| At 553.33 meters (1,815.39 feet), 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.
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 approximately 30 minutes to climb to the
base of the Raydome (the white bubble on the bottom of the main pod), the fastest climb on record is 7 minutes 58 seconds.
"CN" is the official acronym of the former Canadian National Railway, but following the railway's decision to divest non-core freight
railway assets during the lead-up to the company's privatization in 1995, the "CN Tower"
was transferred to the Canada Lands Company (CLC), a federal Crown corporation responsible for real estate
development. Since the citizens of Toronto wished to retain the name "CN Tower", the acronym "CN" now stands for "Canada's
National" rather than the original "Canadian National".
From 1997-January 2004, TrizecHahn Corporation managed 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, the Guinness Book of World Records officially changed the CN Tower’s classification to
"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 (2,116 feet), is a taller
free-standing structure, but all but its top is under water. If built, a 1,000 m tower for a solarthermic power station in
Australia will break the record. 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
See Also: List of towers, List of masts, Skyscraper
External links
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