Sears Tower To Be Renamed, Become Willis Tower

CHICAGO — For Chicagoans it may be the architectural equivalent of having to watch Michael Jordan finish his career in a Washington Wizards uniform: The Sears Tower is turning into something called the Willis Tower.

That's right, the tallest building in the United States is getting a new name later this year, building management said Thursday.

"It just doesn't work," said Robin O'Sullivan, a tourist from Cork, Ireland, as he walked into the Sears Tower's Skydeck entrance on Thursday. "It's known worldwide. Everyone in Ireland knows it's the Sears Tower."

It's all part of a deal with the London-based Willis Group Holdings. Along with moving 500 employees into 140,000 square feet on multiple floors of the 110-story building this summer, the Willis Group gets the naming rights as part of its lease agreement with the real estate investment group that owns Sears Tower.

The name change isn't the first in recent years for Chicago. In 2006, the city's State Street shopping district saw Marshall Field's department store become Macy's and in 2003 the White Sox started playing baseball at U.S. Cellular Field instead of Comiskey Park.

"We certainly appreciate and understand the sentimental attraction to the Sears Tower name, and it's certainly a Chicago icon," said Will Thoretz, a spokesman in New York for Willis Holdings Group. "Our move into Chicago is a good thing for the city. We're bringing hundreds of jobs into the city."

The company requested the change and isn't paying extra for naming rights to the tower, Thoretz said.

The insurance broker will occupy more than 140,000 square feet at $14.50 a square foot. Willis is moving six local offices into the building. The move is expected to be completed by late summer.

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The question, though, is if people will popularly refer to the building as anything other than the Sears Tower, said Tim Samuelson, the city of Chicago's cultural historian.

"I have a feeling that the name 'Sears' is going to be hard to lose," Samuelson said. "Not necessarily that anyone is actively fighting it. It's just that people are so used to that building with that distinctive presence being called the Sears Tower."

Even the building's owners are aware of the challenge that lies ahead.

"Like any change, it may take some time for Chicagoans to get used to this, but in the end, this is a great thing for the building, and for the city of Chicago," said Mike Kazmierczak, senior vice president for U.S. Equities Realty.

Joan Fredricks, 64, brought her granddaughters to the Sears Tower on Thursday as the family made their way to Washington D.C. from their home in Mason City, Iowa. She said it was suggested they go visit the Sears Tower.

"If they said, 'You have to go to the Willis Tower, we would have said, `What's that?'" Fredricks said, crinkling her face. "That's not what I've known it as after all these years."

Sears Tower first opened in 1973, designed by the architecture firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill _ the same firm that designed the John Hancock Tower on the city's North Side. Sears Roebuck and Co. was the building's original tenant before the department store moved its headquarters to the Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates in 1992. A real estate investment group formed in 2004 now owns the 1,451-foot skyscraper.

"We're saddened," Kim Freely, a spokeswoman for Sears Holdings Corp., said Thursday. "We believe that Chicagoans will continue to refer to the building as Sears Tower."

Dennis Pacyga, a history professor at Columbia College in Chicago, said he sees the Sears Tower name change as Chicago growing to fit the new global economy.

"Chicago is shifting and changing and taking a bigger standing in the world economy," he said. "This would be part of that adjustment."

The Sears Tower name will likely stick because that's what the building was called when it reigned as the tallest building in the world, Samuelson said.

"People driving into Chicago from far away, out in cornfields," he said. "The first sight of this hazy image of this stepped building, you look and it's the Sears Tower. It's the only thing you see. You call it out."

___

On the Net:

http://www.willis.com

http://www.searstower.com

___

Associated Press Writer Don Babwin contributed to this report.

Comments

[Mintcondition]

This SUX.

[frantaylor]

Yes, it is MUCH better to have a vacant building and a bankrupt owner.

[dave1111]

What chu talkin bout, Sears?

[Bitsko]

That darn Bruce Willis, putting his name on everything! Nothing's safe while he's around!

[dave1111]

It's better than Bruce tower.

[Ray46]

When the John Hancock building was the tallest building in Chicago it was often referred to as "Big John". As the Sears tower is the tallest building in Chicago it is inevitable that it will be referred to as "Big Willy".

[howcome]

They need to get Gary Coleman in the lobby....... Short man , tall building , along with the Willis

[Bitsko]

What you talking about, Willis?

[DawnK]

I still call it Marshall Field's and I care less about it. The same will happen for the stupid sounding Willis Tower. Why would Willis think it can come in and change the name of Chicago's tallest building and that people would be ok with it. People are still not ok with Macy's. DUH on Willis' part for not researching. I will still call it the Sears Tower.

[mlaiuppa]

I don't think the Willis group is going to generate any positives from this. They may find they've shot themselves in the....pocketbook.

[sababa]

Even a tourist from Ireland knows that the "Willis tower" just doesn't sound right... http://www.governmentalityblog.com/my_weblog/2009/03/hometown-heartbreak-sears-tower-no-more.html

[mamacat]

Sears is in dire straits because they can't compete with non-union Walmart. When the employees over at Walmart are allowed to unionise and to strive for decent working conditions, it will make it much easier for the likes of Sears to compete with them.

[jsgaetano]

Sears died long before Walmart was even a concern... and they did it to themselves.

Just like today's Republicans, they were another in a long line of organizations given everything they could ever want, and they still turned against America and let their greed and arrogance be their downfall.

While I'm not sad to see Sears go, I'll continue to call it the Sears Tower. Willis is not what I'm talkin' about.

[petphotos]

I worked for Sears for 8 years on and off. They took care of their employees, more than I can say for WalMart.

[stagebandman]

I told my wife that by tomorrow, everyone would be saying "What you talkn' bout, Willis?". Boy, was I wrong. Every single news show used it tonight. Embarrassing.

[jsgaetano]

It's low hanging fruit. You can't expect people to not go for that joke.

[Yves Papa]

The "Willis Tower". Is this where they filmed the movie "Die Hard"?

[Roelof]

I still say Howard line, Northwestern Station, State of Illinois Building, Rosemont Horizon and everyone but the newest newbie in town knows what I mean. I don't still say Marshall Field's because I simply don't go to that store any more. I certainly hope Willis Group didn't pay for the naming rights because they clearly don't know what they are or are not getting. Whatchoo talkin' bout? Yeah. By the way, has Gary Coleman chimed in yet with what HE thinks?

[Yves Papa]

"Naming Rights" my eye.

In Frisco (And l live there, therefore I have "naming rights") there is the Candlestick Park. They sold the naming rights to "3com", then "Monster". I think that it's back to the 'stick. And the Giants moved to "Steroid Haven" (I have the naming rights, I live in Frisco 2 miles from it), first known as "Pacific Bell Park", then "SBC Park", and now it's "ATT Park". If you don't know, it's the Stadium where the San Francisco Giants play Baseball (or whatever juiced spectacle that is).

[LiberalBuzz]

I don't think the WIllis group realizes just how silly the name WILLIS sounds for a building.

And the old joke of 'Watchoo talkin' bout Willis?" is going to haunt them. If they were smart they would simply leave it be.

IT's like the Grauman's Chinese Theatre. It's always been called that. Even when Mann's took it over for a few decades it was STILL referred to as Grauman's Chinese Theatre and a few years ago, the new owners decided WTH, it's going to always be called the Grauman's Chinese Theatre, so let's just officially call it that again.

So WILLIS (sorry but that is hilarious) had better get used to the fact that it's always going to be called the SEARS TOWER.

[Madmac]

We're still calling it the Sears Tower...F the Wills company