WIllis Tower

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 Willis Tower: One amongst the many 

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It is fascinating to look at America as the home of skyscrapers. Famous for busy lifestyle and referred to as the land of opportunities, the United States has a number of architectural structures that touch sky. 

The Empire State building, Willis Tower, Chrysler Building and the One World Trade Center are just a few of those astonishing mega structures that would make your neck hurt the moment you dare to look at their pinnacles. Honored with the spot of 23rd tallest building in the world, let’s take a look at Willis Tower. 

Location 

Located on 233 South Wacker Drive in Chicago, in the state of Illinois, Willis Tower has four different entrances. Surrounded by many historical landmarks like Sky deck Chicago and the Chicago Board of Trade Building, Willis Tower is situated near must to visit places for visitors. 

Construction and Planning: A brief history 

In 1969, the Sears, Roebuck and Co. being the biggest retailer in the world at that time, decided to bring together its 350,000 employees and consolidate that separate work places. This embarked the journey of Willis Tower.  Bruce Graham and Fazlur Rahman Khan, former being a Columbian-Peruvian architect and the latter a Bangladeshi-Pakistani structural engineer, designed the building with a unique concept of stretching the structure through nine square tubes clustered into a matrix forming a square base. The designed proved to be effective and economic. Initially, Sears decided to provide occupancy to their merchandise group in the building and rent out the remaining spaces to tenants. As Sears continued to revise the tower’s top floor with optimism and desire to beat other skyscrapers, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) imposed a height limit to protect air traffic. The construction began in 1970 and by May 1973 the tower was complete. 

Amazing Features 

The Willis Tower has a Sky deck on the 103rd at an elevation of1, 353 feet (412.4m). It is the highest observation deck of the United States and is a prime tourist attraction. Also, the Willis Tower is currently the second tallest building in the United States, following One World Trade center which stands at 1,791 feet (546m) to the tip. Willis Tower on the other hand, has a pinnacle height of 1,729 feet (527 m). Yet another amazing feet achieved by Willis Tower is, it is the third-tallest free standing structure in the United States and the eights-tallest free standing structure in the world by peak height. The Willis Tower, also known as Sears Tower, upon completion in 1973 became the tallest building in the world. It held this title for about 25 years and was the tallest in the Western Hemisphere for a stunning 41 years.  Many broadcasting stations have also put their transmitters at the top of Willis Tower, making it a building with a unique top.  

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The story of Willis and many such skyscrapers can never be brought to an end. These mega structures keep on redefining the heights that humans are capable of achieving. Having reached 830 meters of peak height, thanks to BurjKhalifa, who knows one day even this structure would join the likes of Willis Tower and the Empire State Building, being surpassed by another mighty structure.  


                                                                                                            -Ishan Arora 

REFERENCES https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willis_Tower

https://www.yelp.com/search?cflt=landmarks&find_near=willistower-chicago-3

https://www.tripadvisor.in/AttractionsNear-g35805-d103238Skydeck_Chicago_Willis_Tower-Chicago_Illinois.html

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