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Strap on your fanny-pack and take on the Sears Tower like a tourist.

Tuesday Apr 29, 2008.     By Stacy Warden

Travel + Tourism Feed

Having lived in Chicago for seven months now and never checking out the Sears Tower, I felt it was time to pay homage to my new home's star attraction. First, let me confess that I knew squat about the place other than it being one of the main reasons (next to shopping, theater and baseball) that people flock to this city. Now, before you cringe at my insufficient skyscraper knowledge, take note: I moved here for the food, the jaw-dropping architecture was just an added bonus. But now that spring is in full-swing, and I'm back on a carb-counting crash diet, I decided to check out the parts of Chicago that are a little more figure-friendly.

I stepped into the Jackson lobby around 9:30 a.m. and was cheerfully greeted by a woman who led me to the elevator. The Skydeck doesn't officially open until 10 a.m., but the staff is cool with letting us early birds saunter in beforehand. If you can manage to pull yourself out of bed, it's actually the ideal time to go; not only do you avoid a mad rush of tourists, but you also escape the pressures of buying a "fast-pass," which costs $25—nearly double the cost of a regular pass—and basically makes you a glorified line-jumper.

After the ticket booth, I was led to the small movie theater where I watched a crash-course video (about 15 minutes) on the tower's history. ("Fast pass" buyers get to sit in front-row seats painted the color of sunshine.) I learned that the tower was finished in 1973 and sold for $804 million in 1997. Although it's no longer the world's highest-reaching landmark, the antennas still hold their own in the arena of tallest antennas ever. I was most intrigued by the video's black-and-white shots of the tower's architect, Bill Graham. Who knew that Graham's main inspiration was a fistful of Camel cigarettes? Sitting in a local diner, the guy conjured up his ingenious design by dumping a pack into his palm and stacking them at different angles.

Exiting the theater, I was seriously hankering for a smoke and a stack of buttermilk pancakes, but that would have to wait. It was time to board another elevator that would take me to the Skydeck on floor 103. As the doors closed, the attendant told me it would be a 60-second ride to the top. My ears popped the whole time, but it was less of a distraction thanks to the strange video streaming through the flat-screen above the doors. Socially awkward silences or animated birds decked out in hats and ties? I still can't decide which is worse.

Once I escaped my cartoon tour guides it was all about the view. And while it was a breathtaking one, it still didn't compare to the way Chicago sucked the air straight from my lungs the first time I had a glimpse of it driving in on Lakeshore. Sure, I couldn't see four states from my car, and I had no clue there were so many rooftop swimming pools or that the Chicago river forms a Y (sectioning off the north, south and west sides). But there was something jolting about seeing that skyline for the first time—even if I was stuck in traffic. I will say that everything looks a hell of a lot cleaner from floor 103. Even the faint line of smoke stacks streaming pollution from Indiana is inspiring.

Guidebook rating: Overall I had a good time, but I do think all the hype is a bit more than it's worth. Still, it's one of those places that shouldn't be missed. I'll go back with friends and family, and I'm definitely signing up for Go Vertical, the one day a year when athletic-types and tower-freaks alike can make the trek all the way up to the top by foot. Proceeds benefit the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, and the average climb takes 28 minutes. Talk about a workout; I'm already feeling better about those pancakes I downed on my way back home.

Stats: The Skydeck opens at 10 a.m. daily (including all the major holidays), and stays open until 10 p.m. April to September and until 8 p.m. October to March. Admission costs $12.95 for adults, $9.50 for children ages 3 to 11 and free for kids under 3.