Willis Tower Skydeck and its glass ledge above Chicago
Published on 09/22/2026 at 02:29 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Willis Tower Skydeck turns a Chicago office skyscraper into a place where the city’s street grid lies far below and glass balconies carry visitors beyond the façade at more than 400 m above ground. Suspended on the upper levels of one of the tallest towers in the United States, it combines a traditional enclosed observation floor with a set of transparent boxes that project from the west side of the building.
An office tower with a high-level vantage point
Skydeck occupies one of the upper floors of Willis Tower on South Wacker Drive in the Loop, the central business district of Chicago in Illinois. The tower itself was designed in the early 1970s by the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill for Sears, Roebuck and Company, and its bundled-tube structure made it one of the tallest structures of its era. The observation floor was opened as Skydeck in the 1970s, adding a public viewing level to a building otherwise occupied by offices.
The observation area stands on the 103rd floor, at an elevation of around 412 m (1,353 ft) above the streets. Inside, the space forms an enclosed circuit with large windows set into the perimeter walls so that visitors can walk around the floor and look out in several directions across Chicago, Lake Michigan and the wider region beyond the city’s limits.
The Skydeck interior and views over Chicago
Stepping from the lift lobby into Skydeck brings visitors into a window-lined hall that stretches along the edges of the floor, with different segments facing towards various parts of the metropolis. Being more than 400 m above the pavements of South Wacker Drive turns the everyday structure of Chicago into a pattern: railway tracks become fine parallel lines, bridges and expressways form curves and diagonals, and the patchwork of neighbourhoods appears as blocks of different colours and textures.
On clear days the view extends far beyond the immediate downtown area. From this level, the horizon includes much of the Chicago metropolitan region and, when visibility permits, parts of the surrounding states that border Lake Michigan. The combination of height and panoramic glazing makes Skydeck a place where the scale of the city and the layout of its streets can be seen at once rather than street by street.
The Ledge: glass balconies projecting beyond the façade
In 2009 Skydeck added The Ledge, a set of glass-floored balconies that project from the west face of Willis Tower and create one of the most distinctive elements of the visit. Each balcony forms a glass box that extends about 4.3 ft (around 1.3 m) beyond the façade, suspended at the same elevation as the rest of the observation floor so that visitors step straight out from the interior onto transparent panels above the street.
The boxes are made from laminated structural glass, with the floor, side walls and overhead surface all formed of transparent panels. Standing on one of these balconies places only a small thickness of glass between visitors’ shoes and the drop to the street over more than 100 storeys below, and looking down through the glass floor shows South Wacker Drive directly beneath. Together with the enclosed viewing hall, The Ledge turns Skydeck into a combination of conventional observation deck and exposed glass platform.
Visiting Willis Tower Skydeck: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- Willis Tower stands at 233 South Wacker Drive in Chicago’s Loop district, with the Skydeck entrance on the Jackson Boulevard side of the building.
- The observation level is reached by lift from the tower’s lobby, and once upstairs the viewing areas and The Ledge are on the same floor.
- The official language is English and the currency is the United States dollar.
- Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.
Searching for Willis Tower Skydeck on social platforms
These links open searches for Willis Tower Skydeck on each platform.
Frequently asked questions about Willis Tower Skydeck
Where is Willis Tower Skydeck located?
Skydeck is on the 103rd floor of Willis Tower, an office skyscraper at 233 South Wacker Drive in downtown Chicago, Illinois in the United States.
What can visitors expect during a visit?
Visitors travel by lift to an enclosed observation floor with wide windows facing several directions across the city, and can step onto The Ledge glass balconies.
What makes Willis Tower Skydeck distinctive among city viewpoints?
Its combination of a very high enclosed viewing level and the transparent glass boxes of The Ledge projecting beyond the façade over South Wacker Drive gives Skydeck a particular character.
