New glass balconies on Sears Tower 103rd floor

Visitors to the Sears Tower in Chicago are now treated to unobstructed views of the city from the building's west side and a heart-stopping vista of the street and Chicago River below – for those brave enough to look straight down.

These balconies are not for the faint of heart. Don’t go near them if your are petrified of heights.

The balconies are suspended 1,353 feet (412 meters) in the air and jut out 4 feet (1.22 meters) from the building's 103rd floor Skydeck. They're actually more like boxes than balconies, with transparent walls, floor and ceiling.

The box shaped balconies are made of glass 1.4 inches thick and can hold five tons.

Sears Tower officials have said the inspiration for the balconies came from the hundreds of forehead prints visitors left behind on Skydeck windows every week. Now, staff will have a new glass surface to clean: floors.




The balconies are just one of the big changes coming to the Sears Tower in Chicago. The building's name will also. Later this summer the building will become the Willis Tower.

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