IN PHOTOS | Think you know the CN Tower? Here's a rare peek at its lesser known parts | CBC

"Later this month the 553-metre-tall landmark is participating for the first time in Doors Open Toronto, where members of the public get rare access to the city's architecturally significant buildings and sites. On Wednesday, members of the media got a preview of the guided tour of the tower, which explores operational and architectural spaces of Canada's tallest structure that have never before been open to visitors."

"Members of the media record cellphone videos of the 300-metre shaft running nearly the full height of the tower's inner pedestal: Looking down the 300-metre hollow interior of the tower through a hatch in the floor of a stairwell outside the public area of the observation deck: A hatch in the wall of a stairwell inside the tower provides a glimpse inside the rarely seen inner workings of the landmark."

"During the tour, CN Tower staffer Shawn Whalen points out panels from the original glass floor, now stored in a basement chamber: A cutout schematic of the CN Tower sits next to a core sample of the tower itself in a basement chamber of the attraction. Linen-keeper Irmina Victor, who has worked at the CN Tower for 16 years, answers a call in her office."

"A pressurized door separates an access gantry from the bubble-shaped radome, a weatherproof enclosure that encircles the tower's observation deck to shield broadcast equipment, including the CBC's. Members of the public brave the glass floor of the CN Tower's lower observation level, more than 340 metres above the ground."

The CN Tower will provide rare public access to engineering areas that are usually closed. The 553-metre landmark is participating for the first time in Doors Open Toronto, offering guided tours of operational and architectural spaces within Canada’s tallest structure. A preview tour showed access to the tower’s inner pedestal, including a nearly full-height 300-metre hollow interior viewed through hatches in stairwell floors and walls. The tour also includes panels from the original glass floor stored in a basement chamber and a cutout schematic displayed beside a core sample of the tower. Visitors will also experience the lower observation level’s glass floor and pass through a pressurized door to reach a gantry near the radome that protects broadcast equipment.

Read at www.cbc.ca