Montreal Tower

{{Short description|Building in Montreal, Canada}}{{Infobox building

| name = Montréal Tower

| native_name = La Tour de Montréal

| former_names = Olympic Tower (La Tour olympique)

| image = The Olympic Stadium in Montreal at sunset - panoramio.jpg

| caption = The Montréal Tower at sunset

| address = 3200 Viau St. Montreal, Quebec, Canada

| opened_date = 21 November 1987

}}

Montreal Tower (French: La Tour de Montréal), part of the city's Olympic Stadium (French: Le Stade olympique) and Parc Olympique and formerly known as the Olympic Tower{{cite news |last1=Hickman |first1=Matt |title=Montreal's iconic Olympic Tower reborn as office complex |url=https://www.archpaper.com/2020/02/montreal-iconic-olympic-tower-reborn-as-office-complex/ |accessdate=11 July 2020 |work=The Architect's Newspaper |date=2020-02-18 |ref=tan}} (French: La Tour olympique), is the tallest inclined structure in the world at {{convert|165|m|ft|sigfig=3}}, and the tenth tallest structure in Montreal. Originally scheduled to be completed in time for the Montreal Olympics in 1976, the tower reached its final height and was officially opened in 1987.{{Cite web |title=The construction |url=https://parcolympique.qc.ca/en/the-olympic-park/montreal-an-olympic-city/the-construction/ |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=Parc olympique |language=en-US}} It was designed by architect Roger Taillibert and leans at an angle of 45°, much larger than that of the Leaning Tower of Pisa (less than 4°).{{cite news |last1=Brennan |first1=Pat |title=Visit the leaning tower of Montreal |url=https://www.thestar.com/life/travel/2019/06/07/visit-the-leaning-tower-of-montreal.html |accessdate=11 July 2020 |work=The Star |date=2019-06-07}}

The cables that open the stadium's retractable roof are suspended from the tower.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JhUyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yaQFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5430%2C4071162 |newspaper=Montreal Gazette |title=Big O architect to do roof study |date=June 10, 1981 |page=1}}

The tower was not complete in time for the 1976 Summer Olympics, and construction resumed following with the building's observatory, accessed by an inclined elevator, opening in 1987.{{cite web |title=The Montreal Tower |url=https://www.wsp.com/en-US/projects/montreal-tower-canada |website=WSP |accessdate=11 July 2020}} The observatory showcases the history of the stadium, and the Olympics overall, including Caitlyn Jenner's (at the time Bruce Jenner) decathlon win. The Tower overlooks the Olympic Village, the Biodome, the Botanical Gardens and Saputo Stadium. At the base of the tower is the Olympic Park Sports Centre, home to elite training facilities.

In 2014 the name of the tower was changed from Olympic Tower to Montreal Tower.{{Cite web |title=A Towering Legacy {{!}} PMI |url=https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/towering-legacy-12897 |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=www.pmi.org |language=en}} Between 2015 and 2019, the Olympic Installations Board spent $200 million to convert the building into an office tower, designed by Provencher Roy which housed more than 1,000 Desjardins Group employees as of 2019.{{cite news |last1=Cogley |first1=Bridget |title=Montreal Tower to become glazed offices for Desjardins Group |url=https://www.dezeen.com/2018/09/20/montreal-tower-olympic-stadium-glazed-offices-desjardins-group/ |accessdate=11 July 2020 |work=dezeen |date=2018-09-30}} This reconstruction was selected as an Honour winner in Architect's 2022 Architecture & Interior Awards in the Architecture: Adaptive Reuse category.{{Cite web |date=2022-02-09 |title=Montreal Tower, by Provencher_Roy |url=https://www.architectmagazine.com/project-gallery/montreal-tower_o |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=Architect |language=en}}

The tower is currently closed for renovation as part of the Olympic Park's renovation, and is set to reopen in fall 2027.{{Cite web |title=The Montréal Tower |url=https://parcolympique.qc.ca/en/what-to-do/the-montreal-tower/ |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=Parc olympique |language=en-US}}