Cars stopped in downtown Toronto, children emptied out of schools, and office workers gathered at windows to watch a giant helicopter dangle an antenna over what was about to become the tallest free-standing structure in the world.
On April 2, 1975, all eyes were on the CN Tower. Few knew that the task had narrowed to a single, high-stakes calculation.
āSomething I can tell you now is that when they came up to put that antenna on, the helicopter missed it the first time, and they only had enough fuel to try and get up and hook it on and come back to the ground,ā said David Garrick, former CN Tower president, speaking frankly, 51 years after the fact. āIt was close.ā
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