Celebrate the CN Tower’s birthday: It was finished on April 2, 1975, and opened to the public on June 26, 1975.
If you are new to Toronto, you might need an introduction to a Toronto icon. Every major world city has its signature skyline that generates immediate recognition. For Paris, it would be the Eiffel Tower since 1888. For New York City, it would be the Empire State Building beginning in 1929. And for the last 50 years, Toronto has had The CN Tower.
It might seem like Toronto has always had the CN Tower standing proudly on its skyline, but it was actually built only 50 years ago, dreamt up by visionaries to be constructed on the CN railway lands. Initially commissioned as a telecommunications tower for broadcasting radio and television stations to the metropolitan area, it is now also a popular tourist attraction with over 2 million visitors per year. The Tower has also been featured on the cover of Drake’s 2016 album, Views, and contributed to the location atmosphere in Kevin Hart’s 2022 action-comedy movie The Man from Toronto.
For 32 years (from 1975 to 2007), the CN Tower held the Guinness World Record for the world’s tallest free-standing structure with a height of 553 metres. It still holds the record for the highest wine cellar at the 360 Restaurant located at the observation deck, and the record for the highest external walk on a building with the Edgewalk at 116 stories above street level. For the less courageous (and less wealthy) anyone and everyone is able to actually lean directly on the base of the concrete tower when you are standing at ground level. To touch the tower while looking up towards the visitors standing on the glass floor 346 metres above you makes a memorable impression.
With clear conditions, you can see the Tower from as far away as Mississauga, or Hamilton and beyond. And of course, with light rays taking a direct path, this means (theoretically) that if you can see the Tower, then (with sufficient magnification and technological assistance….) the tourist at the top of the observation deck can also see you!
Visiting hours are convenient: located at 290 Bremner Blvd, it is open 365-days-per-year from 10 am to 9 pm. If you are willing to wake up early and walk up the 1776 steps, there is the annual CN Tower Climb for Charity with fundraising to support worthy causes such as the United Way and World Wildlife Federation. Having done the climb before, it is both easier and harder than it appears! Not to mention that once you reach the top, you can truthfully say that the view is “breathtaking!”
Text and Photos by Sam Wong
