CHCH tower

ScreamingViking · #1 Posted **Feb 17, 2024, 7:43 AM**

I don't know where else to put this but in the past week or so I've noticed the lights on the CHCH TV tower on the east Mountain have been low (just the one light tonight)... and the new one is rising or has been constructed west of Waterdown.

bigguy1231 · #2 Posted **Feb 17, 2024, 8:38 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

I don't know where else to put this but in the past week or so I've noticed the lights on the CHCH TV tower on the east Mountain have been low (just the one light tonight)... and the new one is rising or has been constructed west of Waterdown.

The one in Waterdown is operational. They are already dismantling the one in Stoney Creek.

HamiltonPlanning · #3 Posted **Feb 20, 2024, 5:31 PM**

Does anyone know how tall the new tower is? The Stoney Creek Mountain tower was pretty tall, I believe it is the fourth or fifth tallest structure in Canada

ScreamingViking · #4 Posted **Feb 21, 2024, 12:28 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by HamiltonPlanning

Does anyone know how tall the new tower is? The Stoney Creek Mountain tower was pretty tall, I believe it is the fourth or fifth tallest structure in Canada

The old one was 357.5 metres, and the tallest structure in Canada when it was built (it was 4th before being dismantled, after the CN Tower, a TV tower in Brandon MB, and the yet-to-be-demolished Inco Superstack)

The new one is reportedly shorter (1,000', or about 305m) but the ground elevation may be higher (Google Earth has the old site at 182m above sea level; I don't know exactly where new site is, but in that vicinity the ground is around 220m ASL plus or minus). Over the last few months I haven't really been places where the old one is visible, so it was an odd thing to not see its lights flashing as high last week.

Addition: My bedroom growing up in east Hamilton faced the escarpment, and I had a clear view of the tower. At some point the lights were changed from red to white, and after thunderstorms (and inevitable lightning strikes) the lights would often flash out of sequence. Nights when I couldn't sleep the lights were just bright enough to shine around the roll-down window blind, so I'd see them flashing against the awful wallpaper which is still there to this day.

HamiltonPlanning · #5 Posted **Feb 21, 2024, 3:29 PM**

Thank you for the info! I had a similar experience growing up in east Hamilton. Going to miss the tower being in that location!

Djeffery · #6 Posted **Feb 21, 2024, 5:16 PM**

I do remember the late night signoff 40 years ago saying their transmitter towered 1500 feet over Lake Ontario.

By contrast, if anyone is familiar with the one in London, it's 1034 feet high, in the middle of a subdivision (fields when it was built though lol)

ScreamingViking · #7 Posted **Feb 22, 2024, 10:01 PM**

A number of these towers have collapsed over the years too (e.g., two mentioned in that Wiki article, which were/are among the tallest structures in Canada).

If this one were to do so, it could cause a lot of damage now depending on where and how it would fall, with all the new housing going up in that area. Most of these probably were in fields and undeveloped areas, so I wouldn't be surprised if more of them are moved or replaced.

Djeffery · #8 Posted **Feb 23, 2024, 12:00 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

A number of these towers have collapsed over the years too (e.g., two mentioned in that Wiki article, which were/are among the tallest structures in Canada).

If this one were to do so, it could cause a lot of damage now depending on where and how it would fall, with all the new housing going up in that area. Most of these probably were in fields and undeveloped areas, so I wouldn't be surprised if more of them are moved or replaced.

No kidding. Here's the view of the CTV London tower behind the TV station. Was all fields when it was built 6o or 70 years ago.

https://www.google.ca/maps/@42.95074...!1e3?entry=ttu

ScreamingViking · #9 Posted **Feb 29, 2024, 2:41 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

The old one was 357.5 metres, and the tallest structure in Canada when it was built (it was 4th before being dismantled, after the CN Tower, a TV tower in Brandon MB, and the yet-to-be-demolished Inco Superstack)

The new one is reportedly shorter (1,000', or about 305m) but the ground elevation may be higher (Google Earth has the old site at 182m above sea level; I don't know exactly where new site is, but in that vicinity the ground is around 220m ASL plus or minus). Over the last few months I haven't really been places where the old one is visible, so it was an odd thing to not see its lights flashing as high last week.

Addition: My bedroom growing up in east Hamilton faced the escarpment, and I had a clear view of the tower. At some point the lights were changed from red to white, and after thunderstorms (and inevitable lightning strikes) the lights would often flash out of sequence. Nights when I couldn't sleep the lights were just bright enough to shine around the roll-down window blind, so I'd see them flashing against the awful wallpaper which is still there to this day.

My travels yesterday took me in the area of the new tower, and the property around its site is around 240 metres above sea level according to Google Earth. So the difference in elevation at the top likely isn't very much compared to the old one, depending on the actual height of the new structure.

I also noticed that the lights are white during the day, and red at night.

The old one is still partially erect -- I wonder if the lower section will remain and serve a different purpose? (cell or microwave tower? Seems it already had those functions, given the dishes and cellular infrastructure on the bottom third or so). If much shorter, the surrounding land can accommodate more residential development, though given the weather lately maybe it just hasn't been safe to remove the final sections.

Innsertnamehere · #10 Posted **Feb 29, 2024, 12:52 PM**

The old one will be fully removed - it's the location of one of the few remaining greenfield development areas in the City. It'll be houses in a few years.

ScreamingViking · #11 Posted **Mar 7, 2024, 12:28 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

The old one will be fully removed - it's the location of one of the few remaining greenfield development areas in the City. It'll be houses in a few years.

Good.

It's already amazing how much has gone up in that part of the city. Especially given the still-growing landfill that has had its "issues"

urban_planner · #12 Posted **Mar 15, 2024, 12:28 AM**

The rest of the tower was taken down.

https://www.chch.com/chch-stoney-cre...fter-62-years/

ScreamingViking · #13 Posted **Mar 15, 2024, 1:51 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by urban_planner

The rest of the tower was taken down.

https://www.chch.com/chch-stoney-cre...fter-62-years/

Thank you!

It's the end of an era or two.

ohhimark · #14 Posted **Mar 16, 2024, 9:29 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

Thank you!

It's the end of an era or two.

It truly is. One of the last remnants of the Nash farm/Possum Lodge. Always wanted to visit lol.

Row of old farm buildings that were nearer to the edge of the escarpment, north of the CHCH tower, taken from a Handyman's Corner segment: