Burj Dubai looming over the CN Tower?
September 18th, 2007
The CN Tower is no longer the world’s tallest building! Why aren’t more people concerned?
If you frequent cntowerlights.com you’re already familiar with the infamous Dubai building that is stealing the title from the CN Tower. This Wednesday it became “official” that the CN Tower had finally lost one of its famous claims to fame. Canadian news agencies were all over the story, though the newscasts that ran weren’t as grim as one might expect; most were optimistic.
Residents of the Greater Toronto Area have already seen the CN Tower’s claim to fame come at risk many times through the years, from towers that planned to break the 30-year-old record. It’s amazing the CN Tower has held the title as long as it has.
What will change?
Torontonians have a difficult time thinking of any effect it will have on them or their view of the CN Tower. Children growing up in elementary school will no longer be taught that Toronto’s tallest landmark is also the world’s tallest free-standing structure… not really anything revolutionary. Students will still visit the CN Tower, they will still point at it from the windows of passing school busses and stare at it in awe.
Why aren’t more Canadians concerned about this loss? Why aren’t all levels of government sending an emergency crew to Toronto to attach a 300-meter attachment to the top of the CN Tower? Ask a random sampling of locals milling around downtown and you’ll likely receive much of the same response. The CN Tower is about more than just its height. While it looses one if its titles, it remains one of the most recognizable and admired towers in Canada and the world. The CBC reported CN Tower officials as humbly stating, “When the time comes and the building is complete, we will congratulate the Burj Dubai project on their unique achievement.”
Visitors will still travel across the world to ride to the top of the tower, enjoy a “high”-class meal in the 360 Restaurant, or simply crane a neck to admire the magnificence of the tower from its base.
Enjoy it world, the CN Tower is here to stay.
An opinion piece by Marc Burl
Photo, “CN Tower at Night, Toronto, ON“, by Snuffy