Willis Tower - the symbol of America

Each country has its own sights. One of the many symbols of the United States of America is the skyscraper of the Willis Tower in Chicago.

Construction of a high-rise building

The sixties of the 20th century are known in the US as a "building boom" when high-rise buildings were built at a rapid pace. Developers of one of the business centers of Chicago decided to profitably use 5000 square meters. Meters (an area equal to an eight-lane highway). So the idea of a skyscraper was born. Works lasted only two years and a little, and in 1973 the tower was completely completed. Such a high rate of construction is due to a large number of workers (about two and a half thousand people) and uninterrupted financing (the final cost of the building is estimated at $ 150 million).

Design Features

Bruce Graham (chief architect of the building) and Fazlur Khan (chief engineer) used steel to support the construction so that the structure could withstand the impacts of strong Chicago winds. On the perimeter up to the 50th floor there are nine associated steel structures, up to 66 floors there are already seven, then up to 90 floors - five, and the last floors are supported by two steel floors. Reducing the fortifications is due to the unique design of the building, which narrows to the top. The designers provide for the completion of the building upwards in case of desire and necessity. In order to strengthen the pile under the tower, which number 114 pieces, hammered into a rocky terrain to a depth of 13 meters.

Description of a skyscraper

Willis Tower is a building, the area of office space in which 418 thousand square meters. Meters. The skyscraper has a height of 110 floors. The height of the Willis Tower is 443 meters. The mass of the tower is estimated at two hundred and twenty-two and a half thousand tons. For a quarter of a century, the tower was considered to be the highest not only in the US, but throughout the world. Currently, Willis is one of the five highest skyscrapers in the world, behind Malaysia's Petronas Twins Tower, Shanghai Financial Center, Taipei 101 and of course Burj Khalifa.

Steel on the skyscraper The Willis Tower, a photo of which can be seen in the article, is lined with anodized black aluminum, the tower windows, and about 16 thousand of them, also with dark glasses. Therefore, the majestic construction of black color stands out against the background of other skyscrapers and is seen far beyond the city limits.

Willis Tower: observation deck

Residents of Chicago are proud of the presence in their city of the tallest building in the US. Tourists include a visit to the observation deck, located on the 103 floor of the skyscraper, on the mandatory list. She is called Skydeck. Annually, one and a half million tourists from all over the world come here. The average daily attendance of the tower is 25 thousand people. Two high-speed elevators run to the viewing platform, which, within one minute, lift tourists to the 103rd floor.

Emotions received from being on the observation deck, crowd visitors. As a result of the reconstruction, four balconies appeared on it, protruding beyond the general perimeter of the building. They are completely made of transparent glass, including the floor, so that tourists have the opportunity to tickle their nerves.

Located at an altitude of 412 meters above the ground, you can view all the sights of Chicago and the features of the city. With good visibility from the Skydeck observation deck, it is easy to see the territory within a radius of 80 km.

In this case, not only the state of Illinois, where Chicago is located, but also the neighboring states are visible: Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana.

Use of the building

The main purpose of the skyscraper is to place offices and business centers. For the convenience of all visitors in the building, there are 16 two-level elevators that lift up those wishing up to the "expectation" floors.

The Willis Tower plays an important role in the broadcasting of the city. In 2000, four super-power antennas with a length of 9 meters were installed on its roof. They provide signals to the entire multimillion Chicago. They also take lightning strikes during a thunderstorm: according to statistics, this occurs about two times a day.

Interesting information

The greatness and height of the Willis Tower attract the attention of lovers of extreme sports, including mountaineers. The first to conquer the tower was Dan Goodwin, who in Spiderman costume climbed to the top of the skyscraper with the help of alpine equipment in 1981. Alen Robert defeated the tower in 1999 without equipment.

The Willis Tower is sometimes a playground for filming movies and programs. Skyscraper can be seen in the third part of the "Transformers", in the documentary "Life After People".

The area of the tower is so large that it could fit 57 football fields.

To clean the windows and walls of the building from the front side there are washing stations located on the roof. They clean the skyscraper once a month and a half.

Willis Tower in a number of Chicago attractions

Travelers, coming to the city, tend to visit the most famous places first. In Chicago, it's the Millennium Park on Lake Michigan with the public sculpture Cloud Gate. Known all over the world for the Chicago Magnificent Mile - a huge shopping street on Michigan Avenue. In the city is the oldest in the US stadium for playing baseball "Wrigley Field". A natural history museum with skeletons of dinosaurs, stuffed lions Tsavo and giant African elephants is also located in Chicago.

Willis Tower (address: City of Chicago, South Wacker Drive, 233) occupies a worthy place among the city's attractions. Tourists necessarily go to the tower, stand in line to enjoy the beauty and grandeur of the city and Lake Michigan from a bird's eye view. The Willis Tower is considered a symbol of America - a country of skyscrapers.