May 1, 2009 8:37 am US/Central
Sears Tower Visitors To Step Out Into The Air
Glass Floor Attraction To Open In June
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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The 'Ledge' will allow visitors to the Sears Tower Skydeck to step four feet out onto a glass floor.
Courtesy: Sears Tower
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The 'Ledge' will allow visitors to the Sears Tower Skydeck to step four feet out onto a glass floor.
Courtesy: Sears Tower
A new feature at the Sears Tower will allow visitors to feel like they're hovering in mid-air.
The Sears Tower said in a news release the new feature, called the Ledge, will allow visitors to step onto a glass floor that extends out 4.3 feet from the Skydeck windows. It will be composed of four glass enclosures that will look down 1,353 feet over Wacker Drive and the Chicago River's South Branch.
"From the memorable Sears Tower scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off to curious children going right up to the window, visitors are constantly trying to catch a glimpse below. Now they have a unique and unobstructed view of the city," a Sears Tower news release said.
The attraction will open in summer 2009, the release said.
The Sears Tower provided CBS 2 with pictures of the attraction.
Other similar attractions are found at a variety of national landmarks. The Grand Canyon Skywalk protrudes over a 3,600-foot drop with a glass floor, and the CN Tower in Toronto has a glass floor on part of its observation deck. Closer to home, the House on the Rock attraction in Wisconsin has a glass floor in its Infinity Room, which protrudes 218 feet out into an adjoining river valley.
The Sears Tower is also planning several other new exhibits for this year, including a multi-media elevator ride showing points of interest that visitors are passing, new Chicago history exhibits, and a theater presentation called "Reaching for the Sky," showcasing how the Sears Tower and other structures set architectural standards since the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
In addition, the Sears Tower
will be changing its name around the same time the new attraction is reportedly opening. In March, the London-based insurance broker Willis Group Holdings Ltd. that it would be moving in, and the skyscraper will be renamed Willis Tower in the summer.
The Sears Tower was completed in 1973, originally as the headquarters of Sears, Roebuck & Co. At 1,451 feet, it was the tallest building in the world from its completion until 1996, when it was surpassed by the Petronas Towers in Malaysia.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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