Sears Tower reveal 103rd floor new glass balconies

Children look down from “The Ledge”, the new glass balconies on the edge of 412 meters (1,353 feet) in the air and stick out 1.22 meters (4 feet) from the Sears Tower's 103rd floor Skydeck on Wednesday, July 1st 2009 in Chicago. The Ledge will be made open to public on Thursday. All the visitors agreed that the first step on the tower is the hardest.

By looking from the top of the tower the visitors think that they are floating over the city. The 103rd floor new glass balconies have transparent walls, floor and ceiling and the top of the balcony is uncovered. One of the visitors, Margaret Kemp of California told that it seemed like walking on the ice and after stepping away from the balcony her heart was hammering. She told that the world’s tallest building The Ledge has succeeded in creating something new that have never seen before.

Sears Tower officials told that the glass is an inch-and-a-half thick and the balconies can hold five tons. They also told that inspiration for the balconies came from the hundreds of brow prints, which the visitors left behind on Skydeck windows every week. The balconies are one of the big changes on the Sears tower. The officials announced last week that from last 5 years the building required $350 million green renovation complete with wind turbines, roof gardens and solar panels. It is believed that the name of the building will be changed to Willis Tower.

See the photos of Sears Tower's new glass balcony here: