Sears Tower - Chicago, Illinois
Posted by: Hikenutty
N 41° 52.729 W 087° 38.191
16T E 447185 N 4636517
As of 2007 the Sears Tower remains the tallest building in the Western hemisphere and it is the largest commercial use office building in the United States. The Skydeck, located on the 103rd floor is an observation deck.
Waymark Code: WM1XGR
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 07/27/2007
Views: 230
The Sears Tower was originally designed in the late 1960's by Bruce Graham of the Skidmore, Owings and Merrill firm. It was completed in 1974. From 1974 to 1996 the building remained the tallest in the world at 1,730 feet (includes the towers; 1,450 without them).
Visitors can travel to the 103rd floor, called the Skydeck. It is the highest non-mechanical floor in the structure. From the deck you can see 40-50 miles on a clear day. That means by walking around the skydeck you can see Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. It's also a unique view of some of Chicago's famous architecture.
The following text is from the engineering Website:
Structural engineers have a challenge designing skyscrapers in Chicago--the famous strong winds want to blow the buildings down. To keep skyscrapers standing, engineers need to find the right balance between a rigid structure, which won’t sway in the wind and make people sick, and one flexible enough not to snap like a stick. The Sears Tower is another monument to that design know-how. Opened in 1973, it rises 1,454 feet high and is the second tallest building in the world--and the tallest if one considers the highest occupiable space as the criterion. It took three years to build at a cost in excess of $150 million.