1966 map puts the ‘City’ in Marina City

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21-Jan-08 – The Marina City history project, City Within A City, has received a map of a hustling, bustling Marina City complex in the mid-to-late 1960s.

It is most likely from 1966 or 1967, based on the note that WFLD Channel 32 is “under construction.” WFLD went on the air in January 1966 from the top floor of Kemper Insurance Building, now Civic Opera Building, while its new home at Marina City was being built.

Also, there is no mention of the Univac division of Sperry Rand (now known as Unisys), which by 1968 had leased space on the west side of the office building below what is now BIN 36.

Ready to go, however, are the gourmet shop, supermarket, restaurants, bar, liquor store, candy store, florist, gift shop, barber shop, beauty salon, travel agency, and drug store. The swimming pool was still under construction.

The “teleview teller” near the tunnel to the office building was the 1960s version of an ATM. You could see the teller on closed-circuit television. Drive-in and walk-up windows were available outside the bank, closest to State Street.

The National Design Center was a showcase, open to the public, of home furnishings and appliances. It leased 35,000 square feet on the first four floors of the Marina City office building.

Note also that the escalators were apparently moved during a later renovation from the northwest side of the concourse level to the south side.

The map was given to the history project by Earl Meech of San Antonio, who lived at Marina City from 1963 to 1972.