CN Tower
The CN Tower, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a prominent communications tower and a celebrated landmark. Completed in 1975, it stands at 1,815 feet and 5 inches tall, making it one of the tallest freestanding structures globally. Originally conceived to enhance television and radio transmission over the city’s growing skyscrapers, the tower features a unique tapered design with a hexagonal core and support arms. Opened to the public in 1976, it attracts over 1.5 million visitors annually, offering a variety of attractions, including observation decks, restaurants, and a theater.
The tower is home to the world’s highest wine cellar and the thrilling EdgeWalk experience, where visitors can walk around the ledge at extreme heights. Other unique features include a Glass Floor that provides stunning views downward and multiple dining options, such as the rotating 360 Restaurant. The CN Tower also serves as a telecommunications hub for numerous stations, ensuring clear reception for the residents of Toronto. Designated as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1995, the CN Tower continues to be a symbol of Toronto and a popular destination for tourists and locals alike.
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CN Tower
The CN Tower is a communications tower located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Completed in 1975, the tower is regarded as one of Canada's most famous landmarks, attracting tourists from around the world. The tower also is one of the tallest freestanding structures in the world. The CN Tower offers visitors many attractions, including meeting rooms, eateries, observations decks, and a theater.
Background
In the 1960s, Toronto experienced a construction boom that added many skyscrapers to the city. As a result, television and radio reception suffered because the city's transmission towers were not tall enough to transmit signals over the newly built skyscrapers; the new buildings blocked the signals and caused poor reception. Plans soon were developed to build a tall communications tower that would solve the problem.
That tower, named the CN Tower, was built by the Canadian transportation company Canadian National (CN), hence its name. Construction of the tower began on February 6, 1973. Workers first removed about 61.7 tons (56 metric tonnes) of earth and shale to make way for the tower's foundation. They then constructed the foundation, followed by a 1,100-foot (335-meter) concrete shaft, which consists of a hexagonal core and three support arms. The shaft has a tapered shape, gradually becoming narrower as it rises.
In August 1974, workers began constructing a seven-story-high tower pod. Then an antenna, comprised of forty-four pieces, was placed atop the tower piece-by-piece using a Sikorsky helicopter called Olga. The CN Tower was completed on April 2, 1975. It was opened to the public on June 26, 1976.
Overview
The CN Tower took forty months to build, and its construction involved 1,537 workers. The tower stands at 1,815 feet and 5 inches (553.33 meters) tall, making it the tallest freestanding structure in Canada. When it was completed in 1975, the CN Tower was the tallest freestanding structure in the world. It held this record for thirty-four years. As of 2017, the tower remained among the world's tallest freestanding structures. In 1995, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) designated the CN Tower as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.
The CN Tower is the telecommunications hub for Toronto. It serves more than sixteen Canadian television and radio stations and provides the residents of Toronto with clear reception. The tower also provides wireless voice and data transmissions.
More than 1.5 million people from around the globe visit the CN Tower each year. Six high-speed elevators with glass fronts and 1,776 steps provide access to different parts of the tower. Visitors to the CN Tower can enjoy several attractions. The tower offers a flight simulator ride experience called Tour of the Universe, which was the world's first when it opened in 1986. At the base of the tower are a theater called the Maple Leaf Cinema—named after the national symbol of Canada—and an 8,000-square-foot (743-square-meter) gift shop, both of which were added in 1998. The theater was upgraded to a high-definition (HD) three-dimensional (3D) theater in 2010. Also at the base of the tower are a restaurant called Le Café that offers food such as pizza, sandwiches, and salads, and a 1,100-square-foot (102-square-meter) event space that includes three meeting rooms called Aspen, Birch, and Cedar. The meeting rooms provide guests with food and beverage services.
