{"id":106077,"date":"2026-06-27T11:27:44","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T11:27:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/106077\/"},"modified":"2026-06-27T11:27:44","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T11:27:44","slug":"from-practical-beginnings-to-icon-status-torontos-cn-tower-marks-50th-anniversary-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/106077\/","title":{"rendered":"From practical beginnings to icon status, Toronto’s CN Tower marks 50th anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow was joined by other at the CN Tower to unveil the newly renovated tower that will ensure the iconic landmark stands strong. <\/p>\n

TORONTO \u2014 The CN Tower marked its 50th anniversary on Friday, inviting locals and visitors to commemorate the landmark that has defined Toronto\u2019s skyline for half a century.<\/p>\n

The base of the tower was full of festivities \u2014 art, a cappella performances and free cupcakes \u2014 drawing celebrants from across the city and beyond.<\/p>\n

Kimia Ghosi, a Toronto Metropolitan University student, came for the cupcakes but expressed awe at the structure\u2019s engineering. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s mesmerizing. It\u2019s huge. I always wonder how they built it up and how they maintain it. I\u2019m quite sure it\u2019s a lot of work,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The Canadian National Railway Co. had built the tower to solve a practical problem: newly constructed skyscrapers were blocking radio and television signals across the city in the 1960s.<\/p>\n

More than 1,500 people worked for 40 months to build the tower, according to its website, and it officially opened to the public on June 26, 1976.<\/p>\n

Decades later, it serves many purposes, mainly as a tourist attraction that welcomes more than two million visitors each year.<\/p>\n

