CN Tower  

            The CN Tower…you’ve most likely heard a lot about it, you think you no, but you have no idea. Did you know that the CN Tower is the World’s Tallest Building (as recognized in the Guinness World Book of Records)? It is 1, 815”5 tall. Although, the tower is something Canadians take pride in, it does serve a valid purpose. Read on to find out.

Questions
1) Where is the CN Tower located? Who owns it?
2) Why was it built?
3) What is special about the CN Tower? What are its features?
4) What is the purpose of the antenna?
5) Who constructed the building?
6) What are some of the statistics? Weight, Height, ETC
7) Why is it significant to Canada’s heritage?

            Located on the North Shore of Lake Ontario, the CN tower is found in the heart of Toronto’s entertainment district. Although the tower’s construction was controlled by the CN (Canadian National), the ownership changed in 1995. The CN Tower became a public company, and Canada Lands Company (CLC) took over.

The CN Tower is often recognized for its height, but there are way more practical reasons for being there. Because of the construction boom in Toronto during the 1960’s, the skyline began rising with pre-sky scrapers. This led to serious communication problems, which is why the tower was built with an antenna. The tower was completed by October 1, 1976 (after about 40 months of construction), which called for an opening ceremony. So much hard work and effort had gone into the building, and it had finally paid off. Today, the CN Tower is not only a major entertainment base, but it is also used as a place for radio and TV stations to broadcast from.

            The World’s Tallest Building has many features that help to make it such a success. The Glass Floor, located 1, 222ft up, is 23.8 square feet of solid glass. It is 5 times stronger than the required weight-bearing standard for commercial floors. This means it can withstand the weight of 14 large hippos.
Another incredible feature of the tower is the 360 Restaurant. This restaurant got its name because it revolves 360° every 72 minutes. Even though the restaurant did not open until 1995 (when CLC took ownership), it has still brought in a lot of business and proves to be a success.
The next highlight in the CN Tower is the small, enclosed platform, located high above the main observation floor…the Sky Pod. At 1466.5 feet, it is the highest observation deck in the world.
The CN Tower is also known for its 6 glass elevators and 1769 stairs. Actually, there are 2579 stairs but only 1769 of them are open to the public. As for the elevators, they are glass-fronted and high-speed (they travel at a speed of 22km per hour).
In 1998, a $26 million entertainment expansion was added. This section represents 75,000 square feet of space and it too, brings in a lot of business. It is known for having the World’s Second Largest MacDonald inside. As you can see, the CN Tower features many attractions that are open to the public.

Although the antenna may seem like a small part of the CN Tower, it actually plays an important role. The antenna was built to solve communication and reception issues. It consists of 39 pieces, all which were secured in a 3.5-week construction period. The 335 ft. steel-broadcasting antenna is what makes the CN Tower the World’s Tallest Building.

           There was a lot of architectural thought that went into creating the tower, and this made the load of construction companies a lot lighter. On February 6 of 1973, 1,537 construction workers began creating what would soon become one of the “Seven Wonders of the Modern World”. The CN Tower was architected to be wind-resistant and flexible. A few materials that were needed to build the tower were concrete, tensioned steel, reinforcing steel and structured steel. It’s very obvious that a lot of hard work and effort was put forth to make this building happen. Construction wrapped up in June of 1976, and the opening ceremony was on October 1, 1976.

I already mentioned the height of the tower as being 1, 815 ft. tall, and as you can probably guess, the weight is an incredible amount as well. The CN Tower weighs 130,000 tons, which is equal to 23,214 large elephants. Even one elephant seems like a lot of pounds to us, but just imagine over 20,000 of them! Now that’s heavy. The CN Tower cost $63 million to build, which was valued as $300 million at the time. Canadian National, who wanted to prove the strength of the Canadian industry, funded the construction.

             The CN Tower is significant to our heritage because not only does it put Canada and Toronto on the map, it gives Canadians something to pride themselves in. Building the World’s Tallest Building is no small accomplishment, and it definitely doesn’t go unnoticed. The CN Tower is a place that creates jobs, brings in money, and simply gives us something to enjoy.
             After reading my report, I hope that you have learned many new facts that have interested you about the CN Tower. It’s a part of every Canadian’s heritage, whether they realize it or not. Hopefully, you will one day get to visit the CN Tower and see its amazing features for yourself.

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Bibliography

Books:

1.     Schemenaver, Elma. Hello Toronto. Agincourt, Ontario: GLC Silver Burdett, 1986.

2.     Levert, Suzanne. Let’s Discover Canada- Ontario. New York, Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 1991.

Websites:

1.     “CN Tower, Canada’s Wonder of the World.” February 28, 2005. Internet. http://www.cntower.ca/portal/

2.     “Building the CN Tower” and “The CN Tower Commentary.” March 1, 2005. Internet. http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/CN_Tower.html

3.     “CN Tower.” March 1, 2005. Internet. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CN_Tower

4.     “Attraction Profile” and “The Glass Floor Celebrates its 10th Anniversary in 2004.” March 1. 2005. Internet. http://www.toronto.com/profile?id=147417         Top

Web Links     Top

CN Tower

This is the official website for the CN Tower in Toronto, Ontario. It has many pictures to look through. It also has links to reserve and buy a ticket for the CN Tower.

Great Buildings

This has a few key points about the CN Tower.

Wikipedia CN Tower

This has a bunch of information about the creators, architects, and company of the CN Tower.

CN Tower Profile

This website is mostly about the glass floor