To Be On Top Of The World
There were two things that I wanted to do when I was in Chicago. First was to see Sue - the T-rex at the Fields Museum. Second was to climb on the Sears Tower Skydeck The former was to witness a wonder of nature. The latter to experience the greatness of mankind.
Sears Tower, until today, still holds the worlds tallest building in one category. This may come as a surprise when we know that this was already dwarfed by Taipei 101 and Shanghai World Financial Center. Even until year 2002, it was holding the same title on three categories.
For three decades, the status of Sears Tower remained. When the east joined the race to the skies, the criteria for the tallest building was redefined. For now, Sears Tower holds only the tallest building if it is compared by measuring the height from the pavement level to the tip of the antenna. If the antenna will be excluded to consider only the architectural top, Taipei 101 holds the record. If the highest occupied floor and height up to the roof top will be the basis, Shanghai World Financial Center is on the lead.
With the magnificent Chicago skyline, day or night, the the Sears Tower was a thing you cannot miss. As we drove our way to the hotel, the skyscraper was already in sight. When we got to our room, it was the view on our window. While we walked the Lake Shore Drive the following morning on the way to the Fields Museum, it's black frames & trans-black window panes was a great contrast to the mid morning skies and pastel or metallic surrounding buildings.
Maybe I had too much of the Sears Tower already that I decided the night before to skip. If the view of the skydeck was to see the aerial view of the city, the view from the plane as it lands and takes off had much more going. Or maybe not. I don't know.
As I am wondering about this, in 2009 another structure will claim this title in the Middle East. Maybe that time, I won't relinquish the chance of being on top of the world.
Posted at 06:31 pm by
AnjPerez