\"\"Getting ready for world’s tallest structure. From this hole in the ground; 250 feet wide and 30 feet below the level of Lake Ontario; will rise the world’s tallest self-supporting structure. Located just south of Front St. and east of John St. in downtown Toronto; the 1;805-foot CN Tower will be the centrepiece of the planned $1 billion Metro Centre. (Boris Spremo\/Toronto Star via Getty Images) \"\"Construction of the base of the CN Tower, July 24, 1973. (CN Tower) \"\"The last concrete is poured atop the 1,464-foot level of the $21 million CN Tower, February 22, 1974. (Via Getty Images) \"\"Beginnings of the main pod in 1974. (CN Tower) \"\"Canadian National Tower under construction in Toronto, circa 1975. (Harold M. Lambert\/Getty Images) \"\"Construction on the CN Tower in Toronto, January 9, 1975. (CP PHOTO\/ \"\"Multiple images of a Sikorsky CH-54 hauling pieces of a crane during the construction of the Canadian National Tower in Toronto, March 8, 1975. \"\"Hovering like a giant bee, a huge Sikorsky Skycrane helicopter prepares to raise a construction crane tower from atop the CN (Canadian National) Tower in Toronto, March 8, 1975. (CP PHOTO\/Chuck Stoody) \"\"A huge Sikorsky Skycrane helicopter prepares to raise a construction crane tower from atop the CN (Canadian National) Tower in Toronto, March 8, 1975. (CP PHOTO\/Chuck Stoody) \"\"A huge Sikorsky Skycrane helicopter prepares to raise a construction crane tower from atop the CN (Canadian National) Tower in Toronto, March 8, 1975. (CP PHOTO\/Chuck Stoody) \"\"The 10-foot section of antenna that made the CN Tower the tallest self-supporting structure in the world was added in March 31, 1975, with foreman Paul Mitchell guiding it. (Bob Olsen\/Toronto Star via Getty Images) \"\"Inside the CN Tower shaft in 1975. (CN Tower) \"\"CN Tower construction crews in 1975. (CN Tower) \"\"Stuntman Dar Robinson leaps well out from CN Tower to avoid obstacles on way down; then free falls before pulling parachute ripcord, Sept. 21, 1979. (Boris Spremo\/Toronto Star via Getty Images) \"\"The Queen Mother beams as she prepares to sign the guest book at the CN Tower in Toronto July 15, 1985. (CP PHOTO\/Mike Blake) \"\"Toronto’s CN Tower is seen through fog Wednesday, March 16, 2011. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Darren Calabrese \"\"Fireworks explode off the CN Tower in Toronto to ring in the new millennium on Saturday Jan. 1, 2000. (CP PHOTO\/Frank Gunn) \"\"The CN Tower and Skydome are seen on Lake Ontario in Toronto on Monday, August 26, 2002. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Kevin Frayer \"\"Westbound lanes, left, of the Gardiner Expressway remained closed as commuters make their way downtown in Toronto, Tuesday, March 6, 2007.
\n(CP PHOTO\/Aaron Harris) CANADA \"\"The CN Tower and the Rogers centre get blanketed in snow Saturday March 8, 2008, in Toronto. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/ Patrick Dell \"\"The CN Tower, the world’s tallest freestanding structure, is framed by construction cranes in Toronto on Tuesday Jan. 30, 2007. (CP PHOTO\/Frank Gunn) \"\"Lightning strikes the CN Tower Sunday August 9, 2009. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/ Jim Bradford \"\"Canadian Press reporter Alexandra Posadzki leans 1,168ft over Toronto’s downtown while participating in a media preview of the EdgeWalk attraction on the CN Tower Wednesday, July 27, 2011. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Darren Calabrese \"\"The CN Tower looms over the Toronto Blue Jays and Detroit Tigers as the Rogers Centre’s roof is open for the first time in the 2011 MLB baseball season in Toronto Saturday, May 7, 2011. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Darren Calabrese \"\"Lightning hits the CN Tower behind the deserted exhibitions grounds in Toronto on Wednesday August 24, 2011. The annual fair was closed due to severe weather. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Frank Gunn \"\"A construction crane stand in front of the CN tower in downtown Toronto on Saturday, February 4, 2012. The condo explosion is changing the shape and culture of Canada’s cities. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Pawel Dwulit \"\"Construction cranes line the hazy Toronto skyline on Monday, August 27, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Michelle Siu \"\"A man holds a Canadian flag over the CN Tower, made to look like it is dripping with oil, outside the National Energy Board public hearings on the Enbridge Line 9 oil pipeline, in Toronto, Friday October 18, 2013. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Mark Blinch \"\"An Airbus Helicopters AS355 flies past the CN Tower in Toronto on Tuesday February 4, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/ Frank Gunn \"\"People make their way towards the CN Tower and Rogers Centre for the opening ceremony in the Pan Am Games in Toronto, Friday, July 10, 2015. (AP Photo\/Gregory Bull) \"\"Fireworks are set off from the CN Tower at the beginning of the Opening Ceremonies for the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto on Friday, July 10, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Peter Power \"\"Fireworks illuminate the CN tower during Pan Am Toronto 2015 opening ceremony in Toronto on Friday July, 10 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Chris Young \"\"The sun sets over the CN Tower and Rogers Centre during the closing ceremonies of the Pan Am Games in Toronto, July 26, 2015. (AP Photo\/Rebecca Blackwell) \"\"Flags of the participating countries fly in the athletes’ village as the CN Tower stands in the background at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto on Thursday, July 9, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Darren Calabrese \"\"Fireworks explode off the CN Tower in downtown Toronto, during the opening ceremonies for the Pan Am Games, Friday, July 10, 2015. (AP Photo\/Rebecca Blackwell) \"\"Fog rolls in front of the CN Tower and skyline in Toronto, Friday May 13, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Mark Blinch \"\"The super perigee full moon sets behind the CN tower in Toronto on Monday, November 14, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Frank Gunn \"\"A lightning bolt strikes the CN Tower during an electrical storm in Toronto, Thursday July 14, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Mark Blinch \"\"The CN Tower can be seen behind condo’s in Toronto’s Liberty Village community in Toronto, Ontario on Tuesday, April 25, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Cole Burston \"\"The CN Tower can be seen in the Toronto skyline in Toronto, Ontario on Tuesday, April 25, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Cole Burston \"\"The moon rises over the CN Tower in Toronto, Ont., on Saturday December 2, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Mark Blinch \"\"Workers examine a hole in top of the Rogers Centre as the area around the CN Tower is closed off due to reports of falling ice in Toronto on Monday, April 16, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Cole Burston \"\"Fog envelops the CN Tower as it is closed off due to reports of falling ice in Toronto on Monday, April 16, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Cole Burston \"\"Sandi Morris of the US competes her way to a bronze medal while jumping with the CN Tower in the background in pole vault during the NACAC Championships in Toronto, Saturday August 11, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Mark Blinch \"\"A man walks by the Rogers Centre as reports of falling ice from the CN Tower sparked a closure of parts of the area on Toronto on Monday, April 16, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Cole Burston \"\"The Canadian Snowbirds circle the CN Tower as part of Operation Inspiration during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Sunday, May 10, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Nathan Denette \"\"The Canadian Snowbirds circle the CN Tower as part of Operation Inspiration during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Sunday, May 10, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Nathan Denette \"\"People are framed around the CN tower as they exercise in Toronto on Wednesday, June 2, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Nathan Denette \"\"The August Super Blue Moon sets behind the CN tower in Toronto on Wednesday, August 30, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Frank Gunn \"\"The CN Tower is shown in the background of rides at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in Toronto, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Paige Taylor White \"\"Fans of Drake climb a concrete structure as they gather near the CN Tower for a video projection promoting the upcoming album “ICEMAN” in Toronto on Friday, May 14, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Arlyn McAdorey \"\"Diverse crowds of soccer fans walk through the city streets after attending a FIFA World Cup 2026 match between Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina, June 12, 2026. (Anatoliy Cherkasov\/Informa Plus Photo Agency\/LightRocket via Getty Images) <\/p>\n

For Neda Azhang, who moved to Canada from Iran three years ago, the anniversary celebration marked her first visit to the tower. She called it \u201camazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ruqia Karimi brought her children to celebrate the tower\u2019s birthday for their first day of summer vacation. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have done tattoos, we have some yummy cupcakes, and we\u2019re having a great time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Cooper Gates, visiting Toronto for the first time, said the tower surpassed his expectations. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks bigger in person. I didn\u2019t really expect it to be this big,\u201d he said, adding that he was surprised the building wasn\u2019t younger than 50.<\/p>\n

At 553 metres, the CN Tower held the distinction of being the world\u2019s tallest free-standing structure for 33 years before Dubai\u2019s 828-metre tall Burj Khalifa surpassed it in 2009.<\/p>\n

Jo Lalonde, who has lived in Toronto for many years and goes to the top of the tower about once annually, said Friday\u2019s celebration captured why the structure remains so special. <\/p>\n

\u201cI still get really excited about it,\u201d she said. \u201cEveryone here is so lovely. It\u2019s just such a reminder of how wonderful people are.\u201d<\/p>\n

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2026.<\/p>\n

Monique Kasonga, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

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