Enjoying Chicago"s View From the Top
Visitors to the city can stay at the best hotels in Chicago and immediately enjoy a sweeping bird's eye view of the city€"but why stop there? With its many famous, iconic landmarks, the city can give visitors exhilarating views that will take their breath away. For starters, here are just some of the best vantage points you can scale to get that all encompassing panorama.
The Sears Tower
When it was built in 1974, within walking distance of many of the best hotels in Chicago, the Sears Tower was hailed as the world's tallest building, easily beating the now non-existent twin towers of the World Trade Center by 25 metres. The tower served as the headquarters for the American retail giant Sears. For decades, the Sears Tower held the title until the Petronas twin towers in Kuala Lumpur were built in 1997.
What really makes the Sears Tower so popular is its observation deck€"visitors and locals flock to it to enjoy sweeping panoramic views of the surrounding urban sprawl. In fact, the tower's sky deck is one of the city's most loved and popular attractions. Not for the faint hearted, the white-knuckle experience of standing on the ledge on the glass balcony that extends 4.3 feet out into nothingness, is a true test of nerve.
The John Hancock Centre
The locals endearingly refer to the John Hancock Centre as simply €Big John'. One hundred storeys high, the building was completed in 1969 using the then state-of-the-art advances in engineering, construction materials and software. Its architects designed it in such a way as to €embrace' the winds, or at least make them work to the building's advantage and not against it.
€Big John' is well within walking distance from many of the best hotels in Chicago, or one can also stay at the building's own hotel. The building has residential apartments on top€"they are so high (higher than the clouds) that residents usually have to call up the doorkeepers on the ground floor to check what the weathers like! And of course, there is an observation deck, which offers sweeping views of the Loop, the city's downtown area.
The Wrigley Building
One of the city's most famous buildings, the Wrigley's building is, you guessed it, the headquarters of the company that manufactures your favourite chewing gum. Built in 1920 by the company's founder, the Wrigley Building sparkles in the sun with its white terracotta cladding and glows at night, with the cleverly placed floodlighting. Located at the southern end of what is known as the Magnificent Mile and within walking distance of the best hotels in Chicago, the Wrigley Building's design was actually inspired by the Giralda tower of the Cathedral in Seville.
The Sears Tower
When it was built in 1974, within walking distance of many of the best hotels in Chicago, the Sears Tower was hailed as the world's tallest building, easily beating the now non-existent twin towers of the World Trade Center by 25 metres. The tower served as the headquarters for the American retail giant Sears. For decades, the Sears Tower held the title until the Petronas twin towers in Kuala Lumpur were built in 1997.
What really makes the Sears Tower so popular is its observation deck€"visitors and locals flock to it to enjoy sweeping panoramic views of the surrounding urban sprawl. In fact, the tower's sky deck is one of the city's most loved and popular attractions. Not for the faint hearted, the white-knuckle experience of standing on the ledge on the glass balcony that extends 4.3 feet out into nothingness, is a true test of nerve.
The John Hancock Centre
The locals endearingly refer to the John Hancock Centre as simply €Big John'. One hundred storeys high, the building was completed in 1969 using the then state-of-the-art advances in engineering, construction materials and software. Its architects designed it in such a way as to €embrace' the winds, or at least make them work to the building's advantage and not against it.
€Big John' is well within walking distance from many of the best hotels in Chicago, or one can also stay at the building's own hotel. The building has residential apartments on top€"they are so high (higher than the clouds) that residents usually have to call up the doorkeepers on the ground floor to check what the weathers like! And of course, there is an observation deck, which offers sweeping views of the Loop, the city's downtown area.
The Wrigley Building
One of the city's most famous buildings, the Wrigley's building is, you guessed it, the headquarters of the company that manufactures your favourite chewing gum. Built in 1920 by the company's founder, the Wrigley Building sparkles in the sun with its white terracotta cladding and glows at night, with the cleverly placed floodlighting. Located at the southern end of what is known as the Magnificent Mile and within walking distance of the best hotels in Chicago, the Wrigley Building's design was actually inspired by the Giralda tower of the Cathedral in Seville.
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