Sears Tower forever

What a shameful attack on another "towering" Chicago icon. Since its completion in 1973, the Sears Tower has been an international superstar among skyscrapers.

[SEARS TOWER]

The SEARS Tower deserves the respect you say. I think 6 people died working on the building. Thank you Tribune for publishing this. Thank you for writing this Gerald.

See... this building means so much to me because it was one of the first things I was fascinated with as a small child... and I still am! And I love all the other Chicago buildings too.

[Jarrett]

Skoning is right; the selling of names for buildings and stadiums is beyond ridiculous. Remember Enron Stadium in Houston? Or the myriad of names for the Giants' ballpark in San Francisco? Or the name of Sox park which everyone deridily calls "The Cell," which does its sponsor (whoever it is) no good at all. The Empire State Building remains true to self. Shakespeare said it, "A rose under any other name would smell as sweet." Unless it turns into a skunk.

[s thomas]

You go Gerry!

[Randall E Krause]

This is a very thoughtful article, but I should point out that the signature tower, which was completed in 1974, is still only 35 years old.

"Fighting acrophobia, we braced ourselves against the howling wind and gazed out at the amazing panorama of metropolitan Chicago that has attracted millions of visitors to the Skydeck in the 36 years since the tower's completion."

[Jim]

Overall, a great article.

I do take exception with one point. It IS pretty much only a name change from Sears to Willis Tower. But it wasn't just a name change from Marshall Field's to Macy's. Macy's closed Marshall Field's and put in that famous and grand building their own kind of store, a kind of store that has its place but not at 111 N. State Street.

That's why the supporters at http://www.FieldsFansChicago.org are persevering.

While some like the author may still call it "Marshall Field's", the conversion of the store at 111 N. State St. to Macy's is much more than a name change. The way of doing business, the type of merchandise, dare I even say the vibe of the store, is much different. While Field's had something for everyone, Macy's gears itself for the middle market.

While there might be a blip in the number of visits to the tower, day-to-day activities will probably be the same as the Willis Tower. That's not the case at Marshall Field's where the way things are conducted are now largely the same as they are at 800 Macy's stores nationwide.

In 2005, Marshall Field's cited that the State Street store was the number three destination in Chicago for locals as well as international tourists. Clearly that is not the case now. One hears, "Why shop there now? I can shop Macy's in New York..." or Florida, or Seattle or L.A. or even Peoria.

As the Sears Tower, that building was a monument to the tens of thousands who worked hard to make Sears the Chicago-based institution what it was. It's shameful for an insurance company to take that away from our citizens--an insurance company whose corporate straits might someday request the very taxpayers it offends for a bailout.

At the same time, Marshall Field's was the Sears Tower, the museums on the lakefront, State Street, the World's Fair, the Columbian Exposition and so much more combined. Field's was a cultural institution as well as a store; a local store that played a significant role in turning Chicago into an international city. A restoration of Marshall Field's in quality, service, and spirit, as well as, name will bring back the psyche and image that was stolen from our city by Macy's.