CN Tower Glass Floor Celebrates 20 Years

TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - June 24, 2014) - On June 26, 2014 the CN Tower's Glass Floor celebrates 20 years. Since it first opened to the public in 1994 it continues to thrill visitors with a "dare to walk on air" experience looking 342m/1,122ft straight down to the ground.

10 things you may not have known about the CN Tower's Glass Floor:

It was the first see through floor experience of its kind in the world when it first opened on June 26, 1994.

The CN Tower's Glass Floor is a unique experience that has inspired an international bucket list of see through floor experiences including the Grand Canyon Skywalk, Chicago's Ledge, Calgary Tower's Glass Floor and many more.

The Glass Floor is dedicated to the over 1,500 people who had originally designed and built this engineering Wonder of the Modern World. The awe-inspiring view 342m down to the ground instills an appreciation of the daring heights these skilled individuals dealt with on a daily basis.

The Glass Floor area is 30 square metres (320 square feet) and consists of 20 panels of composite glass consisting of 4 glass panes all tempered: two ½" on top and two ¼" on the bottom with a 1" air gap between. Total thickness inclusive of a 3/8" surface panel on top is 7.3cm (2-7/8").

One of the Floor's very unique attributes is its clear view even though its overall thickness is over 7 cm. Within this fact lies the essence of this thrilling experience - the mind must convince the eyes that one is not walking on a mere window pane.

To provide the clearest view possible, a protective surface panel or scuff plate is changed every year.

Since it first opened in 1994, the Glass Floor has been visited by millions of people from all over the world, including numerous celebrities, dignitaries and even those who have been married standing atop it!

The exclusive Millennium celebrations at the CN Tower transformed the Glass Floor into a one-of-a-kind dance floor complete with lighting effects.

In keeping with the CN Tower's high safety standards, to this day the Glass Floor continues to undergo safety and durability tests on a regular basis. It was built to support a weight five times greater than the standard for commercial and institutional floors. In fact, it has the strength to hold 21,835kg (48,138lbs) or 35 large moose, although the area is not big enough to fit that many of these large animals even if were possible to get them up the elevators!

It's time to bust one of the greatest urban myths about the Glass Floor. For the last 20 years, rumors have suggested that the Glass Floor spans the entire level but most of it is covered by carpet with only a portion of the floor on display to alleviate the concern of some visitors who might find an entire level made out of Glass too "thrilling" to step on. True or urban myth?.....it's a MYTH! Some of our visitors are relieved to learn this.