine. Originally aired on July 31, 1981, it included video shot at Marina City.
(Duration: 7:17)
(Left) In this frame from the video, Koz (center) is turning left to enter the complex south of the east tower. The vertical rods were part of a domed entry (not designed by Bertrand Goldberg Associates) to the east tower that was being constructed in 1981.
Geoffrey Goldberg, architect and son of Bertrand, describes what we are looking at...
“The Marina Cinemas sign is on the street, more or less. From the height of the bridge, where the shot was taken, the signs look to be low. They are more over by the bank and the office building, just off State Street. They were cantilevered off a single support – on the left – thus you can see underneath them.”
(Right) This area in November 2009, looking north on State Street. Unchanged are the northwest gate arm on the State Street Bridge (except for different colors) and the brick building in the background, 400 North State Street.
(Left) Koz enters the theater building where WFLD-TV is located. An escalator leads down to the restaurants, residential towers, etc. The parking cashier is visible in the lower right corner of the frame.
(Right) In this frame, Koz has entered the building, turned left and now turns right in the southeast corner of the building to walk toward an elevator. In the background is the west tower.
Recalls Koz, “Originally, entering the building lobby on the ground floor, you walked to the rear left, where the WFLD elevator was. This whisked you to the upper floors. First, the studio level, which contained WFLD’s master control and two studios – one of which eventually became a ‘bullpen’ style office.”
WFLD Channel 32 was located at Marina City from 1967 to 1986, starting out in the office building where Hotel Sax is located today, but soon moving to the theater building now occupied by House of Blues. The television station was on the second and upper floors, above the movie theaters that closed in 1977. In the early 1980s the former theaters were converted to office space for WFLD.
Koz is better known as “Svengoolie,” host of a weekly show on WCIU and the “Me-TV” network. From 1979 to 1986, he was “Son of Svengoolie,” a local cult favorite on WFLD that featured such films as the 1955 3-D thriller, Revenge of the Creature.
More recently, Mike Leiderman was executive producer of WTTW’s highly regarded nightly newsmagazine, Chicago Tonight.
(Left) Main entrance to House of Blues in November 2007. (Click on image to view larger version.)
