Skylon Tower

This article is about the tower in Canada. For the former structure in Britain, see Skylon (Festival of Britain).
Skylon Tower
General information
Status Complete
Type Observation tower
Location 5200 Robinson Street
Niagara Falls, Ontario
L2G 2A3
Coordinates 43°05′07″N 79°04′47″W / 43.08528°N 79.07972°W / 43.08528; -79.07972Coordinates: 43°05′07″N 79°04′47″W / 43.08528°N 79.07972°W / 43.08528; -79.07972
Construction started May 1964
Opening October 6, 1965
Cost $7,000,000
Height
Antenna spire 160 m (520 ft)
Technical details
Floor count 6
Lifts/elevators 3
Design and construction
Architect Bregman + Hamann Architects
Main contractor Pigott Construction Company

The Skylon Tower, in Niagara Falls, Ontario, is an observation tower that overlooks both the American Falls, New York, and the larger Horseshoe Falls, Ontario, from the Canadian side of the Niagara River.

History

Construction of the Skylon began in May 1964. The tower was opened on October 6, 1965 by New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller and Ontario Premier John Robarts. 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 Hershey Company shareholdings of Charles Richard Reese, former co-owner of the H. B. Reese Candy Company of Hershey, Pennsylvania. Canadian Pacific Hotels was hired to operate the tower restaurants and lounges.

On October 1, 1975, CP purchased the tower from Mr. Reese and his partners for $11 million. 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 to two local Niagara hotel owners, John Gruyich of Michael's Inn and George Yerich of the Holiday Inn By The Falls Motel.[1][2] In 1988, George Yerich bought out John Gruyich's ownership share of the Skylon for $13 million, 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 to total ownership by the heirs of Milicent Gruyich.

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. In August and September 2008 the roof of Skylon was restored to its original bright copper colour.

In recent years the lights that shine up the tower at night have gone from being the typical white lights to a selection of colours that interchange. This is done in a similar fashion to the lights that shine on the falls themselves.

Features

Standing at 160 metres (520 ft) from street level and 236 metres (775 ft) 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. It was built by Pigott Construction of Hamilton, Ontario. The same methods were also used to build the Inco Superstack in Sudbury, and the CN Tower in Toronto.

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[3] and the upper Summit Suite Buffet. The Revolving Dining Room seats 276 people and revolves once every hour by resting on a circular rail that is propelled by a 3 horsepower (2.2 kW) 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 is seldom utilized.[4]

See also

Images

References

  1. ↑ "$18 Million Tower". Orlando Sentinel. April 10, 1986.
  2. ↑ "Skylon Tower". Niagara Falls Info. Retrieved February 2014. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  3. ↑ "World-Famous Revolving Dining Room". Skylon Tower. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
  4. ↑ http://accessniagara.com/blog/2007/03/09/closed-level-at-skylon-tower/
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