Chicago’s Willis Tower

At Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C., we have the privilege of being located near some of the most iconic Chicago landmarks, including Willis Tower. If you are in the area, here is what to know when you visit Willis Tower. 

History and Facts About Willis Tower in Chicago 

You can spot Willis Tower from miles away due to its prominent 110-story structure. It is currently the second tallest building in North America. For nearly 25 years, Willis Tower was the largest building in the world. 

Formerly known as the Sears Tower, the building’s concept was conceived in 1969 for a central office space to house Sears Roebuck and Company’s 350,000 employees. The tower took three years to complete, involving 2,000 construction workers. The total construction cost of the Willis Tower was $175 million. After 18 years, Sears sold the tower and vacated the building. The tower was renamed the Willis Tower in 2009 as a term of its lease with the Willis Group Holdings, a global insurance broker. The building was most recently purchased in 2015 for $1.3 billion. 

The building is a behemoth. It features a steel-framed bundled-tube design and 76,000 tons of steel. The tower also has 16,100 bronze-tinted windows and stands 1,450 feet high. 104 elevators operate in the tower, which require 80 miles of elevator cable. The square footage is 4.56 million gross square feet with 16,000 of this measurement used for conference rooms. 3.8 million square feet of space in the tower is rentable. 

The iconic building has been featured in a number of movies and television shows, including Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, The Dark Knight, Monk, Kenan and Kel, I, Robot, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Divergent, and Man of Steel.

12 million people pass by and through the tower each year. Today, the tower is home to more than 100 businesses, including insurance companies, transportation companies, law firms, financial companies, radio stations, and television stations. United Airlines is one of the largest tenants of Willis Tower. 

Skydeck and The Ledge at Willis Tower

An observation deck was added to the 103rd floor of Willis Tower in 1974. It was named Skydeck and quickly became a popular tourist attraction in its own right, hailing more than 1.7 million visitors each year. It is the highest observation deck in the United States and the most popular tourist attraction in Chicago. 

In 2009, a multimillion-dollar renovation was completed on Skydeck, leading to the creation of The Ledge. The Ledge is a series of windows extending from the Willis Tower that gives visitors a view down and over the Chicago city. The Ledge is comprised of three layers of half-inch thick glass that is melded into a seamless unit. Visitors can view the city from retractable glass balconies that extend about 4 feet from the Willis Tower. 

How to Get to Salvi Schostok & Pritchard P.C.

The Willis Tower is less than a mile from the highly esteemed personal injury law firm of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C.. You can reach our offices from the Willis Tower by heading north on S Franklin St toward W Adams St. Turn right. Turn right onto N Clark St. Our office will be on the left at 161 N. Clark Street, Suite 4700, Chicago, Illinois 60601.

Contact us if you have any trouble finding us.