The
CN Tower, reaching to a height of 553.33
metres, holds the title of “Worlds
Tallest Free Standing Structure”.
This is not to be confused with the titles
“Worlds Largest Building”
(for things like the Empire State Building)
and “Worlds Tallest Structure”
(which is reserved for things like radio
communication towers). Located in the
city of Toronto, the tower dominates the
skyline and has become a symbol of the
city itself.
Originally named the Canadian National
Tower, it was built by a company called
the Canadian National Railway (also known
as CN Rail). Built in 1976, it was designed
to show the world the strength of Canadian
industry and demonstrate the potential
of Canadian engineering. Receiving over
2 million visitors every year, many people
say that you aren’t a real Torontonian
if you haven’t been up the tower
and walked across the glass floor (located
at 342 meters inside the main observation
deck). If you want to get higher then
you will have to go to the Skypod, which
is located at 447 meters.
The
meaning behind the acronym "CN"
has been changed to "Canada's National"
instead of the original "Canadian
National". This was done because
the Canadian National Railway no longer
owns the tower, and since it has passed
to privately owned companies. 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
stair climb events by the United Way's
Toronto chapter. The average climber takes
approximately 30 minutes to climb to the
base of the Raydome (the white bubble
on the bottom of the main pod) and the
fastest climb being 7 minutes 58 seconds.
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