When Edmonton’s first skyscraper, the CN Tower, opened in 1966, it was the tallest building in Western Canada. Standing at 111 metres, it was a modern marvel with precast panels and a curving glass facade.

Another record-breaker, Husky Tower, opened two years later in Calgary. At 191 metres, it was the tallest structure in Canada at the time and the tallest observation tower in the Western Hemisphere. Made of 11,000 tonnes of steel–reinforced concrete, it was renamed Calgary Tower in 1971.

Today it’s simply a landmark, but when it opened in 1966, Edmonton’s CN Tower ushered in a new era of modernism in the city’s downtown core.

Photo courtesy of Strategic Group

Needle installation on the Husky Tower, Calgary

City of Calgary Archives CalA 94-004-003