Going to the Top of the Magnificent Mile: Chicago 360

Seeing the Windy City from a new perspective

To be honest, I’m generally not one for going to observation decks at the top of skyscrapers. It’s not that I don’t enjoy them — quite the opposite. But, I generally feel that they’re a little bit overpriced and overcrowded, so usually I only get to see cities from above if there are free viewpoints, or if I’m visiting a friend who lives in a high-rise apartment.

There is one notable exception to this, however, and that’s what I’m writing about today.

While visiting Chicago (not my most recent visit, but a visit before that a couple of years ago) the friend I was traveling with suggested that we go to the top of the John Hancock Tower. Technically I think it has a new name now, but I still find myself referring to it as the John Hancock building out of habit. 875 North Michigan Avenue is a bit of a mouthful.

Anyway, the observation deck itself is called 360 Chicago. As the name implies, it gives a 360-degree view of the entire city! And though the price tag was steep (it costs a minimum of $30 per person, more if you want add-ons like the TILT ride), I have to say, it was a really great experience.

From below, it’s hard to imagine being at the top, a bit like looking up at the top of a mountain. But unlike a mountain, buildings have elevators. Do I have a slight phobia of these elevators? Yes, but on this particular occasion I didn’t let that stop me.

We decided to go up at night, which I personally think was a great choice. Although the pictures aren’t quite as clear as they might have been during the day, I thought it was so cool to see the city lit up at night. It was also less crowded.

Although the downtown area was the most spectacular view (main photo at the top of the article), I also really enjoyed looking north towards North Avenue Beach and Lincoln Park (bottom left photo). Southeast, there was a fun view of Navy Pier (bottom right photo).

I’m not even remotely the first person to say this, but one of the things that’s so fascinating to me is how peaceful cities look from above. The traffic that’s so annoying at ground level looks like a sea of light, and people look like ants. It’s just another example of how much our perspective changes when we view something from a new vantage point.

I really enjoyed reading Marianne O’s article about skyscrapers in Hong Kong — and I learned so much about skyscrapers (and the requirements for a building to be considered one) that I didn’t know before!

Kim Baker wrote about the tallest tower in the world, Tokyo Skytree. I haven’t gotten to Japan yet, but it’s at the top of my list of countries I’d like to visit!

If you would like to support my writing, please consider clicking the follow and subscribe buttons! Additionally, you can sign up to be a Medium member here: https://medium.com/@claireelizabeth21/membership (I will get a small commission). It’s only $5 a month, and gives you access to an unlimited number of stories by me and many other writers!