Sydney Tower, Observation tower in Sydney, Australia
Sydney Tower rises 309 m above the Sydney central business district, its slender dark-brown shaft topped by a golden-yellow turret with rows of small windows and the letters "WP". The turret holds up to 960 people, and the enclosed observation deck, the Sydney Tower Eye, sits 250 m above ground. Three double-deck lifts reach it in 45 seconds at full speed.
Construction began in 1975 and took six years, with the observation deck opening to visitors in 1981. The tower was built as part of a larger retail complex designed to reshape the city center.
The tower has carried several names: Centrepoint Tower, then AMP Tower, and Sydney Tower after Westfield took over in 2001. Since 2011 Merlin Entertainments runs the deck as the Sydney Tower Eye. Before the 2000 Olympics, three athlete sculptures by Dominique Sutton stood on the turret, lifted by the crane helicopter "Elvis"; they moved to Sydney Olympic Park in 2002.
Three high-speed elevators carry visitors to the observation deck in less than a minute. On windy days the platform may close, and clear mornings typically offer the best visibility.
An outdoor platform with a glass floor wraps around the building at 268 meters, allowing visitors to look straight down at the streets below. Guests wear safety harnesses throughout the walk, which takes about an hour to complete.
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