THE WORLD’S FIRST GLASS FLOOR
Facts
A World First
The CN Tower provides visitors from all over the world with unique thrilling experiences.
The Glass Floor was a world first when it opened on June 26, 1994 and 20 years later it continues to thrill
visitors with a “dare to walk on air” experience looking 1,122ft straight down to the ground. 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, Chicago’s Ledge, and many more.
Dedicated to our Builders
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 down to the ground instills a new
appreciation of the daring heights these skilled individuals dealt with on a daily basis.
About the Glass Floor
The Glass Floor area is 27.84 square meters (299.55 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” scuff place 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 6 cm thick. 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 is changed every
year.
Safety
Befitting its reputation as a Wonder of the Modern World, every aspect of the CN Tower’s construction is
extraordinary and the Glass Floor is no exception. It took three months to engineer and test the floor to
ensure its safety and durability. It was built to support a weight five times greater than the standard for
commercial and institutional floors. The composite glass is so special it is hard for people to conceive of
the fact that it is stronger than the concrete floor on the same level. In keeping with the CN Tower’s high
safety standards, to this day the Floor continues to undergo safety and durability tests on a regular basis.
In fact, it has the strength to hold 20,454kg (45,093.35 lbs) or 35 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!
Installation
Three workmen spent 10 days installing the floor piece by piece framed within a steel grid. Installation
was conducted without a false floor underneath because there would be no way of removing it later. Thus
the installation team was suspended in mid-air by safety ropes where they could feel the winds whipping
around them and see the 342 m (1,122 ft.) distance down to the ground.
20 Years of Glass Floor Fun!
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.
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Media inquiries: Irene Knight, Manager of Public Relations, 416-601-4729,
[email protected]
Full Media Kit available online at www.cntower.ca.
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