Montreal, Quebec: Montreal Tower

Back in 1976, the idea behind the Olympic Stadium was to have the first retractable roof. A device would hang over the top of the building and support a cover. When the weather was nice, a button was to be pushed and the roof would come off - perfect for the building's eventual tenant, the Montreal Expos.

Except ... the roof never worked too well, and the cover was left on. Eventually, the city of Montreal opted to construct a permanent tower. Not only would it hold the wires leading down to the roof, but the top could serve as a viewing point for the city.

The Expos are gone, the Tower remains. It's the tallest inclined tower in the world at 541 feet, and the city and region are sprawled out below visitors who take the funicular up to the viewing area. (It's like a cable car.)

When we were there, a storm was just moving into the area. That's why downtown Montreal was a little hazy. It got worse, to the point where we wondered if the funicular would have to stay put for a while as the storm passed. But we made it down safely.

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