sears

Sears, Roebuck and Company started out in a building complex in the community area of North Lawndale in Chicago, Illinois. The complex hosted most of department-store chain Sears’ mail order operations between 1906 and 1993, and it also served as Sears' corporate headquarters until 1973, when the Sears Tower was completed. 

In 1988, Sears, Roebuck and Company sold and moved out of the building, but the Sears Tower name remained until 2009 when the building was renamed after the Willis Group, a London-based global insurance broker. (I still call it the Sears Tower).

My dad’s only career was with Sears, minus the few years he served in the Army. Out of curiosity, I found the address for the Sears, Roebuck and Company complex in North Lawndale and thought it might be fun to visit. Also out of curiosity, I googled North Lawndale to see if it was safe to visit. It’s not. It is the 4th most dangerous suburb in Chicago. “According to PropertyClub, North Lawndale on Chicago’s West Side was a developing neighborhood until the 2008 recession hit. It’s estimated that about 70% of men aged 17 to 45 in North Lawndale have criminal records. You have a 1 in 9 chance of becoming a victim of any type of crime in North Lawndale - and its crime rate is 198% higher than the Chicago average.” I would love to see the original Sears complex. Even though the spirit of wanderlust tugged, I deferred to common sense. Another, more blunt and to-the-point common sense answer - I asked my son-in-law about going to North Lawndale. His reply, "F**K NO!"