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Willis What? Sears Tower Changes Names

Insurance company gets naming rights

By Sarah Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 16, 2009 9:10 AM CDT
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(Newser) – An insurance company no one's ever heard of is suddenly a big name in Chicago.  Starting today, the Sears Tower—the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere—becomes Willis Tower, after Willis Group Holdings, the Sun-Times reports. Chicagoans grumbling about the name change, which Willis earned by leasing just three of the building's 110 floors, should stop complaining, the company's chairman says. Sears was doing nothing for the city, he notes, while Willis brought 500 new jobs to town during a recession, and coughed up $100,000 for the city's 2016 Olympic effort.

"I'm trying to help out," he tells the Sun-Times. "I'm trying to contribute." When the Sears Tower opened in 1973, it was home to Sears, Roebuck & Co., which left for the suburbs in 1993. But the name stuck. So will Chicagoans accept the change? If the city's US Cellular Field is any indication, it could be tough sell, the Chicago Tribune reports. To many, the home of the White Sox will always be Comiskey Park.

Chicago's Sears Tower officially becomes Willis Tower today.
Chicago's Sears Tower officially becomes Willis Tower today.   (Photo: Business Wire)
Sears, Roebuck & Co. left the Sears Tower, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, in 1993.
Sears, Roebuck & Co. left the Sears Tower, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, in 1993.   (Photo: Business Wire)
In this June 24, 2009, file photo Anna Kane, 5, of Alton, Ill. looks down from The Ledge, at the Sears Tower in Chicago.
In this June 24, 2009, file photo Anna Kane, 5, of Alton, Ill. looks down from "The Ledge," at the Sears Tower in Chicago.   (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)
Children wave to a helicopter from The Ledge, new glass balconies suspended 1,353 feet in the air and jut out 4 feet from the Sears Tower's 103rd floor Skydeck Wednesday, July 1, 2009 in Chicago.
Children wave to a helicopter from "The Ledge," new glass balconies suspended 1,353 feet in the air and jut out 4 feet from the Sears Tower's 103rd floor Skydeck Wednesday, July 1, 2009 in Chicago.   (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)
Participants preview The Ledge, standing on the new glass balconies suspended 1,353 feet in the air and jut out 4 feet from the Sears Tower's 103rd floor Skydeck Wednesday, July 1, 2009 in Chicago.
Participants preview "The Ledge," standing on the new glass balconies suspended 1,353 feet in the air and jut out 4 feet from the Sears Tower's 103rd floor Skydeck Wednesday, July 1, 2009 in Chicago.   (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 7 comments
Rembrandt_Q_Einstein
Jul 17, 2009 5:46 AM CDT
I'm calling it The Wesley Willis Tower.
Fig-Neutron
Jul 17, 2009 1:31 AM CDT
I'm going over to Consolidated Edison Pier to cry.
kokuaguy
Jul 16, 2009 6:56 AM CDT
At last, a phallic symbol with an appropriate name. And filled with dicks no doubt. Leave it to the Windy City.
US • Money

 
Chicago • skyscraper • Sears • Sears Tower • Willis Group Holdings • Willis Tower • famous buildings

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