willis tower height

Willis tower height: The Sears Tower, formerly the Sears Tower, has been the focal point of imagination since 1973, when it was inaugurated as the world’s highest building. Here are some facts about the skyscraper, even if you have stepped onto it.

This record-breaking skyscraper, which towers above Chicago’s Wacker Drive, was built between 1969 and 1973, six decades after the original Sears, Roebuck & Company headquarters. The Sears Merchandise Building tower was built on South Homan Avenue in Chicago’s Lawndale neighborhood. It is four miles west of the site where its successor would be constructed. The original tower had 15 stories and topped out at 249 feet.

You may not have heard about the Willis Tower’s new name. It was acquired by Willis Group Holdings upon the 2009 transfer of the property. Sears actually lost the naming rights in 2003 to the building, but their branding remained for six more years before Willis added its name to the tower.

Willis Group Holdings knew there would be resistance to the name changes, but the passionate outcry against the removal of the “Sears” was amazing. 90,000 Chicagoans joined a digital protest against the Sears Tower becoming the Willis Tower. A petition to reverse the change received 50,000 signatures.