Toronto's CNE Shell Tower
The Highpoint of the Canadian National Exhibition.
The Shell Tower was built by the Shell Oil Company in 1955 for the Canadian National Exhibition. Located on Princess Boulevard, it was a glass and steel structure, almost 12 storeys in height (120’), containing an elevator, two staircases and an observation deck near the top. Above the observation deck was the iconic clock, visible from anywhere within the CNE grounds.
Based upon a winning competition entry by Toronto architect George Robb, the Shell Oil Tower was an Exhibition Place landmark from its completion in 1955 to its demise in 1985. The welded-steel and glass structure, the first of its kind in Toronto, extended 120 feet above the midway and provided fairgoers with panoramic views over the city and Lake Ontario from its open-air observation deck. Visitors could climb the 12 stores via the twin staircases that scissored back and forth around an elevator shaft behind the glass walls.
During the 1960s and 70s the Shell Oil Tower was renamed the Bulova Tower and modernized its traditional clockface for a then-new digital clock, one of the first in the city. Unfortunately elevator breakdowns and other maintenance issues led to its closing in 1983, then in 1985, despite protests from architects, preservationists and urbanists such as Jane Jacobs, the tower was demolished to make way for the first Molson Indy racetrack.
Despite the cases made for its architectural and landmark value, and a proposal to move it elsewhere on the grounds, the tower came down in November 1985. At 30 years old, the steel and glass tower found its spot in the memories and hearts of visitors all around the province. Today in the era of the skyscraping office building and super tall condo, views of Toronto are not so hard to come by, at one time the Shell Tower provided people a whole new perspective on the world around them.
“An elevator is waiting to whisk you to the observation platform, far above the ground, where you can look down on the breathtaking spectacle of the greatest show on earth, the Canadian National Exhibition,” the advertisement read.
CNE’s Shell Tower depicted on a postcard (left), and a photo of the tower.
The Shell Oil Tower was one of the first modern observation decks in Toronto. It predated similar features at TD Centre, Commerce Court, and the CN Tower. Image: City of Toronto Archives.
Slight overhead view of crowds on CNE grounds and new Shell oil tower – September 6, 1958
Creator: Harvey R. Naylor
Date: September 6, 1958
Archival Citation: Fonds 1526, File 94, Item 8
Credit: City of Toronto Archives
www.toronto.ca/archives
Copyright was transferred to the City of Toronto by the copyright owner.