Our sister site UrbanToronto.ca celebrates the 40th anniversary of the CN Tower by painting the visual history of the project.

Fireworks erupt from the CN Tower during the closing ceremonies of the 2015 Pan Am Games, image by Marcus Mitanis

No skyscraping development proposal on the desks of the planning office aims to eclipse it. Trying to would be almost sacrilegious in this city. The tallest freestanding structure in the Western Hemisphere, the CN Tower has become the quintessential icon of Toronto, looming large over Canada's largest urban area for 40 years. Opening on June 26, 1976, to much fanfare, the tower quickly gained status as a symbol of national pride. It put Toronto on the map and helped herald the city's transition from a puritanical provincial city into a cosmopolitan progressive metropolis. Yet the original plans for the tower, which today has become such an enduring landmark, painted a much different picture.

You can find the rest of this story on our sister site, UrbanToronto.ca.