Willis Tower - a symbol of America

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

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

Construction of a high-rise building

The sixties of the 20th century are known in the USA as the "building boom", when high-rise buildings were built at a rapid pace. The developers of one of Chicago's business centers decided to use 5,000 sq. meters (an area equal to an eight-lane highway). Thus the idea of building a skyscraper was born. The work lasted only two and a half years, and in 1973 the tower was fully completed. Such a high speed of construction is due to the 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 (head architect of the building) and Fazlur Khan (chief engineer) used steel as a support material to withstand strong Chicago winds.

There are nine connected steel structures along the perimeter up to the 50th floor, there are already seven of them up to the 66th floor, then five up to the 90th floor, and the last floors are reinforcedtwo steel roofs. The reduction in fortifications is due to the unique design of the building, which narrows upwards. The designers provided for the completion of the building upwards if desired and necessary. In order to strengthen the piles under the tower, of which there are 114 pieces, they were driven into the rocky terrain to a depth of 13 meters.

Description of the skyscraper

Willis Tower is a building with 418 thousand square meters of office space. 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 the tallest not only in the United States, but throughout the world. Currently, Willis is one of the five tallest skyscrapers in the world, behind the Malaysian Petrones Twins Tower, the Shanghai Financial Center, Taipei 101 and, of course, the Burj Khalifa.

The steel on the skyscraper Willis Tower, the photo of which can be seen in the article, is lined with black anodized aluminum, the tower windows, and there are about 16 thousand of them, also with dark glasses. Therefore, the majestic black building stands out from other skyscrapers and can be seen far beyond the city limits.

Willis Tower Observation Deck

Chicagoers are proud to have the tallest building in the US in their city. Tourists include a visit to the observation deck, located on the 103rd floor of a skyscraper, in the mandatory list. It's called Skydeck. One and a half million tourists from all over the world come here every year. Mediumthe daily attendance of the tower is 25 thousand people. Two high-speed elevators run to the observation deck, which take tourists to the one hundred and third floor within one minute.

Emotions received from being on the observation deck overwhelm 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 tourists have the opportunity to tickle their nerves.

Being at an altitude of 412 meters above the ground, you can see 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.

At the same time, not only the state of Illinois, where Chicago is located, is visible, but also neighboring ones: Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana.

Building use

The main purpose of the skyscraper is to accommodate offices and business centers. For the convenience of all visitors, there are 16 two-tier elevators in the building that lift those who wish to the "waiting" floors.

Willis Tower plays an important role in the city's broadcasting. In 2000, four heavy-duty antennas 9 meters long were installed on its roof. They provide signals to the entire multi-million dollar Chicago. They also take on lightning strikes during a thunderstorm: according to statistics, this happens about twice a day.

Interesting information

The grandeur and height of Willis Tower attract the attention of fansextreme sports, including climbers. The first to conquer the tower was Dan Goodwin, who, dressed as Spiderman, climbed to the top of the skyscraper using alpine equipment in 1981. Without equipment, the tower was defeated by Alain Robert in 1999.

Willis Tower is sometimes a location for filming movies and shows. The skyscraper can be seen in the third part of "Transformers", in the documentary "Life after people".

The tower is large enough to fit 57 football fields.

To clean the windows and walls of the building on the front side, washing stations located on the roof are provided. They clean the skyscraper once every one and a half months.

Willis Tower among Chicago landmarks

Travellers, coming to the city, tend to visit the most famous places first of all. In Chicago, this is Millennium Park on Lake Michigan with a public sculpture by Cloud Gate. The Chicago Magnificent Mile is known all over the world - a huge shopping street on Michigan Avenue. Wrigley Field, the oldest baseball stadium in the United States, is located in the city. The Natural History Museum with dinosaur skeletons, stuffed Tsavo lions and giant African elephants is also in Chicago.

Willis Tower (address: Chicago, South Wacker Drive, 233) occupies a worthy place among the sights of the city.

Tourists without fail go to the tower, stand in line to enjoy the beauty and grandeur of the city and Lake Michigan from a bird's eye viewflight. Willis Tower is considered a symbol of America - the land of skyscrapers.