The Chicago Sears Tower

Essay from the year 2008 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - Applied Geography, grade: 1,3, University of Heidelberg, language: English, abstract: The Sears Tower is the tallest skyscraper in Chicago, but also in the United States. More-over, it has been the world's tallest building from 1973-1998. Located in the heart of Chicago Downtown, also called the 'West Loop' - the city's premier submarket and home to its largest corporations and commuter rail stations - the Sears Tower today occupies a significant position in Chicago's city center. The first skyscrapers were invented in the late 1800s and Chicago has played a major role in the invention. It has been the site of many of the skyscrapers' stylistic and technical ad-vances. In the phenomenal growth years after the Chicago Fire of 1871, a pool of architectural talent known as the First Chicago School advanced the skyscraper form we know now. This is the reason why the city is also known as 'the birthplace of skyscrapers'.