Deal Estate: Three Slices of Goldberg's Marina City Pie

Chicago magazine's Dennis Rodkin serves up a slice of Thanksgiving pie with this tour of three combined units—on the market at $535,000—at the Bertrand Goldberg-designed Marina City.

[dannydougin]

I lived on the 60th floor (South tower, I think it was) from 1976 to 1978 with my mother after my parents divorced and my mother and I went to Chicago from Berkeley, CA. I was 12 and I loved living there! This host is pretty handsome!

[michaelarrowood]

Beautiful, especially with the way that the combination of three studios into a two-bedroom apartment opens up so much space and light. Ironic, on the other hand, that Goldberg's radical idea of getting middle-class residents to move back to the uninviting Chicago downtown has now become an iconic symbol with luxurious apartments. With corresponding prices, I'm sure. But the building itself is a magnificent idea for urban living, and so far ahead of its time.

[JustMeAndThePossums]

Beautiful - I could imagine myself living there, but I really love the Atrium in River City. I'd really love to live in an updated multi-unit combo on one of it's top floors as well.

[jumpymonkey]

Love those buildings! Would love this apartment.

[johnpinion]

It's beautiful, but be very careful (as a group) adding those heavy stone countertops and marble slabs and such to the bathrooms, adding to the illusion of being in a very solid structure, because in fact, the structure was not engineered in the 1960's for each unit to have the addition of many tons of building materials - at the time, those kinds of augmentations were not supposed. This is one of the factors that lead to the collapse of the Champlain Towers condos in Miami. it seems trivial, but in sum, these kinds of things can overload the structure, particularly with the natural degradation of the support materials involved over the course of decades. Modern owners truly have to grapple with the question, "was this a structure built to last centuries?", and no, it was not - not at the very least without continual competent care and re-engineering.

[pigidly]

Damn it!!! Your doorbell at the beginning!!! My dogs!!! My wife is sleeping!!!

[dom]

This very apartment is available for lease right now.

[TheJanieLynn]

Is this unit still available for purchase?

[dailydoseofsunshine]

Misleading. I thought there was some famous delicious pie associated with this building

[stevendornbusch]

Three combined studio units means 3 X monthly association fees and annual property taxes. Marina City was ORIGINALLY COMPRISED OF 1 bedroom and 2 bedroom units, as well as majority single "pie" Studios: Buy an original Two Bedroom triple "pie" unit. While I'm sure it's great to cook in, this unit's dated newish kitchen isn't particularly Mid-Century. It is totally unsuited to Goldberg's aesthetic (See his timeless sleek designs during WWll for the federal health services). The linking doors are totally incompatible choices. Buy ANOTHER unit, remodeled or not, and let you or your architect do your best in the kitchen and bathroom.

[djmk]

Saying this unit is decorated in mid-century modern is pushing it. The interior of this unit looks like 1940’s bungalow style looks completely out of place.

[lynn-haroldthompson]

The inside of this place is soooo mediocre. It is amazingly bland and has absolutely nothing to do with the architecture of Marina City or the year 2023.