The iconic Chicago skyscraper that was the world's tallest from 1973 to 1998 was the Sears Tower.
Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the tower was completed in Chicago in 1973 for Sears, Roebuck & Company, whose retail headquarters helped give it its original name. At 442.3 metres and 110 stories, it became the tallest building in the world, surpassing New York's World Trade Center.
The record is sometimes presented as ending in 1998, when Kuala Lumpur's Petronas Twin Towers took the title by architectural height. However, the comparison sparked debate because the Sears Tower had a higher roof and occupied floor. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat later formalized multiple height categories.
The building was officially renamed Willis Tower in 2009 after a new naming-rights agreement, but “Sears Tower” remains the familiar and widely accepted answer. It is also commonly confused with Chicago's John Hancock Center, now called 875 North Michigan Avenue.