Calgary Tower turns 40

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Calgary Tower turns 40

Postby newsposter » Mon Mar 06, 2006 10:22 am

Calgary Tower thread updated Sept 2000. See bottom post for the latest...----------------------------------------------------------------


The Calgary Herald is inviting ideas on the fate or future of the Calgary Tower. See the editorials below. You can send your Save-the-Tower suggestions via e-mail to: letters@theherald.canwest.com. Feel free to also paste your ideas to the bottom of this page

Tower is losing iconic status
Once a standout, city's symbol fading as signature building

Calgary Herald

Monday, March 06, 2006

Paris has the Eiffel Tower and New York City has the Empire State building. Calgary has the pointy, concrete projectile built in 1967-68 by Husky Oil and Marathon Realty Company Limited.

And, although it's had its moments, it's fair to say our city's signature building has not aged as well as architectural marvels in some of the world's great cities. In fact, compared to the skyscrapers that have emerged in Calgary since it was built, it's looking downright stubby.

Now, with EnCana's plans to build a spectacular new architectural marvel downtown -- with the lead architect Lord Norman Foster and two Calgary firms, Zeidler Partnership, and Sturgess Page + Steel -- the Calgary Tower may lose its position as the key vertical symbol for the city.

With it changing hands last week, it's time to debate the fate of the Calgary Tower as it gradually disappears into a forest of new buildings.

In its defence, the Tower represents Calgary and the West more than many might know. The architect responsible for the concept, Bill Milne, told the Herald that inspiration came, surprisingly, from prairie grain elevators -- not the boxy wooden versions -- but the concrete circular ones scattered across Western Canada.

Like many Calgarians, Milne moved here from somewhere else, in this case, Winnipeg. He conceived a tower as a 1967 centennial project to be funded by federal tax dollars, but the local committee chose to fund the planetarium instead. Then, the private sector stepped in.

Glen Neilsen, then-president of Husky Oil, liked the idea and pushed ahead with the project. He partnered with Marathon Realty, which then handed it over to architect Albert Dale for design.

Christened the Husky Tower, it was re-named the Calgary Tower in 1971.

Rod Sykes, later the city's mayor, but then vice-president of Marathon, notes that from solving problems of expensive and dangerous window-cleaning to a smoothly-rotating revolving floor, to a record-setting continuous concrete pour (the same technique employed to build those grain elevators), the tower was innovative in its day, including the height: It was briefly the tallest building in the western hemisphere at 626 feet.

After five years, it was also profitable, unlike some other shorter towers around the world.

If successful symbols of urban life are connected to their people, their self-understanding and their surroundings, the tower -- built by Calgary's private sector with innovation, profitable, and conceived by an arrival who looked across the prairies for inspiration -- passes the test.

To Calgarians who witnessed its birth, it is iconic. However, to visitors seeking a world class thrill, it is a stretch.

Has the Tower's day passed? Or, is it merely feeling the effects of middle age? Should it be kept and cherished? Or should it be ripped down to make way for more glorious structures?
Last edited by newsposter on Tue Sep 01, 2009 12:48 pm, edited 5 times in total.
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The tower: love it or lose it

Postby newsposter » Mon Mar 06, 2006 10:23 am

The tower: love it or lose it

Calgary Herald

Monday, March 06, 2006

The Herald consulted with Richard White of the Downtown Association, and he came up with a series of creative ideas to revive the Calgary Tower. Here are some suggestions:

- New Year's Eve fireworks off the top;

- Run coloured lights up and down the concrete base of the Tower, to give it some animation, dancing coloured flood lights so it changes colours;

- Major sculpture at the base of the Tower similar to the Millennium Park in Chicago;

- A reflective/mirror material that would distort and reflect the Tower and the people -- good photo opportunities;

- Bring the street retail at the base to the street;

- Add condo development, not office development, at base;

- Recruit major cinema complex to locate there as anchor for more restaurants and cafes;

- Wrap it in Christmas lights for December.

Those are just a few creative ideas. But, we'd like to hear from you.

Send your Save-the-Tower suggestions via e-mail to:

letters@theherald.canwest.com

© The Calgary Herald 2006
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Postby newsposter » Sun Feb 10, 2008 10:45 am

Calgary Tower architect Bill Milne dies - Calgary Herald

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/new ... 36&k=43005

Calgary Herald photo - check out the photo gallery at the above link, left side of the page.
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Postby newsposter » Mon Jun 30, 2008 10:35 am

Calgary Tower turns 40 today - June 30 2008. About time to declare it a heritage site! Full story:

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/new ... 54777779f2
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Postby newsposter » Sun Jul 06, 2008 12:03 pm

Cool new developments for the revolving dining room and observation deck of the iconic Calgary tower - including a night club! Why didn't we think of that earlier...

http://www.ffwdweekly.com/article/life- ... ary-tower/
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Postby newsposter » Tue Oct 21, 2008 3:48 pm

Transformation brings tower dining full circle
David Parker, Calgary Herald
Published: Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Too many Calgarians might just be unaware the Panorama dining room at the top of the Calgary Tower has been closed for the most part of this year -- too few of us have experienced the rotating restaurant for some time. Seems that most of us thought it was perhaps a fine spot for visitors as we have watched the tour buses pull up outside to spew their travellers onto the pavement, only to board it again exactly an hour later after being served lunch.

