CN Tower (Edmonton)

The CN Tower is an 111-metre-tall (364 ft), 26-storey office building located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The building was built by the Canadian National Railway Company as Edmonton's first skyscraper, and at its completion in 1966 was the tallest building in Western Canada.[1] The CN Tower would remain Edmonton's and Western Canada's tallest building until 1971 when it was surpassed by Edmonton House.

This article is about the building in Edmonton. For the tower in Toronto, see CN Tower.

CN Tower
CN Tower (Edmonton) is located in Edmonton
CN Tower (Edmonton)
Location within Edmonton
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeOffice
Architectural styleInternational Style
LocationEdmonton, Alberta, Canada
Address10004 104 Avenue NW
Coordinates53°32′49″N 113°29′29″W
Construction started1964
Completed1966
Opening14 February 1966[1]
CostCA$10.5 million
($85 million in 2021 dollars[2])
OwnerStrategic Group
Height
Roof110.92 m (363.9 ft)
Technical details
Floor count26
Floor area254,000 square feet
Design and construction
Architect(s)Abugov & Sunderland
Main contractorHashman Construction Ltd.

History

When the Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) opened its line from Winnipeg in 1905, it built a station northwest of First Street and Mackenzie Avenue (now 101 Street and 104 Avenue). In 1909 this station became a union station, also serving trains of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTP), when that road opened its line from Winnipeg.

After the CNoR and GTP were consolidated into the Canadian National Railway (CN), a new Edmonton station was built east of the CNoR station in 1928, as a terminating vista of 100 Street.

The 1905 CNoR station was demolished in 1953. The site of the 1928 station became the spot the CN Tower was constructed on in 1966.[3]

1928 railway station that was demolished to make way for the tower

Plans for the building were announced in 1963, with construction started in fall of 1964.[4] Allied Development Corporation of Calgary hired Abugov & Sunderland to design, and Hashman Construction Company to build the CA$10.5-million CN Tower, which was Western Canada's tallest office building when completed in October 1966.[4] The opening ceremonies for the building were attended by Lieutenant Governor Grant MacEwan and Premier Ernest Manning.[4]

The CN Tower exemplified the modern International Style of architecture and is an early example of the tower-podium design.[5] The CN Tower was purchased by the Calgary-based Strategic Group as part of a distress sale,[5] and the last remaining CN employees moved out of the building in 2008.[6] The Canadian National Railway logo is still found over the main entrance and on the top of the building. Canadian National sought to develop a second building in Edmonton as part of a larger downtown redevelopment program, which would have been 150.1-metre (492.6 ft), 42-storey office building in 1969; however, the project was subsequently cancelled.[7]

Built to overlook the old Canadian National rail yard, the building's basement once housed Edmonton's main passenger railway station, until the CN railway tracks leading to Downtown Edmonton were removed in 1998.[8][9] Since then, passenger trains have stopped at the Edmonton railway station on 121 Street near Yellowhead Trail. The Canadian Pacific Railway stopped at a different station in the city. These trains were discontinued at that station in 1972, with the CPR station itself being demolished in 1978.[10]

The building suffered structural damage to the exterior on 18 July 2009, during a severe thunderstorm. Two vehicles were crushed by falling debris at the base of the building.[11]

See also

References
  1. "CN Tower — 1966". Capital Modern Edmonton. 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  2. 1688 to 1923: Geloso, Vincent, A Price Index for Canada, 1688 to 1850 (December 6, 2016). Afterwards, Canadian inflation numbers based on Statistics Canada tables 18-10-0005-01 (formerly CANSIM 326-0021) "Consumer Price Index, annual average, not seasonally adjusted". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 17 April 2021. and table 18-10-0004-13 "Consumer Price Index by product group, monthly, percentage change, not seasonally adjusted, Canada, provinces, Whitehorse, Yellowknife and Iqaluit". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  3. "Edmonton CNR Railway Stations (104 Ave at 100 Street and 101 Street)". Lost Edmonton. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  4. "Edmonton's CN Tower Complete". Calgary Herald. 31 October 1966. p. 22. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  5. Kerr, Kathy (14 August 2018). "Canada's other CN Tower stands tall in Edmonton". Real Estate News Exchange. Edmonton. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  6. "CN vacates downtown Edmonton's landmark CN Tower". CAW National Council 4000. 12 May 2008. Retrieved 22 October 2010.
  7. "CN Tower II". Emporis. Archived from the original on 21 July 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  8. Herzog, Lawrence (16 November 2011). "The Lost Series: Edmonton's Lost Railways". Edmonton Heritage Council. Archived from the original on 14 May 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  9. Carefoot, Stacey (1 April 2008). "Canadian National Railway Office – Walker Office". Kaisan Architecture. Archived from the original on 1 June 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
  10. Brown, Ron (30 August 2014). The Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore: An Illustrated History of Railway Stations in Canada (4 ed.). Dundurn. ISBN 978-1459727816.
  11. Drake, Laura; Kehler, Therese (19 July 2009). "Violent storm damages Edmonton's CN Tower". The Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2012.

Former Stations
Preceding station Canadian National Railway Following station
Bissell
toward Vancouver
 Main Line North Edmonton
toward Montreal
Terminus Edmonton – Alliance North Edmonton
toward Alliance
Edmonton – Heinsburg North Edmonton
toward Heinsburg
Edmonton – Winnipeg via North Battleford and Regina North Edmonton
toward Winnipeg
Edmonton – Athabaska Cannell
toward Athabaska
North Edmonton
toward Calgary
 Calgary – Edmonton via Mirror Terminus
Calgary – Edmonton via Big Valley
Cannell
toward Whitecourt
 Whitecourt – Edmonton
Preceding station Northern Alberta Railways Following station
Edmonton Junction
toward Dawson Creek
 Main Line Terminus
Edmonton Junction
toward Barrhead
 Barrhead – Edmonton
Terminus Edmonton – Waterways Edmonton Junction
toward Waterways
Preceding station Via Rail Following station
Evansburg
toward Vancouver
 Canadian Viking
toward Toronto
Jasper
toward Vancouver
 Super Continental Saskatoon
toward Toronto
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