Calgary Tower: The tower that once was

Calgary is a city known for its oil, cowboys and apparent love for country music. But nothing could truly symbolise Cowtown compare to the Calgary Tower. Yes, the Calgary Tower, if you ever been driving downtown, you’d know it’s that awkward building giving a halt to Centre Street. Others know it for its occasional fire that happens certain days of the year. This building held all that was essentially Calgary as it slowly became our city’s spokesperson.

Calgary Tower, originally named the Husky Tower, was a joint venture between Marathon Realty and Husky Oil. Construction started in Feb. 19, 1967 and finally, the tower was inaugurated on June 30, 1968, costing the public $3.5 million. The original purpose of the Tower was to revitalize the downtown core as well as to celebrate Canada’s centennial birthday. This free-standing structure once was the tallest building in Canada outside of Toronto at a towering 191 metres. Over the years, many renovations have taken place to the Tower, such as an additional rotating restaurant, a bell system donated in kind by the Dutch for Canada’s centennial, and finally, the torch addition given to celebrate the Calgary Olympics in 1988.

With such providence and importance to many Calgarians, it just leaves one question. Where is the Calgary Tower? I’ve only lived in Calgary for three years, and I’ve only come to know of its existence for five months. The building is a long sleek tower with an awkward point that seems to surmount over the Rockies in certain angles, especially if seen from the level of how ants view the world. It isn’t very tall, either, which could be reason why I never considered the Tower to hold such importance. Maybe, the reason why it never occurred to me that it even existed was that, compared to its fellow glass giants, it is modest at best.

With the recently built Bow Building, as well as some Art Deco office towers, by comparison, almost looks like a kid trying to reach for the top shelf but is just short from her goal. Standing atop of the tower, seeing the breathtaking view of city parking lots and mass pileups of traffic, it almost makes you feel somewhat small. No seriously, you feel small. Seeing the view of looming skyscrapers and glass office giants, you almost wish that you could see the view from the towers up there. As my eyes glance around, spying for life off of Calgary’s desolate Sunday Morning streets, I see empty lots such as Telus Sky and Brookfield Place, buildings planned to become the third and first tallest buildings in Calgary respectively.

Since its inauguration in 1978, the only massive changes to the Calgary Tower were a rotating restaurant that takes 45 minutes to complete a turn (exciting!), and the addition of an Olympic Torch. Look on the bright side, No other building can say they can go afire only for certain days of the year. One of which is Canada Day, the day to which it owes its commemoration to, which to me is just an expensive Birthday Candle at best.

The problem is, unlike other cities with proud free standing towers, Calgary has no building restrictions. In terms of city planning, Calgary has a laissez-faire attitude towards where contractors can build towers. In Toronto, there must be a buffer zone around the CN Tower, composed of small and mid-sized buildings to differentiate itself from the large skyscrapers the make up Toronto’s downtown. Sydney, Paris, and Seattle also follow the model of Toronto, in order to protect their own prized buildings. It doesn’t even have to be buildings, some cities like Tokyo and Vancouver impose restrictions in order to preserve their view of the mountains.

The lack of excitement is one of the Calgary Towers biggest  flaws. It’s not exactly pretty with the likes of the Eiffel and the CN. Besides the fact it rotates and goes afire certain days, the Calgary Tower isn’t exactly that great. Sure you can take a perfect view of the city, but being a growing, developing city like Calgary, the downtown core from up high may not exactly be Calgary’s most flattering view. Plans of future projects are taking place such as having heaven soaring skyscrapers don the skyline and the developing East Village which plans to be a brand new edition to downtown neighbourhoods. Until then, the downtown view from up high looks bare, empty, grey, and lacking of colour. It isn’t necessarily the Tower’s fault to why Calgary’s downtown generally is poorly designed and lacking of interest.

All short jokes aside and my views on the mundane nature of the Calgary Tower, I actually want the Tower to retain it’s former glory. It almost saddens me to see a once former lion have it’s mane stripped and casted aside to the corner of the downtown core, making way for bigger, better developments. An opportunity arises, one that could possibly give reason to any new renovation to the once great tower.

Canada nears in three years its sesquicentennial, which is just a fancy word for 150 years. If the Calgary Tower was dedicated for the centennial of Canada, why not revive the tower for Canada’s 150th birthday? Honestly, I don’t mean the bag the Calgary Tower. I actually enjoy its presence. In certain sideways angles of the city, it almost gives the illusionary effect to the Tower, almost seeming taller than the others that rule the concrete dominion. At the end of the day, when the lights dim and the city lights flourish, it’s the tower whose flame lights the night, almost striking the dark sky the same way that of a comet.

It may not be tall, it may not be interesting, but it’s the history and former glory that the tower once held and still holds, is the reason that makes it a keepsake. It’s history of erection, being a pioneer of Calgary’s downtown, during a time when the Oil boom transformed this insignificant prairie train stop to a booming cosmopolitan city. It celebrated the Calgary Olympics, cheering on victory for Canada’s chance for gold. It witnessed mass corals of citizens garbed in cowboy attire and western wear, as the stampede celebrated 100 years. It lit up the night sky with fire, as downtown’s lights stood silent during the floods of last year. It stood by this city, watched it’s development. Like some silent archivist who stood in docile contemplation to a city who’s role in our Canadian dominion greatened. The symbol of the Tower isn’t just some awkward, red structure, it stands for a city. A figurehead who stands by all of the hustle and bustle bellow. The former glory, as it slowly vanishes away in the sunset, takes on a new glory, lighting up a city towards a even more amazing future.