Ascending to the 103rd floor of Chicago’s Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) and onto its glass-bottom observation deck has been a year-round hit with tourists — until the glass cracked earlier this week.
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Yes, for the 2nd time since 2014, the Willis Tower glass-bottom observation deck cracked right under the feet of a group of tourists on Monday.
According to Chicago resident Jesus Pintado, who captured the harrowing moment on video:Â “There was a woman with two kids and they looked really pale and scared because the floor just cracked,” Pintado told CBS Chicago affiliate WBBM.
Although the crack certainly rattled nerves, no one was actually in imminent danger. According to building officials, the glass-bottom that cracked on Monday and in 2014 was only the first of 3 layers of half-inch thick glass and not the final barrier to plummeting 103 stories. Additionally, officials reminded future-tourists that the deck was built to withstand 10,000 pounds of human weight and has since been repaired for visitors to once again step onto and look straight down.
Still, isn’t gazing out the protective (and completely enclosed) windows of the former Sears Tower enough for a breathtaking view without having to step out onto a sheet of glass 103 stories above the street?
THANK GOD IT’S FRIDAY!
