Taking Chicago Public Transportation to the Sears Tower (Willis Tower)

CTA Trains to Quincy for Sears Tower

NOTE: British insurance broker Willis Group Holdings has agreed to lease 140,000 square feet of office space at the Sears Tower. The company negotiated to rename the building as The Willis Tower beginning as of Summer 2009.

The Sears Tower (Willis Tower) is Chicago's most recognized landmark. The iconic 1,450 foot, 110 - story building at 233 South Wacker Drive is the tallest structure in the world per base to antennae pinnacle measurements. The Sears Tower actually was the unquestioned tallest building in the world for 24 years from 1974 - 1998 prior to the completion of Malaysia's Petronas Twin Towers that sparked architectural controversy relating to the various paradigms per height measurement.

The Sears Tower is the highest point in Illinois and is visible from all unobstructed points of view within the City of Chicago and from a sweeping 100-mile radius that includes Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan on clear days.

Architects Skidmore, Owings and Merrill were originally hired to engineer a structure that was set to house Sears corporate headquarters in downtown Chicago. The building actually appears as an amalgamation of six separate towers that taper themselves off going skyward from a wide base. This floor plan was designed to be more palatable to private tenants outside of the Sears retailing empire and the accommodative blueprint is the reason behind the Sears Tower's broad shouldered, block-like image of strength.

The Sears Tower is Chicago.

Of course, the building is a notable point of interest per the legions of employees that commute to Sears Tower offices daily and the 1.3 million tourists that observe the Chicagoland area from the Skydeck upon an annual basis.

The Sears Tower occupies one city block between Jackson Boulevard, Adams Street, Wacker Drive, and Franklin Street. This downtown location makes driving to the Sears Tower a maddeningly difficult proposition due to the crushing congestion of surrounding city streets and the limited and expensive parking options of the Chicago Loop area.

Use public transportation to get to the Sears Tower.