Big Ben vs Willis Tower

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Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the striking clock in the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London; the name is often extended to refer to both the clock and the clock tower. The official name of this tower in which Big Ben is located was originally the Clock Tower; it was renamed Elizabeth Tower in 2012 to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II, Queen of the uk. The tower was designed by Augustus Pugin at a neo-Gothic style. When completed in 1859, its clock was the largest and most accurate four-faced striking and chiming clock on the planet. The tower stands 315 ft (96 m) tall, and the climb from ground level to the belfry is 334 steps. Its foundation is square, measuring 39 ft (12 m) on each side. Dials of the clock are 23 feet (7.0 m) in diameter. On 31 May 2009, celebrations were held to mark the tower's 150th anniversary.Big Ben is the biggest of the tower's five bells and weighs 13.5 long tons (13.7 tonnes; 15.1 short tons). It was the biggest bell in the United Kingdom for 23 years. The origin of this bell's nickname is open to question; it might be named after Sir Benjamin Hall, who oversaw its own installation, or heavyweight boxing champion Benjamin Caunt.

Four quarter bells chime at 15, 30 and 45 minutes past the hour and just before Big Ben tolls on the hour. The clock uses its first Victorian mechanics, but an electric motor can be applied as a backup. The tower is a British cultural icon recognised all over the world. It is among the most prominent symbols of the uk and parliamentary democracy, and it is often used in the establishing shot of films set in London. The clock tower has been a part of a Grade I listed building since 1970 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. On 21 August 2017, a four-year schedule of renovation works began on the tower, which are to include the addition of a lift. In addition, there are plans to re-glaze and repaint the clock dials. With a few exceptions, such as New Year's Eve and Remembrance Sunday, the bells should be silent until the work is completed in 2021.

Source: Wikipedia

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The Willis Tower (formerly and informally: Sears Tower, its title until 2009) is a 110-story, 1,450-foot (442.1 m) skyscraper in Chicago. At completion in 1973, it surpassed the World Trade Center in New York City to become the tallest building in the world, a title that it held for nearly 25 years; it was also the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere for 41 years, before the new One World Trade Center surpassed it in 2013. While it held the title of'Tallest Office Building' before 2013, it dropped the title of'Tallest Man-Made Construction' after only 3 decades. The CN Tower in Toronto, which functions as a communications tower, took over the title in 1976. The Willis Tower is considered a seminal accomplishment for engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan. It is currently the third-tallest construction in the USA and the Western hemisphere -- and the 23rd-tallest in the world. Annually, several million people visit its observation deck, the highest in the USA, which makes it one of Chicago's most popular tourist destinations. The arrangement was renamed in 2009 by the Willis Group as a term of its lease. As of April 2018, the building's largest tenant is United Airlines, which moved its corporate headquarters in 77 West Wacker Drive (then the United Building) in 2012, occupying around 20 flooring. Other major tenants include the building's namesake Willis Towers Watson and law firms Schiff Hardin and Seyfarth Shaw. Morgan Stanley plans to move into the construction in 2019 and become its fourth-largest tenant by 2020.

Source: Wikipedia