The tower pod contains different levels with observation decks and restaurants. One of the levels is 1,122 feet (342 meters) off the ground. This level includes the Glass Floor and the Outdoor SkyTerrace. The Glass Floor is a floor made of glass that is 2.5 inches thick and offers views straight down to the ground. Visitors are welcomed to sit, walk, and crawl on the Glass Floor. When the Glass Floor opened in 1994, it was the only attraction of its kind in the world. The Outdoor SkyTerrace is an outdoor observation point that provides views of Toronto and the surrounding area.
Another level, the LookOut Level, is 1,136 feet (346 meters) in the sky. This level includes an indoor observation deck and Horizons Restaurant, which offers family fare. 360 Restaurant, which rotates a full 360 degrees, hence its name, is located above the LookOut Level at 1,151 feet (351 meters). The award-winning restaurant offers fine dining and has a wine cellar. The wine cellar holds the Guinness World Record for the world's highest wine cellar.
The highest point visitors can reach in the CN Tower is a deck above the pod called SkyPod. At 1,465 feet (447 meters) off the ground, SkyPod is one of the world's highest observation decks. On clear days, visitors can experience visibility of up to 100 miles (161 kilometers). SkyPod can be reached by taking an elevator from the LookOut Level.
In 2007, light emitting diode (LED) lighting was added to the CN Tower. A total of 1,330 LED fixtures were added. The LED lighting illuminates the tower in red and white, which are the national colors of Canada.
Since 2011, visitors to the CN Tower have been able to experience EdgeWalk, an outdoor, hands-free, and full-circle walk on the ledge of the tower's main pod. The 5-foot (1.5-meter) wide ledge encircles the pod and is 1,168 feet (356 meters) in the sky. Participants wear a harness that is attached to a safety rail above them. This enables them to freely walk along the ledge. Trained guides accompany participants on the walk. One of the most thrilling parts of the experience for participants is to stand on the edge of the ledge and lean back hands-free. The walk lasts for about thirty minutes. EdgeWalk is the highest such walk in the world.
Each year, thousands of people gather to climb the CN Tower. Shaun Stephens-Whale, a competitive tower climber, holds the record for the fastest climb up the stairs. He set the record in 2017, the twenty-seventh year of the event, climbing the tower's 1,776 steps in 9 minutes and 54.9 seconds. At the same event, twelve-year-old Aysia Maurice was the fastest female climber, clocking in at 12 minutes and 53.4 seconds.
Bibliography
"About CN." CN, www.cn.ca/en/about-cn. Accessed 11 Apr. 2017.
"Attractions: Glass Floor." La Tour CN Tower, www.cntower.ca/en-ca/plan-your-visit/attractions/glass-floor.html. Accessed 11 Apr. 2017.
"Attractions: LookOut." La Tour CN Tower, www.cntower.ca/en-ca/plan-your-visit/attractions/lookout.html. Accessed 11 Apr. 2017.
"Attractions: SkyPod." La Tour CN Tower, www.cntower.ca/en-ca/plan-your-visit/attractions/skypod.html. Accessed 11 Apr. 2017.
Bolland, Daryn. "Thousands Gather for 2017 CN Tower Climb." Global News, 9 Apr. 2017, globalnews.ca/news/3367241/thousands-gather-for-2017-cn-tower-climb/. Accessed 11 Apr. 2017.
"EdgeWalk at the CN Tower." EdgeWalk, www.edgewalkcntower.ca/. Accessed 11 Apr. 2017.
"History: Astounding." La Tour CN Tower, www.cntower.ca/en-ca/about-us/history/astounding.html. Accessed 11 Apr. 2017.
"Restaurants: Le Café." La Tour CN Tower, www.cntower.ca/en-ca/plan-your-visit/restaurants/le-cafe.html. Accessed 11 Apr. 2017.
"Restaurants: 360 the Restaurant at the CN Tower." La Tour CN Tower, www.cntower.ca/en-ca/plan-your-visit/restaurants/360-the-restaurant-at-the-cn-tower.html. Accessed 11 Apr. 2017.