Sears Tower name change: Building today officially becomes Willis Tower

Sears Tower name change: Building today officially becomes Willis Tower
By Mary Ellen Podmolik
Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune
July 16, 2009
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-talk-willis-towerjul16,0,4222230.story


It's time to play another round of "What you talkin' 'bout, Willis?"

The decades-old phrase from television sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes" resurfaced with a vengeance in March, when Willis Group Holdings announced its name would replace Sears' atop Chicago's tallest landmark. Thursday, in front of 500 employees and invited guests -- but not the general public -- company officers will make the name change official.

London-based Willis, an insurance brokerage with zero local name recognition, caught flak this spring for receiving naming rights in exchange for leasing three floors of office space, despite the fact that Sears itself is long gone -- like more than a decade -- from the tower.

The letters on the exterior of the building were changed Wednesday. Details about how quickly the signage within the building will change are being kept hush-hush until Thursday's event. The tourist entrance to the building won't be affected, as it goes by the Skydeck Chicago brand.

What's also unknown is how much educational outreach is planned and whether the name will stick. After all, some White Sox fans still refer to their team's home as Comiskey Park, not the corporately sponsored U.S. Cellular Field.

Pity the poor out-of-towner who jumps in a cab and requests a ride to the Willis Tower. We can almost hear the response: "Willis? What are you talking about?"

mepodmolik@tribune.com
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