CN Tower
CN 타워
The CN Tower is a 553-metre concrete tower in downtown Toronto, Canada. It was built by the Canadian National railway company, which is where the letters CN come from, and it opened in 1976. Its main job is sending out television and radio signals: Toronto's new skyscrapers were blocking broadcasts, so the city needed an antenna higher than all of them.
See it on the 3D globe →At a glance
- Country
- Canada
- Location
- Toronto, Canada
- Built
- 1976
- Height
- 553 m
- Type
- Tower
Quick answers
Where is CN Tower?
CN Tower is in Toronto, Canada.
When was CN Tower built?
CN Tower was built in 1976.
How tall is CN Tower?
CN Tower is about 553 m tall.
A 553 m communications tower that was the world's tallest free-standing structure for over 30 years.
From 1975 until 2007 it was the tallest free-standing structure in the world, meaning the tallest one that stands without support cables. Dubai's Burj Khalifa finally beat it. It is still the tallest free-standing structure on land in the Western Hemisphere. More than two million people visit every year to ride the glass-fronted lifts, stand on a glass floor and eat in a restaurant that slowly turns in a full circle.
How it was built
Work started in February 1973. Builders poured the concrete core using a slipform, a huge metal platform that jacked itself upward about 6 metres a day while the concrete below it hardened. To keep the tower straight, workers watched giant plumb bobs (heavy weights hanging on lines) through small telescopes, and the finished tower leans only 29 millimetres from perfectly vertical. The antenna on top was lifted in 36 pieces by a huge helicopter nicknamed Olga, which saved months of work.
What's inside
Six lifts run up the outside of the tower's six-sided core in glass-lined shafts, so riders can watch the city drop away. The main pod has an observation level at 346 metres, an outdoor terrace and a glass floor at 342 metres, added in 1994, and the 360 Restaurant, which completes one full turn every 72 minutes. A higher deck called The Top sits at 447 metres. There is also a metal staircase with 2,579 steps, used for emergencies and twice-a-year charity climbs.
EdgeWalk
Since 2011 brave visitors can try EdgeWalk, a walk all the way around the outside of the main pod's roof, 356 metres above the ground. Walkers wear a harness clipped to an overhead safety rail, so they can lean out over the edge with nothing in front of them but air. The tower's own website describes it as 116 storeys up. EdgeWalk closes in winter and during thunderstorms or strong winds.
Fun facts
- The 360 Restaurant turns so slowly that a full circle takes 72 minutes, giving diners a changing view of Toronto during their meal.
- The emergency staircase has 2,579 steps to The Top, and it is described as the tallest metal staircase on Earth.
- A helicopter named Olga carried the antenna to the top in 36 separate pieces.
- The glass floor, 342 metres above the ground, lets you look straight down to the street.
On the globe
The model shows Toronto's slender CN Tower with its round pod partway up and a thin antenna spire on top. Zoom in to see how small the pod looks next to the long concrete shaft.
Quiz time
Which is taller: CN Tower or First Canadian Place?
Show the answer
CN Tower. (553 m vs 298 m) First Canadian Place →
Nearby on the globe
Sources
Updated: 2026-10-13