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CN Tower

At 553.33 metres (1,815.39 feet), the Canada's National Tower is the world's tallest free-standing structure on land. The CN Tower is located in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada and is considered the signature icon of the city which attracts over 2 million visitors yearly.

Picture of CN Tower from Lake Ontario
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Picture of CN Tower from Lake Ontario

Built in 1976 by Canadian National Railway (CN) to demonstrate the strength of Canadian industry, the tower was originally designed as a radio and television transmitting antenna. There are microwave receivers for distant signals at about 305 meters, and the top of the transmission antenna is at the apex of the tower. Metal staircases with 1776 steps reach the Skypod level (447m) and are the tallest metal staircase on earth.

These stairs intended for emergency use, are used twice yearly for charity stairclimb events by the United Way's Toronto chapter. With the average climber taking approx. 30 minutes to climb to the base of the Raydome (the white bubble on the bottom of the main pod) and the fastest climb being 7 minutes 58 seconds, it is surely a memorable experience.

"CN" is the official acronym of Canadian National Railway, but following the railway's decision to divest of non-core freight railway assets during the lead-up to the company's privatization in 1995, the "CN Tower" became surplus and was transferred to the Canada Lands Company (CLC), a federal Crown corporation responsible for real estate development. Since the citizens of Toronto wanted to keep the name of CN Tower, the meaning behind the acronym "CN" has been changed to "Canada's National" instead of the original "Canadian National".

From 1997-January 2004, TrizecHahn Corporation was leased the management of the building and instituted several expansion projects including a $26 million entertainment expansion and revitalization that included the addition of two new elevators (to a total of six) and the relocation of the staircase from the cityside (north side) shaft to inside the core of the building.

At 342 m is the Glass Floor and Outdoor Observation Deck, at 346 m are Horizons Cafe and the Indoor Observation Deck, and at 351 m is the 360 Restaurant, which rotates once every 72 minutes. The restaurant has a minimum purchase requirement and a vast menu.

The Sky Pod, a small enclosed platform elevated high above the main observation floor, is located at 447 m, and is the highest public observation deck in the world. Admission to the Sky Pod requires payment of an extra charge.

In 1995, the CN Tower was declared one of the modern Seven Wonders of the World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. It also belongs to the World Federation of Great Towers.

The following year, Guinness Book of World Records officially changed the CN Tower’s classification to the World’s Tallest Building and Free-Standing Structure.


There are many guyed towers taller than the CN Tower, the current tallest being the KVLY-TV tower in North Dakota at 628 m (2,063 feet) tall (see List of masts), but these are guy-wire supported structures and not classified as free-standing. The Petronius Compliant Tower (an oil platform) at 645 m (2116 feet), is a taller free-standing structure, but all but its top is under water. The Burj Dubai, slated for completion in 2008, would according to present claims by its developers become a taller free-standing land structure than CN Tower. See World's tallest structures for further analysis of the tallest man-made structures.

On July 23, 1999 Ashrita Furman became the fastest person to go up the CN Tower using a Pogo stick. In 2001, a group of environmentalists scaled the tower to place a banner protesting the policies of President Bush on the tower.

More images of the CN Tower

Wikimedia Commons has multimedia related to CN Tower .

Toronto Skyline during the day
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Toronto Skyline during the day
Toronto Skyline at night
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Toronto Skyline at night


See Also: List of towers, List of masts, Skyscraper

External links

  • Official site of the CN tower http://www.cntower.ca/
  • Guinness entry for the CN Tower http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/gwr5/content_pages/record.asp?recordid=49675
  • What is the tallest building in the world? http://www.xs4all.nl/~hnetten/tallest.html

 

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Last updated: 02-16-2005 08:14:14
Last updated: 03-02-2005 05:44:48