The parking garage in one of the twin buildings in Chicago that are known as Marina Towers. Also sometimes called the Corn Cob buildings by locals.
Hello, At the time period, the city fathers were considering a boat marina for pleasure craft, sailboats and powerboats. Some commercial fishermen already had anchored in the area north of the Santa Monica Pier to offload their supplies and local catches. But for the general public, it was still a far away proposition. The huge Marina Del Rey Harbor was nowhere in any discussions, as it was total swamp land and not able to be developed back then. The early idea of a small harbor for boats on the North side was daunting. Rocks were already in place and that gave a sense of security as a starter point. But, mother nature was not as kind during the different seasons. During the winter storms, the big swells came barreling down the Northern coast to hit the pier area directly and create massive waves and of course, destruction. The swell direction swept “things” through the pier in a Southerly direction. Not a good location during the storms. In the summer, most of the beach was protected from the big swells by the Palos Verdes Peninsula Point. So, it looked ok for landing, anchoring or docking boats along the Northern side of the pier. But, the rest of the year, any Western direction swell… the majority of the swells and waves came right at the beach and pier with the same intensity as it normally does during a storm or swell. The false impression of the calm waters surrounding the pier in the photo gave some hope. But, the swells from the side and more powerful waves during the stormy seasons would not be good. It is difficult to make a protected harbor on a cove or cliff side area, let alone on a wide open sandy beach area with nothing to stop any wave action from all directions. Early diagrams showed a massive wall of rocks piled up high in the same area as the rocks already naturally in place. It looked promising, but the same rocks would also have to create a box to enclose the boats from damage during said storms. It was/is a difficult place to build a harbor with boat docks and to give them a safe harbor for entry and exiting. The search continued and the "pier harbor" was put on hold. To this day… Jnaki Then as progress in development came around, a massive undertaking took place just South of the pier. The Marina Del Rey swamp land looked promising as a protected harbor, if entry and exiting could take place easily. Designs were all different and one was used if the harbor entrance could be blocked off with a long breakwater at the entrance, but still allowing boats to leave going North or South behind the protected rocky wall sticking up out of the water. The land was filled and channels made as well as the protective breakwater wall at the entrance. That helped a lot, as it did not allow waves and swell currents to enter the boat harbor. Today, it is one of the premier harbors in the world. Several miles down the coast is LAX and below the flights taking off, we were/are sailing out in the ocean. Despite the fact that we have been in and out of that Marina Del Rey Harbor many different times and on different sailboats, it is still a rough harbor exit when the swells/winds are up from any direction, West or North. But, the sailing out of the protected harbor is wonderful. The big Santa Monica Bay is a great platform for waves, wind and pleasure sailing to see the this portion of the So Cal coastline from a completely different perspective. On this particular day, it was a nice fairly windy day and the fast sail up to the Santa Monica Pier and Malibu area. It was a wonderful way to see the whole coastline from a different perspective. The photo on the right is the exact spot just a few yards away from the semi-submerged rocks where the early fishermen and folks wanted to put in a harbor back in the old days. See the small danger ahead buoy giving boaters a warning about submerged rocks at all tides. Note: We all know the Santa Monica Pier is an icon for the Westcoast and the final destination of Route 66 from the Midwest. To preserve the bridge just past the Coast Highway stop light, the city has ok’d a multi-million dollar investment in retrofitting the initial bridge that leads from the highway to the actual pier and official end of Route 66. It will take a couple of years, just in time for the next 2028 Olympic events in and around Los Angeles.
Chicago’s LSD, or by its proper name Lake Shore Drive along Lake Michigan. The Inner Drive is at the left for travel in the Gold Coast neighborhood. Last year it was renamed DuSable Lake Shore Drive in honor of the city’s first business man, a trader that operated a number of businesses.
The cut off here is 1965, pictures posted should be from 65 and older, there should NEVER be a picture of a camaro posted here
The Jalopy Journal
