You can see four states from Chicago’s Willis Tower. As you ascend to the sky deck, anticipation builds with each floor, until finally, you step out onto the observation deck, and your gaze is met with a panorama that stretches far beyond the city limits.
To the east lies the vastness of Lake Michigan, shimmering under the sun’s gentle rays. To the south, the cityscape of Chicago sprawls out, a bustling metropolis alive with energy.
The Willis Tower
The Willis Tower, originally and still commonly referred to as the Sears Tower, is a 110-story, 1,451-foot (442.3 m) skyscraper in the Loop community area of Chicago Illinois, United States.
Designed by architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). It opened in 1973 as the world’s tallest building, a title that it held for nearly 25 years.
It is the third-tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, as well as the 23rd-tallest in the world. Each year, more than 1.7 million people visit the Skydeck observation deck, the highest in the United States. This made it one of Chicago’s most popular tourist destinations.
The building occupies a site bounded by Franklin Street, Jackson Boulevard, Wacker Drive, and Adams Street. Graham and Khan designed the building as nine square “tubes”, clustered in a 3×3 matrix. Seven of the tubes were set back on upper floors.
The tower has 108 stories as counted by standard methods. Though the building’s owners count the main roof as 109 and the mechanical penthouse roof as 110. The facade is made of anodized aluminum and black glass. The base of the building contains a retail complex known as the Catalog.
The lower half of the tower was originally occupied by retail company Sears, which had its headquarters there until 1994. While the upper stories were rented out, Sears executives estimated that their new building would need about 4.2 million square feet (390,000 m2).
The Tower’s Square Feet
This would be split into 70 stories with 60,000 square feet (5,600 m2) each or 60 stories with 70,000 square feet (6,500 m2) each.Sears commissioned architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) to design the tower. SOM was also the lead structural engineer, and Jaros, Baum & Bolles provided MEP engineering.
Sears planned to move its merchandise group into the building initially. And, renting out the remaining space to other tenants until needed. Sears executives were accustomed to large floor areas of at least 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2). But SOM architects raised concerns that the large floors would be unattractive to smaller tenants.
How the Tower was Designed
A subsequent proposal called for two buildings connected by a footbridge, which would respectively contain 50,000 square feet (4,600 m2) and 30,000 square feet (2,800 m2) on each floor, but this was also infeasible.
Some floors were designed with smaller footprints to attract prospective lessees. So, the building’s height was increased to meet Sears’s floor-area requirements.
Architect Bruce Graham and structural engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan, both of whom were partners with SOM, proposed a tower with 55,000-square-foot (5,100 m2) floors in the lower part of the building, as well as a series of setbacks with gradually tapering floor plates, giving the tower its distinctive look.
During the design process, one of the architects reportedly pulled out nine cigars and staggered them vertically until the pair both agreed to the arrangement. This allowed Sears to occupy the large lower stories while providing more conventional office space that could be rented out on the upper stories.
The firm of Saphier, Lerner, Schindler was responsible for determining Sears’s space requirements and designing furniture for the company. It conducted a year-long study to determine how 16 of the company’s departments should be laid out within the building.
As Sears continued to offer optimistic growth projections, the height of the proposed tower also increased. Under Chicago’s relatively lax zoning laws, the site could theoretically accommodate a 300-story building with 13.5 million square feet (1,250,000 m2).
In practice, most potential tenants did not want excessively high offices. Additionally, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) restricted the height of structures in the area to protect air traffic. FAA officials publicly denied that they had imposed a height limit.
The awe-inspiring view from the Tower
However, the area’s minimum safe altitude would need to be raised by 1,000 feet (300 m) if the building was just 1 foot (0.30 m) taller. Plans for the tower were announced on July 27, 1970. The 1,450-foot-tall (440 m) building would contain 109 stories as measured from Wacker Drive and 110 stories as measured from Franklin Street.
This would make Sears’s new tower the tallest in the world, as measured by roof height. Although New York City’s under-construction World Trade Center Twin Towers would have a taller antenna. Although the Sears Tower would contain 4.4 million square feet (410,000 m2) of space. Only about 3.7 million square feet (340,000 m2) would be used as offices.
Did you know that from the top of Chicago’s Willis Tower, you can feast your eyes on not just one, not two, but four states? It’s true! This architectural marvel offers more than just a towering presence in the city’s skyline. It provides an unparalleled perspective of the surrounding landscape.
Embark on a journey to the top of Chicago’s Willis Tower and discover a vista that defies expectations. Marvel at the unparalleled view of Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan from the observation deck, where urban adventure meets natural splendor. Don’t miss the opportunity to witness this awe-inspiring sight that awaits you high above the Windy City.
Summary
The tower is a reminder of the interconnectedness of our world. A testament to the ingenuity of human achievement, and a celebration of the natural wonders that surround us. From the urban jungle to the rolling hills, from the Great Lakes to the farmlands, the view from Willis Tower encapsulates the diversity and majesty of the Midwest.
