From the Top

Toronto's CN Tower was built in 1976 as a telecommunications tower. The iconic building rises 553 metres above the city as an omnipresent reference point for anyone within a 20km radius. It dominates photos taken of the city and reflects the status and character of the city as relatively young and steeped in the architectural modernism of the era in which so much of it was built, simultaneously gesturing towards technologies and techniques as well as the past, present, and future visions of the city.

While the tower has always been prominently lit, it was not until 2007 that the building was fitted with programmable light-emitting diodes (leds). Its seemingly endless elevator shafts, cylindrical observation deck, and sharp antenna became illuminated and animated by a range of changing colours. Certain holidays, events, and causes were celebrated on the building by way of programming the patterns and colours of the lights. Deep runs into the playoffs by local sports teams were represented in team colours, the rare championship celebrated in gold tones, the deaths of fallen Canadian soldiers commemorated in patriotic reds and whites, and breast cancer awareness turned the tower bright pink once a year.