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| Willis Tower | |
|---|---|
 The Willis Tower, then known as the Sears Tower, in 1998 | |
| Former names | Sears Tower (1973–2009) |
| Record height | |
| Tallest in the world from 1973 to 1998[I] | |
| Preceded by | World Trade Center |
| Surpassed by | Petronas Towers |
| General information | |
| Status | Complete |
| Type | Office, observation, communication |
| Architectural style | International |
| Location | 233 S. Wacker Drive Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Coordinates | 41°52′44″N 87°38′09″W / 41.8789°N 87.6358°WCoordinates: 41°52′44″N 87°38′09″W / 41.8789°N 87.6358°W |
| Current tenants | United Airlines |
| Construction started | 1970 |
| Completed | 1973 |
| Height | |
| Top floor | 412.7 m (1,354 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 108 (+3 basement floors), 110 floors including mechanical. |
| Floor area | 416,000 m2 (4,477,800 sq ft) |
| Elevators | 104, with 16 double-decker elevators, made by Westinghouse, modernized by Schindler Group |
| Design and construction | |
| Owner | Blackstone Group |
| Main contractor | Morse Diesel International |
| Architect | Skidmore, Owings and Merrill Fazlur Rahman Khan Bruce Graham |
| References | |
| I. Willis Tower at Emporis | |
The Willis Tower, formerly known as the Sears Tower, is a 108-story, 1,450-foot (442.1 m) skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois. The tower has 108 stories, though the building's owners count the main roof as 109 and the mechanical penthouse roof as 110. When it finished costruction in 1973, it beat the World Trade Center in New York City to become the tallest building in the world. It was the tallest building in the world for twenty-five years until the Petronas Towers were built in Malaysia. It was also the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere for 41 years, until the new One World Trade Center beat it in 2013.
Willis Tower is seen as the best work of architect Fazlur Khan. As of 2021, it is the third-tallest building in the United States and the Western hemisphere. It is also the 23rd-tallest in the world. Each year, more than one million people visit its observation deck, the highest in the United States. It is one of Chicago's most popular tourist places. The tower was renamed in 2009 after the Willis Group bought the tower.
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