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No offense but as a tourist I'll most definitely be including the Empire State Building on my list of things to see in America. Until you mentioned it I didn't even know the Sears Building existed.
The Empire State Building is a world recognized icon.
Why?... The Sears Tower is well known to those with a keen interest in Architecture and buildings (and to those in and around Chicago), but many outside the Midwest don't know what it is. They're aware that Chicago is big and has many tall buildings, but most couldn't pick it out of a line up.
The ESB is much more widely known given the age and the style of architecture. It's weathered a depression and a world war, a civil rights movement, and a terrorist attack that destroyed two iconic towers in its own city... The Empire State Building has a lot more to make it a destination and noteworthy attraction to those without an interest in architecture than the Sears Tower has.
Don't get me wrong, the Sears Tower is a gorgeous and iconic PoMo tower, but it's nowhere near as widely known as the Empire State Building.
Why?... The Sears Tower is well known to those with a keen interest in Architecture and buildings (and to those in and around Chicago), but many outside the Midwest don't know what it is. They're aware that Chicago is big and has many tall buildings, but most couldn't pick it out of a line up.
The ESB is much more widely known given the age and the style of architecture. It's weathered a depression and a world war, a civil rights movement, and a terrorist attack that destroyed two iconic towers in its own city... The Empire State Building has a lot more to make it a destination and noteworthy attraction to those without an interest in architecture than the Sears Tower has.
Don't get me wrong, the Sears Tower is a gorgeous and iconic PoMo tower, but it's nowhere near as widely known as the Empire State Building.
Its still hard NOT to have heard about it. It is the tallest building in the US. Its in just about every picture of Chicago.
Its still hard NOT to have heard about it. It is the tallest building in the US. Its in just about every picture of Chicago.
Can the average American, name the tallest building in China, which is acutually taller than the Sears Tower? ( Taipei 101 if you never heard of it). The Sears falls into a category of supertalls that only architecture enthusiasts, citizens of that city and metro, and people who like general facts and info, will know about. Almost everybody on Earth knows the ESB and the Manhattan skyline. The same can not be said about Chicago.
Could you even tell me the tallest building or the most culturally significant building in Melbourne? (WITHOUT resorting to google either )
I know you'd know Sydney because whenever Oz is plastered all around the world it's always the Bridge and the Opera House and Centrepoint Tower.
Fact is we don't see a lot of images of Chicago here, but we do see New York.
I can't remember any movies with great loves meeting on the top of the Sears Tower, or any of a giant gorilla hanging from the side of the Sears Tower swatting at planes, it's not the subject of songs or stories that I'm aware of either. That's not to say there's anything wrong with it just that it's not really presented here that much.
You know you can even see the ESB in a line up of significant buildings at the top of our tallest office block's observation deck here. I can't say that I recall the Sears Tower even being on it.
Why?... The Sears Tower is well known to those with a keen interest in Architecture and buildings (and to those in and around Chicago), but many outside the Midwest don't know what it is. They're aware that Chicago is big and has many tall buildings, but most couldn't pick it out of a line up.
The ESB is much more widely known given the age and the style of architecture. It's weathered a depression and a world war, a civil rights movement, and a terrorist attack that destroyed two iconic towers in its own city... The Empire State Building has a lot more to make it a destination and noteworthy attraction to those without an interest in architecture than the Sears Tower has.
Don't get me wrong, the Sears Tower is a gorgeous and iconic PoMo tower, but it's nowhere near as widely known as the Empire State Building.
Thanks lrfox. I'm not trying to offend anyone. Some buildings do interest me a good deal but if not for this thread I'd not even have known the Sears Tower existed let alone was the tallest in the US. Tallest isn't really where my interest lies. The ESB has been around longer AND it has been presented to other countries for a good deal longer. I can't recall EVER seeing the Sears Tower before this thread.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cheese9988
Its still hard NOT to have heard about it. It is the tallest building in the US. Its in just about every picture of Chicago.
Can you tell me the oldest building still standing in the City of Melbourne? Probably not (and no cheating and looking it up either )
We truly don't get that many pictures of the Chicago skyline here in the media. If you lined up the skylines of American cities and asked me to pick out which was which I could manage Seattle, New York, Boston, San Fran and possibly LA. MAYBE at a pinch Dallas. Tallest isn't really where my interest lies. Art Deco is more my thing, or old buildings. Tallest **shrug**. No offense. I'm sure it's a beautiful city.
Okay, I choose the Sears Tower, I remember riding up the elevator as a kid and being just blown away, it still amazes me to this day...and, not that I really care who knows about the Sears Tower, but you got me thinking about times I remember hearing about/seeing the Sears Tower (which probably aren't that famous):
Movies off the top of my head:The Dark Knight; Ferris Bueller; Planes, Trains, & Automobiles;
The Spider Man guy that scaled it in the early 1980's
Being from Chicago, I can truly say that the Sears Tower is an impressive feat. But I actually like the ESB better. It shows more architectural imagination, and symmetry. The owners of the Sears Tower are planning to repaint it Silver, so that might make the building seem less gaudy, and obtrusively large
Why?... The Sears Tower is well known to those with a keen interest in Architecture and buildings (and to those in and around Chicago), but many outside the Midwest don't know what it is. They're aware that Chicago is big and has many tall buildings, but most couldn't pick it out of a line up.
The ESB is much more widely known given the age and the style of architecture. It's weathered a depression and a world war, a civil rights movement, and a terrorist attack that destroyed two iconic towers in its own city... The Empire State Building has a lot more to make it a destination and noteworthy attraction to those without an interest in architecture than the Sears Tower has.
Don't get me wrong, the Sears Tower is a gorgeous and iconic PoMo tower, but it's nowhere near as widely known as the Empire State Building.
IMO that's very true--it's just not what you learn about in school. I think most would people know about the Empire State Building, especially since NY is the Empire State. I personally always remember it from James and the Giant Peach. I didn't really know that the Sears tower existed until I got on this forum.
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