Visitors to the Sears Tower's new glass balconies in Chicago all seem to agree: The first step is the hardest. "It's like walking on ice," said Margaret Kemp, of Bishop, Calif., who was among visitors who got a sneak preview Wednesday. "That first step you take – 'am I going down?' "

"The Ledge," as the balconies have been nicknamed, opens to the public today. The balconies are suspended 1,353 feet in the air and jut out 4 feet from the building's 103rd-floor Skydeck. They're actually more like boxes than balconies, with transparent walls, floor and ceiling.

Visitors are treated to unobstructed views of Chicago from the building's west side and a heart-stopping vista of the street and Chicago River below – for those brave enough to look straight down.

The inspiration for the balconies came from the hundreds of forehead prints that visitors left behind on Skydeck windows every week, Sears Tower officials said.

The Associated Press

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