The Willis Tower....

[Italiahaircolor]

Here in Chicago we''ve lost Marshall Fields, Comiskey Park and now....The Sears Tower

.

I am so bummed, seriously. Talk about an iconic building, The Sears Tower is a staple of Chicago...and from now on, it will be referred to as "The Willis Tower" formally.

I never thought I''d see the day...it''s terribly unforunate, but I will always refer to it as the Sears Tower.

 

[Regular Guy]

Sorry, please help catch me up. What''s Marshal Fields now?

 

[meresal]

Italia... Seriously?!? Why?! I''m so sorry.

 

[swimmer]

There was an interesting bit on this on NPR yesterday, Daly was interviewed and all sorts of people were saying how sad that they were to see the name change. But Sears moved out in the 80s. The quote from the CEO of Willis is spot on:
"Joseph Plumeri, Willis Group''s chairman and CEO, was incredulous at the negative reaction to his company''s decision to relocate 500 employees to the tower in the midst of a recession.

"Would you rather have an iconic building with nobody in it, which doesn''t say a lot about Chicago, or someone with enough faith to take the space?" he asked. "The headline should be: A company has decided to invest money in Chicago, and if you miss that headline, you''ve missed the side of the building by a mile and a half."

So sorry Italianhaircolor, which do you want, a sign of life in an economically troubled city, or a sentimental name?
Apparently the building had been at 30% occupancy before this move.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Date: 3/15/2009 6:30:01 AM
Author: swimmer
There was an interesting bit on this on NPR yesterday, Daly was interviewed and all sorts of people were saying how sad that they were to see the name change. But Sears moved out in the 80s. The quote from the CEO of Willis is spot on:

''Joseph Plumeri, Willis Group''s chairman and CEO, was incredulous at the negative reaction to his company''s decision to relocate 500 employees to the tower in the midst of a recession.


''Would you rather have an iconic building with nobody in it, which doesn''t say a lot about Chicago, or someone with enough faith to take the space?'' he asked. ''The headline should be: A company has decided to invest money in Chicago, and if you miss that headline, you''ve missed the side of the building by a mile and a half.''


So sorry Italianhaircolor, which do you want, a sign of life in an economically troubled city, or a sentimental name?

Apparently the building had been at 30% occupancy before this move.

I''d take the sign of life and the sentimental name. This didn''t have to be an "either/or" situation.

 

[purrfectpear]

90% of the downtown LA buildings are owned by foreign (mostly Japanese and Arab) companies. As long as they don''t tear it down I don''t really care who owns it?

 

[Blair138]

Date: 3/15/2009 12:07:24 AM
Author: Regular Guy
Sorry, please help catch me up. What''s Marshal Fields now?

It''s Macy''s...and as a Chicago resident, it is NOT the same. Marshall Field''s was always CLEAN, the sales people were always HELPFUL and they carried a better product IMO. Macy''s is always messy and the people are downright rude in some instances.

Italia...I will NEVER call it Willis Tower...how lame is that, the company DID NOT have to change the name, they probably did it out of pure ego IMO.

It makes me very upset too...

 

[Italiahaircolor]

Yes, it''s a great thing that the Willis company (or whatever) is helping the Chicago economy...but why change the name? The Sears Tower is iconic here in Chicago, and always will be. I think that a company can relocate buildings--and be the majority company in the building--without changing the name...

Personally, I''d rather be The Willis Company in the Sears Tower...which is know...than be the Willis Company in the Willis Tower, which everyone will hate.

Oh..and Marshall Fields used to be the big department store here in Chicago...it was like Mecca for shoppers who wanted great service, wonderful selections, and consistant quality...it is now Macy*s.

 

[Italiahaircolor]

Date: 3/15/2009 10:33:56 AM
Author: purrfectpear
90% of the downtown LA buildings are owned by foreign (mostly Japanese and Arab) companies. As long as they don''t tear it down I don''t really care who owns it?

I don''t care who owns it, or who works there. But the Sears Tower isn''t just "any building"...its big in Chicago..if you see our skyline, you see the tower...we have mugs, and shirts, and ornaments, and all sorts of Chicago memorabila that feature the Sears Tower. It''s like the Statue of Liberty for NYC...it means something...and it''s sad to see it change.

 

[Elmorton]

What?

Ridiculous. I doubt ANYONE will actually start calling it the Willis Tower though. I live in a small city that changed the name of it''s main entertainment/sports venue about 5 years ago, and EVERYONE still calls it by the old name. Something like the Sears Tower - that''s just not changing

 

[BlueSki231]

Date: 3/15/2009 4:14:19 PM
Author: Italiahaircolor

Personally, I''d rather be The Willis Company in the Sears Tower...which is know...than be the Willis Company in the Willis Tower, which everyone will hate.

YES seriously!! why go and change the name?!
i guess you have to be a chicagoan to understand this.. i don''t know anyone that doesn''t think it''s dumb..

 

[monarch64]

I agree that probably not many people will start referring to it as "the Willis Tower." I compare it to changing the name of the Statue of Liberty--even if the name was changed to the Statue of Freedom or the Statue of Verizon Wireless people would still call it the Statue of Liberty, he hee.

On a side note: I hate that Comiskey is now called "The Cell" (short for US Cellular Field). It has such a negative connotation but it is SUCH a beautiful ball park.

 

[elrohwen]

Italia, that''s just awful!

Though I totally agree with others that no one will ever call it by the new name. Heck, I will forever call baseball stadiums in NYC Shea or Yankee Stadium, even though the buidings aren''t the same anyway (and I don''t like baseball

). Old names die hard.

 

[Lillers]

My SO works in the Tower, and I just don''t really understand why the Willis Group feels the need to change the name. There are a lot of companies that work out of the Tower, and some of them are very large and have been there for years. Plus the building was built FOR Sears.
Also, it has been emptying out since 9/11. A lot of people are scared to work in such an iconic high-rise. Besides that fact though, only about 20 office suites/spaces are empty right now.
Obviously, I feel strongly about that fact. They were talking about painting it silver recently too (to save money on utilities) and that did NOT go over well with the locals.
Just my .02

 

[Italiahaircolor]

it''s just a shame. period.

 

[mrssalvo]

my hubby is from Chicago and just horrified at the name change. He won''t call it the Willis Tower either. In TN there is a outdoor theatre that has been bought and renamed so many times and people still call it the same name it was years ago. Maybe there will be enough of an uproar that the Willis folks will reconsider and let the name stay. I sure hope so!!

 

[Italiahaircolor]

Date: 3/16/2009 12:16:57 PM
Author: mrssalvo
my hubby is from Chicago and just horrified at the name change. He won''t call it the Willis Tower either. In TN there is a outdoor theatre that has been bought and renamed so many times and people still call it the same name it was years ago. Maybe there will be enough of an uproar that the Willis folks will reconsider and let the name stay. I sure hope so!!

Hopefully.