| 2014 |
December 23, 2014 – Extreme cold, construction, parades, green rivers, movies being filmed, fire festivals, wing eating contests, and Wayne Newton. Just that would have been a full year for Marina City. But one day, professional daredevil Nik Wallenda passed by and thought, “Man, those buildings are made for a wire to be stretched between them.”
Marina City Online worked with 1,376 images in 2014. Here are the best 20.
Click on images to view larger versions.
January 6
Extreme cold closes nearby Divvy stations and bursts a pipe at Leo Burnett Building but there are but minor issues at Marina City. Here, water vapor rises from the Chicago River – warmer than the air above it – in front of Marina City. At noon in downtown Chicago it was zero degrees and that is the warmest it got all day.
Also in January, for a riverfront lighting contest, the city sends to artists worldwide illustrated inspiration that features a hyper-illuminated Marina City.
The condominium association at Marina City hires an outside auditor to help get to the bottom of five projects over the past eight years that are suspected to have been significantly over-budget.
And Marina City’s Tortoise Club is featured on WTTW’s restaurant review show, Check, Please!
“Don Draper would take a client here,” says one reviewer, referring to the Mad Men character, “and if this place is good enough for Don Draper, you know I’m going there.”
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February 12
(Above) The city is nearly one month into construction of a stretch of Chicago Riverwalk from State Street to LaSalle Street. With ice still on the river, demolition of the old Riverwalk begins on January 17. Work will continue until Spring 2015. February 15 (Left) Goodbye, Hotel Sax. Hello, Hotel Chicago. The owner of Marina City’s 353-room hotel has fired Access Hotels & Resorts and hired HEI Hotels & Resorts to manage it. On February 3, it is announced that the hotel will be branded a Marriott and the name will change. |
March 15
The ice melted late this year and there was concern it would not be melted in time for the annual greening of the Chicago River. Organizers had a plan to break through any ice as long as it was not more than five inches thick. It was cold but there was no ice and the river turned green for the 53rd time. The event usually attracts about 50,000 people, many of whom are seen here, standing on the State Street Bridge and on the south side of AMA Plaza.
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March 15
After the Shannon Rovers Irish Pipe Band lead the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the kilts did not have to be returned yet so they marched north on State Street. They are seen here almost at Marina City. The Rovers – 70 pipers, drummers, and color guard – are a Chicago band, first organized in 1926. They perform at about 125 events each year. Photo by Amy Hartnett. |
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At Marina City, the condo association breaks the news to unit owners that $864,321 was lost in over-budget spending. And after struggling financially for months, a convenience store that served residents for 12 years closes.
In April, residents are told that a fire iron someone dropped from a balcony did $20,000 worth of damage to commercial property below.
At its annual meeting on April 28, the condo association elects eight new directors. Of the 15 directors serving, only three were on the board prior to 2013.
British Pathé uploads to YouTube newsreels and documentaries it produced from 1910 to 1970. A 1963 newsreel, The Changing Face of Great American Cities, focuses on Chicago and features a young, aspiring Marina City.
And city officials back off from speculation that professional daredevil Nik Wallenda will walk a high wire over the Chicago River. Little do most people know that Wallenda has long since decided to walk across the river and will begin his walk at Marina City.
May 21
(Above) Chicago fire fighters react to a round of spicy chicken wings at a charity event at Dick’s Last Resort. Winning the category was Al Cousineau, representing Hook & Ladder 2, pointing to a supporter in this photo. Cousineau, who also won in 2013, consumed the most chicken wings laced with the hottest spice Dick’s could find.
May 27
Construction barges and the tugboat Tanner help build the Chicago Riverwalk west of the State Street Bridge during the 21st week of construction. At right, sheet piles are nudged into the riverbed to outline where the new Riverwalk will take shape.
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June 20
Backed by eight showgirls, seven show guys, and Marina City, Las Vegas legend Wayne Newton sings his signature tune Danke Schoen on board Shoreline Sightseeing’s Bright Star. The surprise performance on the Chicago River, aired live on WGN-TV’s morning news program, was part of an advertising campaign for Las Vegas that kicked off in Chicago. Photo by Shoreline Sightseeing. |
July 18
(Above) As the 60-story luxury apartment tower at 111 West Wacker Drive nears completion, a terrace mid-way up offers this view of Marina City.
