Editing CN Tower (section)

=== Height distinction debate ===

==== "World's Tallest Tower" title ====
''[[Guinness World Records]]'' has called the CN Tower "the world's tallest self-supporting tower" and "the world's tallest free-standing tower".<ref name="Guinness 1982">
{{cite book| last=McWhirter| first=Norris| author-link=Norris McWhirter| title=Guinness Book of World Records 1982| year= 1981| publisher=[[Sterling Publishing|Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.]]| location= New York| isbn=978-0-8069-0225-8|oclc=7902975| page=704}} Reference is on page 275.</ref><ref name="Guinness 2005">{{cite web |url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/content_pages/record_subcategory.asp?txtDirection=right&;txtButtonWasHit=true&txtPage=4&subcategoryid=37 |title=Guinness Book of World Records 2005 – Science and Technology << Buildings |access-date=2010-01-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110826071440/http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/content_pages/record_subcategory.asp?txtDirection=right&%3BtxtButtonWasHit=true&txtPage=4&subcategoryid=37 |archive-date=August 26, 2011 }}</ref> Although Guinness did list this description of the CN Tower under the heading "tallest building" at least once,<ref name="Guinness 2005"/> it has also listed it under "tallest tower", omitting it from its list of "tallest buildings."<ref name="Guinness 1982"/> In 1996, Guinness changed the tower's classification to "World's Tallest Building and Freestanding Structure". [[Emporis]] and the [[Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat]] both listed the CN Tower as the [[List of tallest buildings and structures|world's tallest free-standing structure on land]], and specifically state that the CN Tower is not a true building, thereby awarding the title of [[List of tallest buildings|world's tallest building]] to [[Taipei 101]], which is {{convert|44|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} shorter than the CN Tower.<ref name="info"/><ref name=CTBUH>{{cite web |url=http://www.ctbuh.org/Resources/TallestDatabase/tabid/123/Default.aspx |title=CTBUH Tall Building Database |access-date=April 10, 2008 |publisher=[[Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081025030731/http://www.ctbuh.org/Resources/TallestDatabase/tabid/123/Default.aspx |archive-date=October 25, 2008 |url-status=dead |df=mdy }}</ref> The issue of what was tallest became moot when Burj Khalifa, then under construction, exceeded the height of the CN Tower in 2007 (see below).

Although the CN Tower contains a restaurant, a gift shop and multiple observation levels, it does not have floors continuously from the ground, and therefore [[List of tallest buildings and structures#Tallest buildings|it is not considered a building]] by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) or Emporis. CTBUH defines a building as "a structure that is designed for residential, business, or manufacturing purposes. An essential characteristic of a building is that it has floors."<ref name=CTBUH/> The CN Tower and other similar structures—such as the Ostankino Tower in Moscow, Russia; the [[Oriental Pearl Tower]] in [[Shanghai]], China; [[The Strat]] in [[Las Vegas]], Nevada, United States; and the [[Eiffel Tower]] in [[Paris]], France—are categorized as "towers", which are free-standing structures that may have observation decks and a few other habitable levels, but do not have floors from the ground up. The CN Tower was the tallest tower by this definition until 2010 (see below).<ref name="info"/>

Taller than the CN Tower are numerous [[radio masts and towers]], which are held in place by [[guy-wire]]s, the tallest being the [[KVLY-TV mast]] in [[Blanchard, North Dakota]], in the United States at {{convert|628|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} tall, leading to [[List of tallest structures|a distinction]] between these and "free-standing" structures. Additionally, the [[Petronius (oil platform)|Petronius Platform]] stands {{convert|610|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} above its base on the bottom of the [[Gulf of Mexico]]<!--Don't rename to Gulf of America--> near the [[Mississippi River Delta]], but only the top {{convert|75|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} of this [[oil platform|oil and natural gas platform]] are above water, and the structure is thus partially supported by its [[buoyancy]]. Like the CN Tower, none of these taller structures are commonly considered buildings.

