One of the most important tourist attractions of Chicago's famous Sears Tower was temporarily closed, after the bottom of the popular glass balcony, The Ledge, one of the city's and the country's highest, broke in front of a family of visitors.
The glass balcony which stands out from the building's structure, and the view of which has turned the Sears Tower (now known as the Willis Tower) into one of Chicago's most important tourist attractions, visited by thousands of people every year, and was added to the building in 2009, according to Time.
Alejandro Garibay and his family were visiting Chicago's Skydeck since last Wednesday, precisely to admired the city "at their feet", when they saw in horror how the balcony's glass floor they were standing on began to crack.
According to the ABC, the tower's authorities assured the visitors that they were not in danger at any time, and that a protective layer which covers the glass broke, causing the cracks on the balcony. The protective layer was replaced on Thursday afternoon.
"This layer doe not affect the structural integrity of The Ledge in any way. Once in a while, the layer cracks, since it's designed to in order to protect the surface of the glass," said Brian Rehme, spokesman for the Fleishman Hillard public relations firm.
Finally, after a routine inspection Thursday to verify the integrity of The Ledge, the rest of the Skydeck on floor 103 of Chicago's Willis Tower remained open to the public.
The four balconies of the Tower were reopened and are operating normally on Friday, according to the ABC.
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