September 29
A performance platform – also known as a barge – carrying the stars of the Great Chicago Fire Festival’s Grand Spectacle squeezes past Riverwalk construction in front of Marina City on its way to spots east of the State Street Bridge. Redmoon Theater brought the 24 x 48-foot barges, tied together and pushed by tugboat, up from South Halsted Street and moved them into positions for the October 4 event.
October 4
While an electrical issue with the ignition system rendered the main fire effects quiet and safe and less of the infernos they were supposed to be, not all of the Great Chicago Fire Festival fizzled. Here, a singer warms up the crowd at AMA Plaza east of Marina City.
Photo by Anne Ryan.
October 13
After a three-month renovation, Wollensky’s Grill re-opens as a less formal, less pricey version of its main dining room. Located downstairs at Marina City’s Smith & Wollensky, the grill now sports a pinwheel black and white marble mosaic floor, scrubbed oak hardwood, antique lighting, and classic curved wood furniture – going for what the restaurant calls “a relaxed speakeasy atmosphere.”
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October 18
It is a rare sight – five bridges on the Chicago River raised at the same time, seen here from Marina City’s west tower observation deck. The bridges at Dearborn Street, State Street, Wabash Avenue, Michigan Avenue, and Columbus Drive were raised at about 7:40 a.m. to let a very low-flying helicopter fly through. The Aerospatiale AS355F2 twin-engine helicopter, owned by Heli Motion of Joliet, was filming for the movie Insurgent, the sequel to Divergent. Photo by Albert Bartkus. |
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October 26
A Sikorsky S-58T twin-engine helicopter swoops in over the Chicago River to do 15 lifts to the observation decks of both Marina City towers. The helicopter carried camera and other equipment needed by Nik Wallenda for his November 2 stunt.
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November 2
(Left) With the towers of Marina City lit by Musco lighting, like what is used at large sports events, people appear on balconies as silhouettes. Some balconies have colorful lights but what really stands out is the lone red figure at upper left, departing Marina City on a sliver of light. (Below) Nik Wallenda approaches Leo Burnett Building in this frame from the live broadcast on Discovery Channel. |
(Above) Standing at the very edge of a cantilevered roof over a Marina City balcony, Wallenda waves to people on balconies in the other tower. A camera operator stands on a ladder at right, used to climb over the fence. Every 15 feet along the top steel wire on which Wallenda will walk, clamps connect to stabilizing wires below. Not only will he walk the wire blindfolded, but also he will step over these clamps.
Photo by Anita Lambert.
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(Above) Wallenda walks blindfolded on a high wire 543 feet over a concrete plaza between Marina City’s west and east towers. Photo by Jean-Marc Giboux.
(Right) He did not get to take a “selfie” during the walk, like he wanted to, but Nik did snap this pic from the tiptop of Marina City’s west tower just before he headed out. Photo by Nik Wallenda. |
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Also in November, BIN 36, the River North restaurant known for its wine pairings, announces it will leave after 15 years at Marina City and re-open in the West Loop in April.
And a building permit is issued to renovate an existing commercial space at Marina City and use it as a retail store. The owners already have a small grocery store in the South Loop.
December 2
Towering several inches above the ground, a garden-scale version of high-wire-walker Nik Wallenda completes an annual exhibit of Chicago landmarks made from natural materials at Chicago Botanic Garden. The miniature Wallenda walks, with tiny blindfold, between miniature towers made of natural plant materials.
Photo by Chicago Botanic Garden.
In December, Dick’s Last Resort hosts, for the 26th year in a row, a holiday party for children of lower-income families on the city’s near north side.
Entertainment Cruises, a large dining and sightseeing cruise operator with 30 ships in nine locations, wants to offer “duck tours” from an amphibious vehicle that would enter the Chicago River at Marina City.
And we learn that the location fee NBCUniversal will pay to begin and end the Nik Wallenda stunt at Marina City is $75,000, plus $10,000 to use four balconies.
