If you walk into a dive bar in Bridgeport or a coffee shop in Logan Square and ask for directions to the Willis Tower, you might get a blank stare. Or a smirk. Honestly, most locals still call it the Sears Tower, and they aren't doing it to be difficult. It’s a matter of principle. This 110-story giant has defined the Chicago skyline since 1973, and despite a corporate name change in 2009 that launched a thousand angry Facebook groups, it remains the undisputed heavyweight champion of the Midwest.
It’s big. Really big. We’re talking 1,451 feet of black steel and bronze-tinted glass.
But here is the thing: most people treat it like a checkbox on a tourist itinerary. They show up, wait in line, step on the glass, and leave. They miss the weird engineering secrets, the fact that the building basically "breathes" in the wind, and the massive $500 million glow-up that recently turned the base of the tower into something actually worth visiting.
The "Cigarette Pack" Magic of the Willis Tower
Back in the late 60s, Sears, Roebuck & Co. was the largest retailer on the planet. They needed a massive amount of office space for 350,000 employees. They didn't just want a building; they wanted a monument.
The architect Bruce Graham and structural engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan—a name you should know if you like buildings that don't fall over—came up with the "bundled tube" system. Legend has it Graham demonstrated the concept by pulling a handful of cigarettes out of a pack and showing how they could be grouped together to create a rigid structure.
By bundling nine square tubes together, they solved the "sway" problem that plagues most supertall buildings. Each tube supports the others. It’s why the tower looks like it’s stepping down as it gets higher. Only two of those nine tubes actually make it to the 110th floor.
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It’s not just for looks. This design allowed them to use less steel while making the building incredibly stiff. Even so, the building is designed to sway. On a windy Chicago day, the Willis Tower can lean about 6 inches from its center. Don't worry, though—it’s built to handle up to 3 feet of lateral movement.
Why Everyone Still Calls it Sears
Let’s talk about the name. In 2009, a London-based insurance broker called the Willis Group leased a chunk of space and, as part of the deal, snagged the naming rights.
Chicagoans hated it.
There were petitions. There were protests. People felt like a piece of their identity was being sold to a company that only occupied a tiny fraction of the building. Even now, over 15 years later, "Willis" feels like a typo to many locals.
The building has had a rocky history with its owners. Sears moved out in the 90s. The Blackstone Group bought the whole thing in 2015 for $1.3 billion, which was a record price for a U.S. office building outside of New York City. Since then, they’ve worked hard to make the building more than just a place where United Airlines employees (the current largest tenant) go to sit in cubicles.
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The Skydeck and "The Ledge" Experience
If you’re visiting, you’re probably going to the 103rd floor. That’s the Skydeck.
It’s the highest observation deck in the United States. On a clear day, you can see four states: Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan. You’re literally looking over the curve of the earth.
Survival Tips for the 103rd Floor:
- Buy tickets in advance. I cannot stress this enough. If you just show up, you might spend two hours in a basement looking at interactive screens instead of the actual view.
- The Ledge is terrifying. These are glass boxes that stick out 4.3 feet from the side of the building. You are standing on 1,353 feet of nothing. It's safe—the glass is three layers of half-inch thick laminate—but your brain will tell you otherwise.
- Timing is everything. Aim for about 45 minutes before sunset. You get the golden hour, the sunset, and then the city lights flickering on. It’s the "pro move" for photographers.
More Than Just a View: The Catalog
For decades, the ground floor of the tower was a bit of a dead zone. It felt like a fortress. Dark, granite-heavy, and frankly, a bit depressing.
Blackstone’s recent renovation changed that with "Catalog." It’s a five-story retail and dining hub named after the famous Sears catalog. They’ve brought in local heavy hitters like Shake Shack, Brown Bag Seafood, and some really cool public art.
There’s also a 30,000-square-foot outdoor park on the fourth-floor roof. It’s one of those "hidden in plain sight" spots where you can grab a coffee and actually feel the scale of the towers rising above you without the claustrophobia of the street level.
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The Reality of Working in an Icon
It isn't just a museum; it's a vertical city. About 20,000 people work here every day. It has its own zip code (60606).
But being an "old" skyscraper (by modern standards) means it has to work harder to stay relevant. The building is now the largest LEED Platinum certified building in the country. They’ve swapped out thousands of windows and updated the elevators—which, by the way, are among the fastest in the world, hitting speeds of 1,600 feet per minute.
You can get from the ground to the top in about 60 seconds. Your ears will definitely pop.
Actionable Insights for Your Visit
If you’re planning to tackle the Willis Tower, don’t just wing it.
- Check the cloud cover. If the "L" is disappearing into the fog, the 103rd floor is just going to be a view of a white wall. Use the Skydeck's website to check visibility before you pay the $30+ for a ticket.
- Explore the West Loop afterwards. The tower is on the edge of the Loop. Walk a few blocks west over the river and you’re in one of the best food neighborhoods in the world (Fulton Market).
- Look for the art. Don't miss the "Atmospheric Wave Wall" by Olafur Eliasson on the exterior. It’s a massive installation that changes color as you walk past it, mimicking the surface of Lake Michigan.
- Skip the gift shop souvenirs. The prices are notoriously marked up. If you want a Chicago souvenir, walk ten minutes to the Art Institute or a local shop in the Loop for something that isn't a plastic tower.
The tower might have a different name on the sign now, but its soul is still pure Chicago: bold, a little bit stubborn, and impossibly tall. Whether you call it Willis or Sears, you can't deny that standing on that 103rd-floor glass is the closest most of us will ever get to flying over the Second City.