The CN Tower (French: Tour CN) is a 553.3 m-high (1,815.3 ft) concrete communications and observation tower in downtown Toronto, Canada. Built on the former Railway Lands, it was completed in 1976. Its name, “CN,” referred to Canadian National, the railway company that built the tower. Following the railway’s decision to divest non-core freight railway assets before the company’s privatization in 1995, it transferred the tower to the Canada Lands Company, a federal Crown corporation responsible for real estate development.
The CN Tower held the record for the world’s tallest free-standing structure for 32 years, from 1975 until 2007, when it was surpassed by the Burj Khalifa, and was the world’s tallest tower until 2009, when the Canton Tower surpassed it. It is currently the ninth-tallest free-standing structure in the world and remains the tallest free-standing structure on land in the Western Hemisphere. 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.
It is a signature icon of Toronto’s skyline and attracts more than two million international visitors annually. It houses several observation decks, a revolving restaurant at some 1,150 feet (350 m), and an entertainment complex.
History
The original concept of the CN Tower was first conceived in 1968 when the Canadian National Railway wanted to build a large television and radio communication platform to serve the Toronto area and to demonstrate the strength of Canadian industry and CN in particular. These plans evolved over the next few years, and the project became official in 1972.
The tower would have been part of Metro Centre (see CityPlace), a large development south of Front Street on the Railway Lands, a large railway switching yard that was being made redundant after the opening of the MacMillan Yard north of the city in 1965 (then known as Toronto Yard). Key project team members were NCK Engineering as structural engineer; John Andrews Architects; Webb, Zerafa, Menkes, Housden Architects; Foundation Building Construction; and Canyon (Eastern Structural Division). Bed Bug Exterminator Toronto
As Toronto grew rapidly during the late 1960s and early 1970s, multiple skyscrapers were constructed in the downtown core, most notably First Canadian Place. The reflective nature of the new buildings reduced the quality of broadcast signals, requiring new, higher antennas that were at least 300 m (980 ft) tall. The radio wire is estimated to be 102 meters long in 44 pieces – the heaviest of which weighs around eight tons.
Address: 290 Bremner Blvd, Toronto, CA
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