Skylon Tower

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View of the Canadian Horseshoe Falls with the Skylon Tower in the foreground.

Skylon Tower as seen from 25th floor of the nearby Hilton @ Niagara Falls

The Skylon Tower, in Niagara Falls, Ontario, is the tallest structure that overlooks both the American Falls, New York and the Horseshoe Falls, Ontario from the Canadian side of the Niagara River. Construction of the Skylon began in May 1964 and was officially opened October 6, 1965 by New York Governor, Nelson Rockefeller and Ontario Premier, John Robarts. The Skylon Tower is Niagara's most famous landmark due to view of both the American Falls and Canadian Horseshoe Falls.

Costing $7 million at the time of its construction, the Skylon Tower was owned by a private partnership called Niagara International Centre, which was financed by the The Hershey Company shareholdings of Charles Richard Reese, former co-owner of the H. B. Reese Candy Company of Hershey, PA, manufacturer of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and exclusive manufacturer of Kit Kat candy bars in the United States. Canadian Pacific Hotels was hired to operate the tower restaurants and lounges. On October 1st, 1975 CP purchased the tower from Mr. Reese and his partners for $11 million cash. The tower's summit features a verdigris-green copper roof similar to CP's other properties, including the Château Frontenac in Quebec City and the Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta. CP owned and operated the tower until 1986, when it was sold for $18 million cash to two local Niagara hotel owners, John Gruyich of Michael's Inn and George Yerich of the Holiday Inn. In 1988 George Yerich bought out John Gruyich's ownership share of the Skylon for $13 million cash, however Milicent Gruyich continues to own the land underneath the Skylon. Mr. Yerich's Skylon land lease will expire in 2064, at which time the Skylon Tower will revert back to total ownership by the heirs of Milicent Gruyich.

Standing at 160 metres (520 feet) from street level and 236 metres (775 feet) from the bottom of the falls, the tower required approval from both Canadian and United States air transport authorities due to its proximity to the international boundary. It was the second tower to be built using the slipform method, in which concrete is continually poured into a form moving slowly up the tower. The same methods would soon be used to build the Inco Superstack in Sudbury, and the CN Tower in Toronto.

View of the tower from the ground.

The tower features three outside mounted "Yellow Bug" elevators. At the time of their construction they were the first such elevators in Canada. They were designed, engineered and maintained by a division of the Otis Elevator Company from Hamilton, Ontario and can carry passengers to the top of the tower in 52 seconds. Unlike conventional elevators that are guided by side rails, the Skylon elevators operate with a guide rail on the backside only. Special equipment is employed to prevent the cables from becoming tangled in the wind or impeded by snow and ice in the winter. A curtain wall on the outside of the tower behind each elevator protects the counterweight and traveling cables from the elements.

The tower has two restaurants at its top, the lower Revolving Dining Room and the upper Summit Suite Buffet. The stunning Revolving Dining Room seats 276 people and revolves once every hour by resting on a circular rail that is propelled by a 3 horsepower motor. An observation deck sits at the tower's summit. The base of the tower features a number of gift shops, fast food restaurants and a large amusement arcade. A floor for conventions is also available, but has been seldom utilized in recent years.

While much redevelopment has taken place in the surrounding city, the Skylon Tower complex still retains much of its look and feel from the 1970s and 80s. However the property has recently been expanded to include a 3D/4D Theatre, two Starbucks franchises, other quick service franchises and a bridge connecting the complex with the newly completed Fallsview Casino.