I got to be a part of a special screening of The Tower That Built A City, a documentary about the CN Tower, that was screened inside the tower, which was pretty cool.
Directed by Mark Myers, The Tower That Built A City takes us through the conception and construction of the CN Tower, and the ways the tower shaped the city of Toronto as we know it today. Myers calls the documentary “a look at the history of Toronto with the CN Tower as the main character.” The tallest building at the time of its opening in 1976 (and for just over 30 years afterwards), the CN Tower almost served as a beacon for Toronto, drawing people from all over the world to it and putting an instantly recognisable stamp on the city in the media at a time when Toronto was still finding itself. With the significant changes to the city in the last 50 years, from sports to media to culture, the tower did more than serve as a communication tower for broadcasters, it actualised the future it was projected into by its architects.
Myers’ documentary is dynamic, mixing interviews from architects, media personalities, sports people and musicians with archival footage and audio with an editing style that flips through each one delightfully. If you’re from Toronto, or have lived here for a significant amount of time, I’d wager you’ll feel some sense of ownership with this documentary where you’ll go, “I remember that,” or “I was there,” or “I felt the same way.” I’ve only lived a few years of my life in the city and even I felt some pride in being able to call Toronto home.
You might have caught that it’s the 50th anniversary of the CN Tower this year. The Tower That Built a City is a great celebration of this milestone (and the events the CN Tower is putting on are too, if you’re up for it!).
The Tower that Built a City is playing at Hot Docs ’26. For more information, click here.
