Aon Center's planned observation deck, Chicago's third, could create competition for tourist dollars
CHICAGO - The owners of the Aon Center, Chicago's third-tallest skyscraper, on Monday unveiled plans for an observatory atop the building, potentially setting up a heated competition for tourist dollars with established observatories at Willis Tower and 875 N. Michigan Ave., the former John Hancock Center.
The stakes are as high as the buildings. A thriving observatory can be like a gold mine for a building's owners, producing far more revenue per square foot than ordinary office space. But there are only so many tourists like Kiara Culmer, who on Monday was visiting the 360 Chicago observatory atop 875 N. Michigan, to go around.
The view of Lake Michigan and distant skyscrapers, including the Aon Center, was amazing, but her family,
