If you want to have a bird's eye view of Chicago, you can head to the Sears Tower.

But a new feature there not only takes you above the city, but also over it.

The sweeping views from atop Chicago's world-famous Sears Tower can be breathtaking -- especially when there's nothing beneath you.

Summiting up more than 1,300 feet is "The Ledge," a new addition to the 103rd floor Skydeck. Four glass cubes protrude four feet out and 10 feet wide from the building. Each is capable of holding more than five tons, and they even retract back into the tower.

"We had engineering for over a year, construction for another six months after that," explains Randy Stancik, Skydeck general manager. "You don't have to be a daredevil to step out on the ledge. You can go up to the edge and look all the way down and still be inside the building."

It's a nerve-racking thrill, but it can also be cathartic for those conquering their acrophobia -- or at least testing it.

"I'm not normally afraid of heights," Christina Vesic begins. "It almost felt like... I just get scared, like what if it falls or something like that?"

"When you stand up there and you can look down, it's just like, wow," adds Paul Snider.

"That's really what we want people to walk away from," Stancik explains. "Not just terrific views, not just the terrific interactive area that we just rebuilt downstairs, but to really have a nice takeaway of what it feels like to be floating mid-air."

Perched 1,353 feet above the Windy City, the experience of stepping out onto the ledge is quite surreal. Some people just peek over the edge, but others hang around and take pictures. Others even lie down for a while on the 1.5-inch thick glass.

"We definitely wanted to take our kids up on one of the world's tallest buildings, and we heard about the deck here," explained the Bundy family father. "We're excited to see it."

"I'm surprised that anyone would want to come out here and do this," admitted young Chris Dattilo. But when asked whether he was glad he made the big step out into space, he responded with an emphatic "Definitely!"

"In a very short period of time you're going to have a lot of different takeaways, a lot of different memories and experiences that you're going to talk about and remember for the rest of your life," says Stancik.

The cost to head up to the Skydeck is $15. For much more information, visit www.theskydeck.com