OTE Tower

OTE Tower
OTE Tower
	Wikimedia \| © OpenStreetMap
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Television tower, Restaurant, Observation tower
Location	Thessaloniki, Greece
Coordinates	40°37′34″N 22°57′16″E / 40.62612°N 22.95455°ECoordinates: 40°37′34″N 22°57′16″E / 40.62612°N 22.95455°E
Completed	7 August 1966
Height	76.4 m (250.66 ft)
Design and construction
Architect	Alexandros Anastasiadis

OTE Tower is a 76-metre-tall tower located in the Thessaloniki International Exhibition Center in central Thessaloniki, Greece. The tower opened in 1966 and was renovated in 2005.

The tower was designed by Greek architect A. Anastasiadis and was completed in 1965, with the first black and white broadcasts on a Greek television network taking place from the tower in 1966.^[1] The tower was also used in the 1970s to support the antennas of an experimental VHF analogue mobile telephone network.^{[citation needed]} Today it is used by the Cosmote cellular mobile telephone network.

The tower today, other than its status as a modern monument of the city and its use by Cosmote, opens up for events and exhibitions during the Thessaloniki International Fair, while the Skyline Café-Bar, revolving restaurant operates year-round on the top floor.

History[]

The OTE Tower was designed by the architect Alexandros Anastasiadis in 1966 that stands 76 metres tall and features four floors. It is noteworthy that the first black and white broadcasts of the Greek State Television were transmitted from this building a year after the Tower's completion. Nowadays, the OTE Tower has been totally transformed in a modern telecommunications tower. The unique design and features have rightfully earned the OTE Tower its landmark status among the many architectural marvels that punctuate Greece's cultural capital, Thessaloniki.