The 1960s ushered in an unprecedented construction boom in Toronto, a city quickly growing up from a regional hub to a thriving, cosmopolitan destination. Existing transmission towers were simply not high enough to broadcast radio and television signals over the tall new buildings, which bounced the signals away from their intended audience.

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To solve this problem—and to demonstrate the aspirations of Canadian innovation and industry—Canadian National, the Crown corporation that operated the country’s largest railway network, employed more than 1,500 workers for 40 months to build the CN Tower. Once completed, it would be the tallest tower in the world, capable of broadcasting signals far and wide across the region.