Willis Tower
It held the world's tallest title for nearly 25 years after opening in 1973 — and the Skydeck is still the highest observation deck in the United States.
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At 1,451 feet in Chicago's flat Loop, the Skydeck draws more than 1.7 million visitors a year. Architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan of SOM designed the tower as nine square tubes, clustered in a 3×3 matrix. Locals still call it the Sears Tower, the name it carried until naming rights changed hands in 2009.
What to look for
- Nine square tubes arranged in a 3x3 grid — seven of them step back at upper floors, carving the building's distinctive stepped silhouette
- The anodized aluminum and black glass facade, visible up close at street level
- The retail base at ground level, known as the Catalog
The tower occupies the block bound by Franklin Street, Jackson Boulevard, Wacker Drive, and Adams Street in the Loop.
Willis Tower is one of 37 sights worth the detour in Chicago, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Chicago pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Chicago
- Art Institute of ChicagoFour paintings you've seen your whole life — Nighthawks, La Grande Jatte, The Old Guitarist, American Gothic — hang in the same building.
- John Hancock Center (875 N Michigan Ave)A moving platform pivots you 30 degrees outward over the Magnificent Mile — 1,128 feet of nothing beneath your feet.
- Aon CenterWhen it opened in 1973 as "Big Stan," this 83-floor tower was the fourth-tallest building on Earth — and clad entirely in marble.
- United CenterThe Bulls hardwood floor is literally assembled over the Blackhawks ice and taken apart game by game — two teams, one frozen surface, shared by puzzle.
- Soldier FieldThe NFL's oldest stadium lost its National Historic Landmark status because of the renovation meant to save it.
- Home Insurance Building SiteChicago halted construction mid-job — city officials had never seen a steel skeleton carry a building instead of its own walls and stopped work to investigate its safety.