New Sears Tower sky ledges open

PHOTO GALLERY - PREVIEW THE SKYDECK LEDGE

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Taking a trip to the Sear Tower Skydeck will now be even more of a vertigo-inducing experience.

The new Sears Tower Ledge officially opened to the public on Thursday.

The Ledge is a set of clear glass walkways that extend out 4.3 feet from the Skydeck windows. Its four enclosures look down 1,353 feet over Wacker Drive and the Chicago River's South Branch.

"From the memorable Sears Tower scene in Ferris Bueller's Day Off to curious children going right up to the window, visitors are constantly trying to catch a glimpse below. Now they have a unique and unobstructed view of the city," a Sears Tower news release said back on May 1.

Other similar attractions are found at a variety of national landmarks. The Grand Canyon Skywalk protrudes over a 3,600-foot drop with a glass floor, and the CN Tower in Toronto has a glass floor on part of its observation deck. Closer to home, the House on the Rock attraction in Wisconsin has a glass floor in its Infinity Room, which protrudes 218 feet out into an adjoining river valley.

In addition to the new attraction, the Sears Tower will soon be changing its name. In March, the London-based insurance broker Willis Group Holdings Ltd. that it would be moving in, and the skyscraper will be renamed Willis Tower in the summer.