Trupti Biradar.

For the best view of the Windy City head to the top of the Willis Tower, writes

Iam suspended in a box 412 metres above Chicago, and the view is unreal. We’re on the 103rd floor of the Willis Tower and from our vantage point we can see four US states – Wisconsin to the north, Indiana to south, Michigan to the east, and Illinois to the west.

I try not to look down, and place all my faith in the three layers of half-inch thick glass.

I can’t stop myself from recalling the story of the tourists who were on the Skydeck when they heard it cracking. Then I also recall that it was just the protective coating that cracked, not the actual floor.

I’ve read it can withstand four tons of pressure (that’s about 3622kg) and can hold 10,000lbs (4536kg), I’ve eaten a lot on this trip, but really I should be OK.

I’m standing on The Ledge, glass boxes that extend out 1.3m over the Windy City. The viewing deck on top of the eight-tallest building in the world, called the Skydeck, opened in 1973. And it’s been a hit attraction every since, drawing in more than a million visitors annually.

But it wasn’t long before it became clear that tourists and locals alike wanted an obstructed view of the Windy City.

‘‘The inspiration for The Ledge came from hundreds of forehead prints visitors left behind on Skydeck windows,’’ explains Randy Stancik, general manager, Willis Towey/Skydeck Chicago.

‘‘You’ll also recall that memorable scene in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off where Ferris and his friends climb up on to the railing and press their foreheads against the glass, straining to view down below,’’ he adds.

‘‘And so we gave visitors what they wanted – an unobstructed view of the city’’.

It’s certainly resulted in the most Instagrammable and memorable moment in Chicago. The writer was a guest of Brand USA and Expedia.