CN Tower celebrates 30 year record

It’s not often that Canada celebrates its engineering achievements with a big splash, but on June 26 Toronto’s CN Tower will mark the 30th year since it first opened to the public in 1976.
An afternoon public celebration on the tower’s outdoor grounds will include music by live music on stage, strolling entertainers, and food. Toronto Mayor David Miller is declaring June 26 CN Tower Day, there will be a cake, and 3,000 loot bags to give away.
As well the owners are inviting people to share their stories and memories about the tower. The Stories Contest runs to May 31, 2006. Later this year there is to be a special anniversary book featuring 181 stories (since the CN Tower is 181 building stories tall!).
The CN Tower has maintained its record as the World’s Tallest Building and Free-Standing Structure for over 30 years, at a height of 1,815 feet and 5 inches (553.33 metres). It is also recognized as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers along with the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Panama Canal and the Chunnel under the English Channel.
The tower won a Schreyer Award in the Canadian Consulting Engineering Awards in 1977 for structural engineers Nicolet Carrier Dressel & Associates.
The tower has three observation levels including one with a glass floor, which was added more recently. The glass floor is suspended one-third of a mile from the base. There are now six elevators on the exterior of the building.
The tower was originally built in 40 months. When the antenna was bolted into place April 2, 1975, the CN Tower joined the ranks of 17 other great structures that had previously held the title of World’s Tallest Free-Standing Structure. Approximately two million people from all over the world visit each year.