Sears Tower

Sears Tower

SKYDECK CHICAGO ATTRACTIONS

Whether it is daring to stand out on The Ledge or learning about the Windy City, visitors get a “one stop Chicago” experience on their journey to 103.

• New museum-quality exhibits highlight the iconic tower, and celebrate Chicago’s rich history and culture through captivating visuals.
• Video screens give visitors a sense of what it would be like if theystood on The Ledge, 103 floors above Chicago staples like Wrigley Field, Cloud Gate at Millennium Park or North Avenue Beach.
• New multi-media elevators give visitors one of the fastest rides in the world, while referencing points of interest that match the ascending height.
• A new theater presentation, Reaching for the Sky, tells the story of how the the building and Chicago’s well-known landmarks set architectural standards after the Great Chicago Fire and beyond.
• The Ledge provides unobstructed views of miniature-looking people, taxis and bridges from glass floors 1,353 feet over Wacker Drive and the Chicago River.

 Past & Future 

The Tower Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower) is a 110 story building in the heart of Chicago’s downtown. Willis Tower is not only one of the tallest buildings in the world, it is also a magnificent icon, impossible to miss within Chicago’s skyline.

In 1969, Sears Roebuck and Company was the largest retailer in the world, with about 350,000 employees. They decided they needed one large office space for their many employees. Architects Skidmore, Owings and Merrill were commissioned to design what would become one of the largest office buildings in the world. Fazlur Khan, the structural engineer, designed the “bundled tube” design that handled both wind and gravity.

In August, 1970 ground was broken for the beginning of construction.  Taking three years to complete, Sears Tower was finished in May 1973. The builders used enough concrete to make an eight- lane highway five miles long. Within the building, there are 25 miles of plumbing, 1500 miles of electric wiring , 80 miles of elevator cable, 796 restroom faucets, and more than 145,000 light fixtures.  The last beam put in place was signed by 12,000 construction workers, Sears employees and Chicagoans.

In 1988, Sears Roebuck and Company sold and moved out of the building, but the Sears Tower name remained until 2009 when the building was renamed after the Willis Group, a London- based global insurance broker.

Skydeck Chicago is the observation deck on the 103rd floor of the building. Approximately 1.3 million tourists visit Skydeck Chicago every year. On a clear day, you can see over 50 miles in each direction and see four states. The elevators within the building are among some of the fastest in the world, operating as fast as 1,600 feet per minute. In 2009, Skydeck Chicago opened its newest attraction, The Ledge, 4 glass boxes that extend 4.3 feet outside the Tower and stand 1,353 feet above Wacker Drive. With glass on the ceiling, floor, and all sides, it is truly, an unforgettable experience.

Interior

The Greening of Willis Tower

Willis Tower has accomplished the following in the greening of the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere:

• Partnered with Smith & Gill architectural firm and mechanical engineering firm Environmental Systems Design to identify increased sustainability in building operations and energy savings.
• Contracted with Leonardo Academy to pursue LEED-EB certification.
• Instituted an aggressive building wide recycling program for paper, plastic, glass, aluminum, electronics, and construction waste. Increased building recycling rate from an average of 10 tons per month in 2007 to more than 56 tons per month in 2009.
• Installed low flow water fixtures on building toilets, urinals and faucets, conserving more than 10,000,000 gallons of water annually.
• Installed high-efficiency lighting systems with improved controls to reduce the building’s energy consumption.
• Retrofitted building restroom lighting has been with low energy ballasts, bulbs, and occupancy sensors.
• Shading windows to reduce cooling needs during warm months and heat loss through the windows during colder months.
• Reducing the environmental impact of commuters by providing bike-to-work facilities and hybrid vehicle incentives.
• Implemented a "green" cleaning program to reduce the use of harmful chemicals, improve indoor air quality, and reduce waste.
• Installed a mock-up of world's tallest "green roof" on the 90th floor roof to test its ability to absorb storm water and reduce urban heat island effect.