Willis Tower in Chicago - Sears Tower (New York) - skyscraper

The structure of this 443-meter tower, consisting of 110 floors, consists of nine structures with a square cross-section. They rise to the 50th floor, then the building narrows. Two TV antennas rise to a height of 527 meters.

76000 tons of steel were used for the construction of the tower, it would have been enough to produce 52,000 cars. Telephone cables installed here would wrap the globe twice. The building weighs 222,500 tons.

The building supports 104 instant lifts and 18 escalators. Sears Tower is covered with black dyed aluminum and has over 16,100 windows. 1.5 million tourists visit the Sears Tower every year, two express lifts take them in less than a minute to the observation deck on the 103rd floor, which gives a speed of 1,600 feet per minute.

It was the highest building in the world in 1974-1996.

2400 workers participated in the construction of the skyscraper.

Willis Tower maintained for three years three of four height records: the highest building excluding the antenna, the highest building up to the top of the roof, the building with the highest inhabited floor.

To build a skyscraper, Sears had to purchase 15 buildings from 100 owners. The Quincy street turned out to be the most problematic, dividing the plots where the building was supposed to rise. Eventually, Sears paid the city $ 2.7 million for this street.

Until 2009, the building was named Sears Tower, derived from Sears, Reobuck & Co, which acquired these rights in 1970. The building changed its name to Willis Tower in 2009, when the British insurance company - Willis Group Holding Ltd. rented a large area for 5,000 of its employees.

On the 103 floor is located Skydeck, with its famous tourist attraction "Ledge". From the glass balconies you can admire the Chicago skyline. This attraction brings annually over 25 million dollars in income (data for 2014).

Four states can be seen from the top of the roof: Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan.