--- description: Visitors to the 103-floor glass Skydeck at Chicago’s Willis Tower—formerly known as the Sears Tower—were shocked when cracks appeared. title: Glass Skydeck at Chicago’s Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) Cracks image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt64ee6814577ed34a/6986914755a8597b9ba80ffb/willis-tower.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Uh Oh! Glass Skydeck at Chicago’s Willis Tower Shows Cracks  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 29, 2014 5:36 PM CUT  Visitors stand on the glass balcony at the skydeck of the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., on Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013. Visitors stand on the glass balcony at the skydeck of the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., on Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013.Bloomberg/Getty Images  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 29, 2014 5:36 PM CUT Visitors to the 103-floor glass Skydeck attraction at Chicago’s Willis Tower—formerly known as the Sears Tower—were in for a scare when cracks appeared in the glass. > [](https://twitter.com/SeidelContent/status/472033935359483904) Alejandro Garibay [told NBC Chicago](http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chicago-willis-tower-sky-deck-ledge-crack-261079001.html "undefined") that he was on the glass with his brother and two cousins Wednesday night when they heard cracking. He said even the staff, whom he alerted, were shocked to see the cracks form. A spokesperson for the tower says the cracks only appeared on a protective coating and the glass structure, designed to hold five tons, was not damaged. The attraction, which opened in 2009, is still open, but one of the four “Ledge” platforms was roped off Thursday morning and a carpet covered the floor, [according](http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/27746004-418/willis-tower-ledge-cracks-under-tourists-feet.html#.U4dZ0JRdUp8 "undefined") to the Chicago _Sun-Times_. Still, scary stuff. \[[_NBC Chicago_](http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/chicago-willis-tower-sky-deck-ledge-crack-261079001.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/136866/chicago-willis-tower-skydeck-crack/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/136866/chicago-willis-tower-skydeck-crack/"},"headline":"Uh Oh! Glass Skydeck at Chicago’s Willis Tower Shows Cracks","datePublished":"2014-05-29T17:36:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:10:09.070Z","description":"A spokesperson for the tower says the cracks only appeared on a protective coating, but ... yikes!","url":"https://time.com/136866/chicago-willis-tower-skydeck-crack/","keywords":["Newsfeed","U.S.","chicago"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt64ee6814577ed34a/6986914755a8597b9ba80ffb/willis-tower.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Noah Rayman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt64ee6814577ed34a/6986914755a8597b9ba80ffb/willis-tower.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Views From Atop The Willis Tower","caption":"Views From Atop The Willis Tower","creditText":"Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/136866/chicago-willis-tower-skydeck-crack/","name":"Uh Oh! Glass Skydeck at Chicago’s Willis Tower Shows Cracks"}}]}] ```