Wednesday, November 02, 2005

The CN Tower

So what is that giant phalus in the Toronto skyline Maricelanyways.....does it do anything? .... what is is for? ..... these are questions I hear a lot about the C(anadian)N(ational) Tower.... I hadn't been up in 10 long years, but thanks to my friend on a secret mission, and now Maricel-->
I've visited it twice in the past 2 weeks.... Here are some interesting facts about the CN Tower:

Cntower_41) Completed in 1976 after 40 months of construction, by the Canadian National Railway. It was to be a show of the strength of Canadian Industry. It was also built in response to the skyscraper boom of the 60's that resulted in poor radio and television signals in Toronto. Today, the broadcasting facilities on the tower provide for radio, television, and other telecommunication signals. So it IS good for something....

2) At 553.33 m or 1,815 ft, 5 inches tall, it is the world's tallest free-standing structure, and the world's tallest building (depending on what your definition of a building is anyway). Its glass floorGlassfloor and look-out level are at 342 m /1,122 ft, and 346m /1,136 ft respectively. The Skypod is the Skypodworld's highest public observation deck at 147 storeys or 447 m /1,465 ft, and its roof is at 457.2 m.

3) In comparison, the Ostankino Tower in Moscow is 537 m/1,762 ft, the Taipei 101 in Taipei is 508 m/1,670 ft, the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai is 468 m/1,535 ft, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lampur are 452 m/1,453 ft, the Empire State Building in NY is 443 m /1,453 ft, and the Sears Tower in Chicago is 442 m/1,450 ft (527.3 m if you include its antenna).

4) Declared one of the 7 Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers along with the Itaipu Dam on the Brazil/Paraguay border, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Panama Canal, the Chunnel, the North Sea Protection Works off the European coast, and the Empire State Building.

5) Has a revolving restaurant at 351 m, containing the world's highest wine cellar.......it takes 72 min for one complete revolution....

6) It's elevators travel at 6 m/s or 20 ft/s, and only take 58 s to reach the look-out level at 346m /1,136 ft....there are 1,776 stairs if you're afraid of high speed elevators....

7) Visited by approx. 2 million people each year....for more facts comeSkydome_1 to Toronto....

So what's that mammary at the foot of the CN Tower? ....that's another blog.....

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