But when was the last time you dined 57 storeys above the city enjoying breathtaking views of the mountains in daylight or captivated by the dazzling light show of Calgary at night?

Victor and Jim Choy of the Concorde Group want to persuade you to come back and try it again. On Friday they will roll out the welcome mat to the public, showing off a totally refurbished restaurant that has completely transformed the look.


full story

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/new ... 1836473864
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Postby newsposter » Tue Sep 01, 2009 12:47 pm

The Calgary Tower has been added to the City's heritage inventory. Here is the "Statement of Significance" FYI:

Description

The Calgary (Husky) Tower, now commonly known as the Calgary Tower, is a 190.8 metre-high (626’) landmark in downtown Calgary. The freestanding tower, completed in 1968, comprises a concrete shaft topped by a pod containing four levels and a spire. The tower is one of Calgary’s primary tourist attractions, containing an observation deck, revolving restaurant, lounge and gift shop. The tower is integrated within Palliser Square, a 1960s transportation, retail and office development at its base.

Heritage Value

The Calgary Tower – known as the Husky Tower until 1971 - is significant as the preeminent landmark in Calgary. The 190.8 metre-high (626’) tower was the tallest structure in the city from the time of its completion in 1968 until 1983. Despite being eclipsed by office towers, the Calgary Tower’s distinctive concrete shaft and red-panelled observation decks remains a dominant feature on the city’s skyline. As such, the tower is one of the primary tourist attractions in the city.

Standing in the centre of downtown, the tower occupies a landmark site, thereby contributing to its status. The tower occupies the site of Calgary’s former C.P.R. station which had been a dominant location in the city from which the city’s development emanated. The tower also terminates the vista at the end of Centre Street in downtown, a principal city street that incorporates the monumental Centre Street Bridge.

The Calgary Tower holds design significance within the national and international contexts, as one of the first towers of its type to be built anywhere. When finished it became the tallest self-supporting tower structure in the Western Hemisphere. The height of the Calgary Tower exceeded Seattle’s Space Needle by 7.9m (26’); San Antonio’s Hemisfair Tower by 1.2m (4’); and that of the Niagara Falls Seagram and Skylon Towers by 32.3m (106’) and 91.7m (301’) respectively. The Calgary Tower was the tallest tower in Canada until 1975 when that status was claimed by Toronto’s CN Tower. However, the Calgary Tower remained the country’s tallest structure west of Toronto until 1983.

Other unique design attributes of the tower include the incorporation of a revolving restaurant deck, which was only the second such feature in Canada. From an engineering perspective the tower is notable for being designed to withstand the unlikely occurrence of earthquake tremors and hurricane force winds of 160 kilometres/hour (100mph). W.G. Milne, a Calgary architect, and A. Dale and Associates, were responsible for the tower’s design.

The Calgary Tower is significant in Calgary as an early example of the continuous-pour, slip-form of construction. The concrete shaft of the tower was completed in just 25 days, sometimes rising 11.88m (39’) per day and capturing the interest of those in the construction industry worldwide. Over 2294 cubic metres (3000 cubic yards) of concrete were used in the pour which gave the tower’s shaft a wall thickness varying from 45.72cm (18”) at the base to 26.67cm (10.5”) at the top. Over 299 tonnes (330 tons) of locally fabricated steel from Calgary’s Dominion Bridge Company were used in the tower’s construction.

The Calgary Tower holds symbolic importance to Calgarians for numerous reasons. When first considered in 1963 the tower was presented as an idea to mark Canada’s Centennial in 1967, and would be the Centennial’s most prominent symbol in the city. Unofficially, the tower would also symbolize Calgary’s growing economic importance within the national and international context and the progressive and dynamic spirit of the city. Developed by Husky Oil and the real estate division of the Canadian Pacific Railway the tower would stand to represent two of the most powerful economic forces to shape Calgary - energy and the railway. The tower, with its adjoining office, retail and transportation development, was also promoted at the time as the cornerstone of Calgary’s downtown renewal and recalls the efforts of the period to rejuvenate the centre city.

Subsequently, the tower has become an internationally-recognized symbol of the city. This status was reinforced when the tower’s spire was used to hold the Olympic flame for the 1988 Winter Olympics and when the 1988 Olympic torch was modeled upon the appearance of the tower. This focal-point role of the tower has made it one of the strongest reminders for Calgarians of that momentous event. The torch is still lit for special occasions, strengthening its symbolic association within the city.

Character-defining Elements

The primary exterior character-defining elements of the Calgary (Husky) Tower include features such as its:
- 190.8 metre (626’) height, comprising a tapered concrete shaft and four-level superstructure surmounted by a spire containing the Olympic flame cauldron;
- steel-panelled (red-coloured) and glazed superstructure containing gray-tinted plate glass windows;
- domed roof containing plastic-domed covered skylights;

The primary interior character-defining elements of the Calgary (Husky) Tower include features such as its:

- four-level interior plan comprising a mechanical room deck, a restaurant deck (with revolving floor), and observation deck with open mezzanine;
- two-level-high domed observation deck and mezzanine ceiling;
- open, curved observation deck staircases (placement and profile); lower-level staircases between the mechanical level and restaurant and between the restaurant and observation deck;
- two emergency staircases within the shaft containing 762 steps;
- two passenger elevators.
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