The Tallest Building in North America

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Chicago has the tallest building in North America -- the Sears Tower. Again I say, North America. Others might argue that it's CN Tower. But, again, we are talking about buildings here. CN Tower is a "free-standing structure", not necessarily an inhabited building. (I wrote about CN Tower here: Setting Foot on the Winter City!) Also, at a world-wide perspective, there are a few more taller structures than the Sears Tower. As of this writing, there's one in Dubai that is under construction -- about to surpass the current tallest skyscraper.

Google gave me too many results to qualify (or disqualify) my statement, but I'm happy enough to have seen the tallest inhabited building in North America. I've gotten inside it several times before -- to meet some people for work, and to send my mail. Yeah, there's a USPS inside it. But I have never seen the view from the top... till now. Finally! (To think that I work just a block away from it! Haha!)

I have been working in Chicago for 5 months, so I already have a rough image of Chicago's main landmarks in my head. Viewing Chicago from the top of Sears Tower today felt a bit more personally relevant.

Other Details:

- The Sears Tower has 110 stories worth of office space
- I paid about $12 to enjoy the view from the Skydeck
- We waited for an hour and a half in line. There's a 15-minute video which shall be seen by tourists in batches.

About Chicago and Skyscrapers

Chicago is home to some of the most important buildings in the history of American architecture. In fact, it had America's first skyscraper. It was the Home Insurance Building that rose nine stories in 1885. This is by accident, quite literally. After the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, the city lost all of its wooden buildings leaving only the Water Tower intact. The city then started building new skyscrapers from scratch, better than what they used to have.

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Photos

Shedd Aquarium!
... and the Adler Planetarium (the one closest to the lake, with a round roof)

That's the John Hancock Tower
It's the one with a set of antennae. From a distance, I always get it mixed up with the Sears Tower which also has a set of antennae.

The CME! =)
... the two towers right next to the river

I wonder...
... when it would be my turn to tour my friends/relatives around Chicago