Journeys›Photograph

Willis Tower on a Trip to Chicago

·Chicago, Illinois, United States·#travel#architecture#chicago#illinois#aerial-photography#willis-tower
An airplane wing with a red, white, and blue flag-patterned tail fin overlooks a hazy city.

The inbound flight crossed over hazy suburbs before banking toward the city. The first stop on this trip to Chicago was Willis Tower, riding the elevator straight up to the 103rd floor.

Skydeck says the view stretches 50 miles across four states on a clear afternoon. With heavy clouds hanging over Lake Michigan, the horizon just blended into the gray water behind the John Hancock Center.

The Ledge is a glass balcony that extends 4.3 feet from the side of the tower. Stepping out onto it leaves you standing 1,353 feet directly above the pavement. I looked down past my shoes at the cars moving along the avenues below.

By the time I walked back to the western windows, the streetlights were turning on. The city grid shifted into lines of orange cutting through the neighborhoods stretching out toward the highway.

A sprawling city skyline with numerous tall buildings at dusk, backed by a vast blue body of water.Aerial view of a city skyline at dusk, featuring numerous tall buildings and a large body of water.Aerial view of a sprawling city at night with illuminated streets and buildings under a cloudy sky.Aerial view of a sprawling city at dusk, with illuminated streets and buildings under a cloudy sky extending to the horizon.A person's feet on a clear glass floor overlooking a city at night with illuminated buildings, roads, and a body of water.A person's feet on a glass floor look down at a city with illuminated streets and buildings from above.An aerial view of a city at night shows illuminated streets forming a grid, with numerous buildings and a complex highway interchange.Aerial view of a city at dusk, showing a grid of illuminated streets, buildings, and a complex highway interchange.

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