Willis Tower KWO39, programmed by the National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Chicago, is equipped with Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME), which sets off a siren on specially-programmed weather radios to alert of an impending hazard, such as a tornado or civil emergency. The building has appeared in numerous films and television shows set in Chicago such as "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", where Ferris and company watch the streets of Chicago from the observation deck. The television show "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" introduced a character called The Sears Tower Dressed In Sears Clothing when the show visited Chicago in 2006.
Joshua Sears Building supply store occupied one of the smaller storefronts for over twenty years. At one point the building's upper floors, originally intended for office space, were divided into seven apartments. On August 3, 1982, it was added the National Register of Historic Places. As of 2005 the building housed a religious bookstore and a real estate office. In 2015 the building was purchased by Local attorney Sim Osborn and his wife Monica Hart, the couple bought the building with plans to preserve its historic features and aesthetics for future generations. History Joshua Sears Building The Joshua Sears Building is a historic