Posted on 07/16/2009 12:58:43 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
CHICAGO – The Sears Tower, one of the world's iconic skyscrapers and the tallest building in the U.S., was renamed the Willis Tower on Thursday in a downtown ceremony, marking a new chapter in the history of the giant edifice that has dominated the Chicago skyline for nearly four decades.
Mayor Richard Daley unveiled the tower's new name on a large black sign in the lobby with the help of Joseph Plumeri, the Chairman and CEO of Willis Group Holdings, the London-based insurance broker that secured the naming rights as part of its agreement to lease 140,000 square feet of space in the building.
"We believe in Chicago," Plumeri said. "You will find over time that Willis is not going to just have its name on the building, it's going to have an impact in society, in the community."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Five-year-old Anna Kane (L) and four-year-old Sophie Allaway look through the glass floor of "The Ledge", a five-sided glass box 1,353 feet (412 meters) above the street in Chicago July 1, 2009. The Ledge is part of Skydeck Chicago on the 103rd floor of the Sears Tower. It opens to the public on July 2. REUTERS/Frank Polich (UNITED STATES SOCIETY TRAVEL)
What you talkin bout?
An aerial view of the Sears Tower in Chicago in this July 6, 2006 file photograph. On July 16, 2009, the 36-year-old Sears Tower becomes the Willis Tower, named after the world's third-largest insurance broker, Willis Group Holdings Ltd. REUTERS/Jason Reed/Files
Dang - beat me to it.
Darn you...
“IL: Sears Tower renamed Willis Tower in ceremony”
Somewhere Todd Bridges says “THAT’S what I’m talking ‘bout!”
I don’t think anybody is going to refer it as Willis Tower, lol.
Damn you PL!
Rats.
Rats.
oops— sorry re: double post...
Well the John Hancock building is Big John so this must be Big Willy.
It's my Tower. ;-)
I think it’s hilarious when pinheaded politicians try to rename roads, buildings, and parks - only to have them still largely referred to by their original designations decades later.
You forgot the picture :-)
Like, say, Comiskey Park?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.