Sydney Tower

Sydney Tower (formerly known as the AMP Tower, AMP Centrepoint Tower, Centrepoint Tower or just Centrepoint) is Sydney’s tallest free-standing structure, and the second tallest in Australia (with the Q1 building on the Gold Coast being the tallest). It is also the second tallest observation tower in the Southern Hemisphere (after Auckland’s Sky Tower); though Sydney Tower’s main observation deck is almost 50 metres higher than that of Auckland’s Sky Tower.

The tower stands 305 metres above the central business district, it is located at 120 Market Street, between Pitt and Castlereagh Streets, accessible from the Pitt Street Mall, and sits upon Centrepoint (to which the tower is often referred), an office building and shopping centre. The tower is open to the public, and is one of the most prominent tourist attractions in the city, being visible from a number of vantage points throughout town and from adjoining suburbs.

Three sections of the tower are open to public access:
The observation deck.
250 metres above ground level, this fully-enclosed viewing platform features 360 degree views of the city. This floor also features a small gift shop, a readout displaying data on the conditions of the tower (wind speed, direction and sway amplitude).
SkyWalk platform.
268 metres above ground level, this open-air viewing platform also features 360 degree views of the city. This level, however, is only accessible as part of planned and booked tours.
The two restaurants.
One A La Carte Restaurant and one Buffet Restaurant.

History

Construction of the office building commenced in 1970, and tower construction began in 1975. Public access to the tower began in September 1981. The total cost of construction was A$36 million.

Artistic use of the tower

Leading up to the Sydney 2000 Olympics, the tower was decorated with sculptures of athletes, which were positioned above the main body of the tower and in some cases overhung the edges. These sculptures were removed in 2003 and relocated to the site of the games, Homebush. The figures were placed atop the tower using an Erickson S-64 Aircrane heavy lift helicopter known as “Elvis”.

On several occasions, the tower has been used to launch fireworks or it has been illuminated with coloured lights as part of various celebrations in Sydney, such as New Years Eve or during the Olympics in 2000.

Tower run

Every year, the Sydney Tower Run-up comprises the challenge of running up the stairs inside the tower as quickly as possible.

Attractions

There are two revolving restaurants in the observation levels of Sydney Tower offering spectacular views.

The AU$3.75 million Skywalk - an open-air stroll a 268m up on a glass-bottomed platform circling Sydney Tower, opened on October 18, 2005. The Skywalk took four years to design and two months to build, using more than 2,000 sections of steel and 4,376 nuts and bolts. This attraction is more than twice as high as the popular Bridge Climb walk to the top of Sydney Harbour Bridge. From that height, the seaward horizon is 58 kilometres away, although inland features such as the Blue Mountains can be seen at further distances.

Popular culture

In the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, the tower had a role as a space observatory (Sydney itself played the rangers’ fictional hometown of Angel Grove, California). The skydiving at the beginning was part of a charity event to raise money to save the tower, and during the megazord battle, the movie’s villain used the tower as both a viewing point and (after taking over one of his mecha) as a weapon.

In Godzilla: Final Wars, Zilla destroyed the tower while running rampant in Sydney.