Skydeck Chicago

By alantvuong on August 13, 2020

I previously wrote about going to Skydeck Chicago briefly in my post about visiting Chicago with a CityPASS in July 2011 with a buddy . I will go into more detail about the Skydeck and share more photos here. Opened in 1974 on the 103rd floor of the Sears Tower and at 1350 feet high, it is the highest observation deck in the US. The building has been renamed as the Willis Tower in 2009 since Willis Group Holdings obtained the naming rights.

Getting There

Skydeck Chicago is located on 233 South Wacker Drive, right in the middle of downtown Chicago. We were staying at Holiday Inn Express on Magnificent Mile which was about a 30 minute walk/stroll from each other. We mostly relied on wheeling and walking to get around on our Chicago trip as everything seemed to be within a reasonable distance. My buddy would just speed walk or a do a slow jog while pushing my wheelchair to our destination.

was about a 30 min walk/stroll from our hotel at Holiday Inn Express

Willis Tower

The Willis Tower which was formally known as The Sears Tower is a 110 story building that opened in 1973. It is currently the third highest building in the US and United Airlines is its largest tenant. We didn’t get to see any other part of The Willis Tower but it was interesting to learn about the history of it and what it meant to local residents.

entrance to the Willis Tower

Observation Deck

To get to the observation deck on the 103rd floor, we had to take a super fast 1 minute elevator ride up. The Skydeck is the the highest observation deck in the US and with 1.7 million visitors annually, it is one of Chicago’s most popular tourist attractions. Looking out at the city views at this height was amazing and we got to see all the places that we have visited so far. Some tall towers that I have visited don’t have full size windows which makes it hard to look out, but Skydeck Chicago didn’t have anything blocking my views.

easy to look out the window

There was lots of information and cool facts about the Skydeck throughout the floor. We enjoyed reading and learning about the history of the city and it made us have a greater appreciation for it. There were also dining options on the 99th floor which we did not go to. A giftshop with neat Skydeck souvenirs is also located on this floor.

facts about Chicago

The Ledge

The Ledge is where all the hype was when visiting the Skydeck. It opened in 2009, and is basically a set of 3 glass balconies that extend out 4 feet from the edge of the Skydeck. There is no extra charge to visit The Ledge but it is so popular they suggest people to limit their visits to 1 or 2 minutes maximum. It really is a great photo opportunity and am glad we got to take a few photos here.

pic on the Ledge

We both had a great time visiting Skydeck Chicago and thought that it was really wheelchair accessible. The Ledge was really worth just visiting and we can understand why it is so popular. I highly recommend visiting this place and suggest buying CityPASS tickets to get the best value to check out some of Chicago’s top attractions.