The tower was opened on October 6, 1965, by New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller and Ontario Premier John Robarts.

Costing $7 million at the time of its construction, the Skylon Tower was owned by a private partnership called Niagara International Centre, which was financed by Hershey Foods shareholdings of Charles Richard Reese, former co-owner of the H. B. Reese Candy Company of Hershey, Pennsylvania.

[citation needed] While much redevelopment has taken place in the surrounding city, the Skylon Tower complex still retains much of its look and feel from the 1970s and 1980s.

They were designed, engineered and maintained by a division of the Otis Elevator Company from Hamilton, Ontario and can carry passengers to the top of the tower in 52 seconds.

Special equipment is employed to prevent the cables from becoming tangled in the wind or impeded by snow and ice in the winter.

The base of the tower features a number of gift shops, fast food restaurants and a large amusement arcade.