The day before Christmas in 1967, the Chicago Tribune described a tree in the main lobby of Marina City that put on a show of colored light that was synchronized with music. The tree was about eight feet tall, sprayed with artificial snow, and had red, blue and green lights.

Leon Shan, a graduate student of electrical engineering whose parents lived in the building, had been building the display for the past three years.

By this time, Morris Swibel was the rental agent for the apartment building. He was the brother of Charles Swibel, the property manager.