Europe’s Tallest TV Tower Celebrates 50 Year Construction Anniversary in Moscow
The Ostankino Tower is rated among ten tallest structures in the world. Its height is 540 m. Since the tower was officially commissioned in November 1967, Soviet people have been able to watch color TV and live broadcast, even from space. Here is Tatyana Proskuryakova's story about the past and the future of the unique facility.
It's brightly illuminated and reflected in the water. This is how artists have depicted the tower on a commemorative stamp. The tallest structure in Europe has just turned 50.
Its shape had become known years before its construction was over. In 1960 foreign media reported: "Soviet architects are developing an impossible project. They are planning to erect a tower more than half a kilometer tall!"
The project was doubted even in USSR, but Nikolai Nikitin, chief designer, believed in it:
Nikolai Nikitin: "First primitive calculations were made on these four pages. They helped us identify the diameter of the structure and wall thickness".
The antenna is located at 385 m above ground level. The very top of it is equipped with a government communications transmitter. First radiophone system, the predecessor of GSM, was launched in Moscow in 1967 for CPSU bosses only.
The base was built under a revolutionary technology and was shaped like a reversed lily. The "stem" is supported by strong "petals". It is swung by the wind with the amplitude of 5 m. That rocking almost made engineers reject Nikitin's most daring design feature, the restaurant.
"These tables are placed on a rotating floor. In less than an hour, one can see the full panoramic view of Moscow".
Today, The 7th Sky restaurant serves a varied menu. In the 1960s, the only lunch combo, including minced meat Presenter, was served here. As for Soviet TV-presenters, they didn't have much time to enjoy those meals, as they were working hard in the new building of a TV complex at the tower.
This is the longest building in Europe, 420 m. Visitors often got lost in its corridors. That was the reason why Charodei movie was filmed here.
The facility comprises two dozens TV studios with the area up to 1,000 square meters. New equipment made 5-channel color broadcast possible. Anatoly Volkov, an engineer, remembers the first operating day as if it was yesterday: "Happy, what else could we feel? Just happy. There was a huge room on the 5th floor equipped with control stations. It was just beautiful".
In August 2000, all the world saw that picture. The structure was on fire for more than a day. The staff of this control room was the last to leave the tower. Even when elevators were off, they didn't stop the broadcast, for it meant to leave Russia without television.
After the reconstruction, a new fire extinguishing system has been installed here. The restaurant with an observation platform has been reopened. And this anniversary site enables the viewers to see the internals of the tower. Studio facilities have been upgraded to deal with UHD video data. Everything's ready for digital broadcast: "Now, we are testing UHD signal, or 4K." At its 50, the Ostankino Tower still pioneers new technologies, now UHD. At the same time, it serves as the monument to the professionalism and courage of its creators. Tatyana Proskuryakova, Alexander Malyshev, Alexander Makarov, Laura Palovandova, Vesti.
