The Montreal Tower

This guide to the Montreal Tower asks why a mast raised to crown the 1976 Olympics did not open until 1987. You'll hear about Roger Taillibert, the French architect who leaned his concrete tower 45 degrees off the ground and rigged it to raise and lower the Olympic stadium's retractable roof like theater, and how the ambition behind that design sent the whole park's budget spiraling from a planned 120 million dollars, earning it a lasting nickname among Montrealers. Stand at the base and trace the slope Taillibert built.