On September 12, 2007, Burj Khalifa, which is a hotel, residential and commercial building in [[Dubai]], United Arab Emirates (formerly known as Burj Dubai before opening), passed the CN Tower's 553.33-m<ref name="CNTower"/> height. The CN Tower held the record of the tallest freestanding structure on land for over 30 years.<ref name="CBCSurpassed" />

After Burj Khalifa had been formally recognized by the Guinness World Records as the world's tallest freestanding structure, Guinness re-certified CN Tower as the world's tallest freestanding tower.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/698891 |title=CN tower now the 'world's tallest freestanding tower' |last=Daubs |first=Katie |date=September 22, 2009 |work=Toronto Star |access-date=September 22, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090927021016/http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/698891 |archive-date=September 27, 2009 |url-status=live |df=mdy }}</ref> The tower definition used by Guinness was defined by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat as 'a building in which less than 50% of the construction is usable floor space'. ''Guinness World Records'' editor-in-chief Craig Glenday announced that Burj Khalifa was not classified as a tower because it has too much usable floor space to be considered to be a tower.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/toronto/archive/2009/09/18/326566.aspx| title=CN Tower remains world's tallest tower, Guinness says| work=[[National Post]]| date=September 18, 2009}} {{dead link|date=August 2017}}</ref> CN Tower still held world records for highest above ground wine cellar (in 360 Restaurant) at 351 m, highest above-ground restaurant at 346 m (Horizons Restaurant),<ref>{{cite web| date=September 18, 2009| url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/cn-tower-still-world-s-tallest-guinness-1.813395| title=CN Tower still world's tallest: Guinness| publisher=[[CBC News]]}}</ref> and tallest free-standing concrete tower during Guinness's recertification. The CN Tower was surpassed in 2009 by the [[Canton Tower]] in [[Guangzhou]], China, which stands at {{convert|604|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall, as the world's tallest tower; which in turn was surpassed by the [[Tokyo Skytree]] in 2011, which currently is the tallest tower at {{convert|634.0|m|ft|abbr=on}} in height.<ref name=canton/><ref>{{cite web| url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/travelnews/2011/11/111128-worlds-tallest-tower-tokyo-travel/| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111129192458/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/travelnews/2011/11/111128-worlds-tallest-tower-tokyo-travel/| url-status=dead| archive-date=November 29, 2011| title=World's Tallest Tower Rises in Tokyo| date=November 29, 2011| last=Owen| first=James| work=[[National Geographic|National Geographic News]]}}</ref> The CN Tower, as of 2022, stands as the tenth-tallest free-standing structure on land, remains the tallest free-standing structure in the [[Western Hemisphere]], and is the third-tallest tower.<ref name=tallest/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/10-tallest-towers-in-the-world.html|title=Where Is The Largest Tower In The World?|publisher=worldatlas.com|date=4 October 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The CN Tower, once the world's tallest, soon won't even make the top 10 |url=https://nationalpost.com/news/the-cn-tower-once-the-worlds-tallest-soon-wont-even-make-the-top-10 |access-date=2023-01-22 |website=National Post |language=en-CA}}</ref> The CN Tower is the second-tallest free-standing structure in the [[Commonwealth of Nations]] behind [[Merdeka 118]] in [[Kuala Lumpur]], [[Malaysia]].

==== Height records ====
[[File:Rogers Center-restitched.jpg|thumb|upright|View from interior of [[Rogers Centre]]]]

Since its construction, the tower has gained the following world height records:<ref name=records>{{cite web| url=http://www.cntower.ca/about_us/awards_and_records/records/| title=The Tower, according to Guinness World Records| publisher=CN Tower| access-date=September 22, 2009| archive-date=November 18, 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091118195948/http://www.cntower.ca/about_us/awards_and_records/records/| url-status=dead}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Record
!Owner
!Value
!Time period
!Succeeded by
|-
|World's tallest free-standing structure||CN Tower||{{convert|553.33|m|ft}}||March 31, 1975 to September 12, 2007||[[Burj Khalifa]]
|-
|World's tallest tower||CN Tower||{{convert|553.33|m|ft}}||1975 to 2009|| rowspan=2 |[[Canton Tower]]
|-
|World's highest public observation gallery||The Top||{{convert|447|m|ft}}|||
|-
|World's highest glass floor panelled elevator||CN Tower||{{convert|346|m|ft}}||2008 to present||—
|-
|World's longest metal staircase||CN Tower||2,579 steps||||
|-
|World's highest glass floor||CN Tower||{{convert|342|m|ft}}||2008 to July 2, 2009||[[Willis Tower]]
|-
|World's highest and largest revolving restaurant||360 Restaurant||{{convert|351|m|ft}}||||
|-
|World's highest bar||Horizons Restaurant||{{convert|346|m|ft}}||September 21, 2009 to present||—
|-
|World's highest wine cellar||360 Restaurant||{{convert|351|m|ft}}||||
|}