The CN Tower

The CN Tower

The CN Tower has become and iconic symbol synonymous with Toronto and its cityscape in any depiction of the city, it as a representing symbol of Canada. The tower was completed in 1976 opening on October 1 of that same year. The tower held the title distinction as the tallest tower and the world’s tallest free standing structure in the world for 34 years until the Burj Khalifa tower of Dubai in 2010. The tower drives a lot of tourist to the downtown core of Toronto it attracts more than 2 million visitors per year.

            The tower was built by the Canadian national (CN) Railway as a tower for placement for communications antenna. The tower was name one of the modern Seven Wonders of the World in 1995 by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The tower also has a second place ranking on the World Federation of Great Towers. The tower is very visible from as far away as Oshawa to the East and Aurora to the North and Burlington to the West and across the lake to the peninsular on New York State.

            I had planned to go to this location as I had not been before though had always wanted to go. So like many I did a bit of online research to find out a bit about the tower as I realized that I have heard about the restaurants and look amazing scenery from the top of the tower and I had not gone because I was a bit terrified of the height although I did not think I was afraid of heights. I wanted to know a bit about the safety measures taken at the tower and came across this list that was provided by tower officials to assure the safety of the patrons of the tower.

•    The fireproof building materials used in the tower's construction,

•    Frequent and stringent safety inspections,

•    An extensive sprinkler system,

•    A 24-hour emergency monitoring operation,

•    Two 68,160-litre (15,000-imperial gallon; 18,006-US gallon) water reservoirs at the top, which are automatically replenished,

•    A fire hose at the base of the structure capable of sending 2725 litres (600 imperial gallons; 720 US Gallon) a minute to any location in the tower,

•    A ban on natural gas appliances anywhere in the tower (including the restaurant in the main pod),

•    An elevator that can be used during a fire as it runs up the outside of the building and can be powered by three emergency generators at the base of the structure (unlike the elevator at the Ostankino tower, which malfunctioned)

Officials also noted that the CN Tower has an excellent safety record and that there has never been an accidental fire in the tower since it was opened in 1976

I felt a bit more settled to go to the tower now, I had always wanted to go and visit one of the restaurants there. For this trip I decided I was not going to visit the 360 Restaurant, which one needs a reservation for and has what is considered a really awesome feature of revolving slowly to reveal different views of the city’s skyline. I visited the Horizons Restaurant, for which a reservation is not needed and it is touted as being less in cost in comparison to the 360 Restaurant above it. The meal was very well done and presented, however that was not my main reason for going my main reason  was to experience the view. I simply had not experience anything like it except when flying in an aircraft and that comparison I feel is not quite on the same level because when at the top of the tower you are very aware that you are very high off the ground yet still connected and the space is not as compact as that of an airplane. Visiting the tower cane be somewhat challenging for individuals with less disposable income as it is not an inexpensive outing. In my opinion I would say it is an experience that can be had by all who can afford it. I would say it is a reflection of the articles by Boudreau, Keil, and Young, and stand as a symbol of a changing city, it was built to reflect the economic strength of Toronto