Calgary Tower

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Calgary Tower is a 190 metre free standing tower in downtown Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Calgary Tower Full View.

The tower was built at a cost of $3 500 000 (CAD), and was a joint venture between Marathon Realty Company Limited and Husky Oil. The landmark was intended as urban renewal program for Canada's Centennial. It opened to the public on June 30, 1968.

The column of the tower was built from a continual pour of concrete. Pouring began May 15, 1967 and was completed 24 days later. At the time of construction, it was the tallest building in Canada, although it was surpassed that same year by the Toronto-Dominion Centre in Toronto, prior to opening.

Originally called The Husky Tower, it was officially renamed The Calgary Tower on November 1, 1971. In 1988, a natural gas-fired cauldron at the top was constructed. The flame in it burned throughout the 1988 Winter Olympics, and since then, has been lit for special events such as the Calgary Flames Stanley Cup victory in 1989 (as well as during their run for the cup during the 2004 finals) and the Alberta Centennial celebrations. The flame consumes 850 cubic meters of natural gas every hour.

On June 25, 2005, a newly constructed glass floor extension on the north side of the tower's observation deck opened. Consisting of four large panes of glass, it is about 20 feet long and 5 feet wide. When standing on the glass, one can look straight down on 9th Avenue South and Centre Street.

The Calgary tower features a revolving restaurant that rotates so as to give customers a scenic view of downtown Calgary.