![]() He doesn't fear heights, but does fear poorly designed support structures. Ryan Craggs is Thrillist's Travel Editor. The Ledge opened in 2009, and constitutes four glass cases composed of 1.5in-thick glass that protrude 4.3 feet beyond the building.Īnd now, it also will justify the fears of every person who has ever been afraid of heights. “Whatever happened last night is a result of the protective coating doing what it’s designed to.”Īpparently engineers are now developing protective coatings to scare the piss out of everyone. "Occasionally this happens, but that’s because we designed it this way", Bill Utter told the Chicago Sun-Times. “They bought the concourse level of the building in 2012 and made a lot of improvements to the 17,000-square-foot observation deck,” Wong said. “The big draw is the view because you really can see 360 degrees around, often more than 50 miles in all directions when it’s a clear day.Garibay told NBC Chicago that staff quickly had his group shuffle away from the nightmare box, but that "They jokingly and confidently responded, 'It's unbreakable'", so the tourists snapped a few photos and moved on.Ī spokesman for Willis Tower said Thursday it wasn't actually the glass that cracked, but rather a protective coating covering the glass. Breathtaking 1,353 foot simulated Ledge views from atop six of Chicago’s biggest attractions, like Wrigley Field. The Tilt was built in 2014 by a French company, Montparnasse 56, that owns 360 Chicago, two towers in Europe, and a crocodile farm in the Rhone Valley of France that is home to 400 crocs. An all new, interactive Chicago experience shares Chicago’s best and rich history prior to your 103 rd floor Skydeck visit. Wong said the observation deck on the Hancock Center has been part of the skyscraper since it was built 50 years ago. Most folks definitely grip the side rails hard at that point.” “It’s that equilibrium thing. The experience seems to have a lot more impact on people if you stop at 19 degrees for a few moments and then go on to the maximum. “We designed it so it doesn’t go all the way out to 30 degrees in one motion,” he said. The Tilt gets several thousand thrill-seeking visitors a day, according to Tony Wong, spokesman for 360 Chicago, the official name of the Hancock Center’s observation deck. I gripped the side rails harder, but experienced a brief feeling of falling and flying. Then it tilted again seven more degrees, which made my heart rise into my throat as it continued on to its scary, 30-degree maximum. Then it progressed another nine degrees, which at first I feared was the maximum lean. The window first tilted out 10 degrees and stopped. It certainly did to this writer on a recent visit to the Windy City to see a Cubs game and do some exploration. The number 30 is significant because it’s four degrees past the point of equilibrium - giving passengers at least a momentary sense of falling. Its observation deck offers views of four states, including Wisconsin.Īnd it bests the Willis Tower with Tilt, an eight-station, hydraulic window that leans out in three stages to a 30-degree angle from the building's 94th floor. ![]() Michigan Ave.) on the city’s Magnificent Mile is 100 stories tall and tops out at a respectable 1,128 feet. The pioneering structural design of the 110-story tower is now once again highlighted in SOM’s observation deck transformation, defined by subtle design gestures. The John Hancock Center (now officially known as 875 N. The tallest is the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower), which rises 1,450 feet and has four glass-bottomed ledges on its 103rd-floor Skydeck that jut out 4.3 feet from the structure and give the impression of standing in midair. ![]() Most of it sits on a smooth plain that was once the bottom of ancestral Lake Chicago.īut the Windy City has plenty of tall buildings, several of which climb more than a thousand feet above the surrounding metropolis and Lake Michigan. Learn all about the Great Fire, dive into the delicious history of deep dish, or hop aboard the metro. Formerly known as the Sears Tower, Skydeck Chicago is your ticket to the full Chi-town experience. ![]() Watch Video: Visitors 'tilt' for views of ChicagoĬhicago’s topography is, in a word, flat. Brace yourself for 360 degrees of scenery when you make your ascent to the 103rd floor of the Willis Tower. ![]()
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