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Reported by Krystle Crossman
The Willis Tower in Chicago is a popular tourist destination. You can see spectacular views of the city’s skyline and even step out onto a glass deck to view the city moving 103 stories below you. This is one of the best ways to view the sights of the city. It is also one of the most terrifying, if you are afraid of heights. Even if heights are not a fear that you have, it would still be unnerving for most to experience what the Garibay family did.
Alejandro Garibay and his family were watching the fireworks celebration from the Willis Tower that was happening at Navy Pier. It was an amazing view. Garibay thought that using the beautiful city behind them as a backdrop for a photo would be a really cool picture, so he and his cousins and brother stood up to get a photo. As they were getting up off of the floor, however, something did not feel right. Garibay noticed that the glass was cracking underneath his palms. He stated that he became scared, as the glass started to crack.
The family was perched on what is known as “The Ledge” on the Skydeck. It is a balcony that is made of glass and suspended 1,353 feet above the streets. There are four separate sections. The walls and the ceilings are made of glass as well, to give you the feeling that you are floating on air. The Ledge sticks four feet out from the building. It was opened in 2009.
A spokesperson for the tower stated that the protective covering on the glass was what had cracked, not the glass itself, and that the family was never in any danger. He said that it had done what it was designed to do to keep them safe. The Ledge was closed down for a few days but they’re reopening it after fixing the protective covering.