The Skylon Tower, in

Niagara Falls, Ontario Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is on the western bank of the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario, with a population of 88,071 at the Canada 2016 Census, 2016 census. It is part of the List of census ...

, is an observation tower that overlooks both the American Falls, New York, and the larger Horseshoe Falls,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, from the

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side of the

Niagara River The Niagara River () is a river that flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the province of Ontario in Canada (on the west) and the state of New York in the United States (on the east). There are diffe ...

History

Construction of the Skylon began in May 1964. The tower was opened on October 6, 1965, by New York Governor

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and Ontario Premier

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. 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 Hershey Foods shareholdings of Charles Richard Reese, former co-owner of the H. B. Reese Candy Company of

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. 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

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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. 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 the tower is built on. Mr. Yerich's Skylon land lease will expire in 2060, 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 1980s. However the property has recently been expanded to include a 3D/4D Theatre, a

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franchise, 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

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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 continuously 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

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, and the CN Tower in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

. 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

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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 travelling cables from the elements. The tower has two restaurants at its top, the Revolving Dining Room 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 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.

Images

File:Elevator ascending Skylon Tower.jpg, Elevator Image:SkylonNiagara.JPG, View of the tower from Panoramic Parkway during the blooming of the tulips in springtime. Image:Skylon Tower Top.jpg, A view of the upper portion of the tower with dome newly polished back to its original copper. Image:Observation deck Skylon tower.jpg, Observation deck. Image:Horseshoe falls from Skylon tower.jpg, View from the outer observation deck. Image:skylon-2.jpg, Skylon Tower as seen from a helicopter.

References

External links

* * {{Structurae, id=20000281, title=Skylon
Google Maps aerial photo

Images from the Historic Niagara Digital Collections at Niagara Falls Public Library
*Video
"Skylon Tower elevator ride"

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. April 30, 2012. *Video
"Populuxe in Niagara Falls (feat. Skylon Tower)"

. August 20, 2012. Towers completed in 1965 Observation towers in Canada Towers in Ontario Googie architecture Buildings and structures in Niagara Falls, Ontario Towers with revolving restaurants Tourist attractions in Niagara Falls, Ontario Modernist architecture in Canada 1965 establishments in Ontario

History

Features

See also

Images

References

External links