The Willis Tower skydeck is now back open for business, but will anyone actually dare to venture out onto Chicago’s famous transparent viewing deck?
In a related report by The Inquisitr , the Willis Tower skydeck was caught on photo and video cracking under the pressure of its many visitors. One of these visitors was Alejandro Garibay, and he says he clearly saw the glass cracked under his feet:
“”When I put my hand down to push myself and stand up, I hear it and I feel the glass just crack. I felt on my palm all these little pieces of glass…. I walked [his family] over so they could see and they were totally shocked and asked us to step away and then proceeded to start calling staff and techs and I don’t know who else. When we pulled our phones to start recording and take pictures they asked us to leave right away.”
But building spokesman Brian Rehme says no one was in any real danger since the only thing that cracked was a transparent coating on the scratch-resistant surface of the three-inch glass:
“This coating does not affect the structural integrity of The Ledge in any way. Occasionally, the coating will crack, as it is designed to in order to protect the surface of the glass.”
Yes, that is correct. As unsettling as it may have been for those visitors, it was designed to crack that way in order to prevent anything from happening to the actual glass box, which is designed to hold up to five tons.
Buildings Commissioner Felicia Davis also claims that no one could have been injured:
“The public was never at risk. The integrity of the structure was never compromised. There is this additional layer on top that is intended to take the scrapes and scratches from routine use by the public. That coating on the glass cracked.”
The Willis Tower skydeck has already been repaired, and it’s all set to continue receiving the one million plus people that visit the Windy City. Those who take the dare receive an unparalleled feeling of standing in the air about 1,353 feet above the ground, and four feet away from the building.