![]() The global insurance broker Willis Group announced that will move to the renamed tower by this summer. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Chicago's famous Sears Tower will be getting a new name becoming the Willis Tower. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. So it's in their honor that our last word in business today is Sears.Ĭopyright © 2009 NPR. This week, Willis Group Holdings, the London insurance brokers, announced it will lease three floors of America's tallest building to house 500 employees. Thirty-five thousand people have put their names on a Web site opposing this name change. Public relations experts say it could take decades. Willis Tower, which once reigned the skyscraper ranking as the world's tallest building for nearly 25 years under its former name Sears Tower, will likely not be renamed again anytime soon as the naming rights contract with Willis Towers Watson insurance does not expire until March 2025. The company's CEO concedes it could take some time to win over Chicagoans to the new name. Willis is the name of the British insurance company that bought the naming rights to the Sears Tower. CHICAGO: The tallest building in the United States and a prominent feature in Chicagos skyline, the 110-storey Sears Tower will from today be called by a new name Willis Tower. ![]() ![]() It’s always difficult for people to accept the rebranding of a landmark. As of today, it is known as Willis Tower. The new name comes from Willis Group Holdings, an insurance company headquartered in London that is leasing space in the Sears Tower (according to the BBC, Sears vacated the building in 1992 but the name has remained until now). People may soon have the same experience with the giant black skyscraper that shoves its shoulders over the skyline of Chicago. I still think of it that way, even though Pan Am Airlines went out of business years ago and the old building is called something else. "We hope to set a benchmark for how high-rise buildings throughout the world can limit their impact on the environment," said architect Adrian Smith in a statement.īeyond that, the consortium that owns the tower proposed constructing an adjacent hotel that would qualify for the federal Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design designation.You know, when I'm in Manhattan and notice the skyscraper that looms over Grand Central terminal, a thought goes through my mind - that's the Pan Am building. Replace granite plazas and walls surrounding the tower with terraced park space, trees, glass storefronts and an interactive digital display. ![]()
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