US Bank Tower, formerly Library Tower and First Interstate Bank World Center, is a 1,018-foot (310 m) skyscraper at 633 West Fifth Street in downtown Los Angeles, California. It is the tallest building in California, the eleventh tallest in the United States, the tallest west of the Mississippi River, and the 65th tallest building in the world. Because local building codes require all high-rise buildings to have a helipad, it was known as the tallest building in the world with a roof-top heliport from its completion in 1989 to 2004 when Taipei 101 opened. It is also the second tallest building in a major active seismic region; its structure was designed to resist an earthquake of 8.3 on the Richter scale. It consists of 73 stories above ground and two parking levels below ground. Construction began in 1987 with completion in 1989. The building was designed by Henry N. Cobb of the architectural firm Pei Cobb Freed & Partners and cost $350 million to build. It is one of the most recognizable buildings in Los Angeles, often used in establishing shots for the city in films and television programs.
Ownership
U.S. Bank Tower in Los Angeles was sold to Overseas Union Enterprise Ltd (OUE), a hotel and property group controlled by Indonesia's Lippo Group. OUE, a Singapore-based hotel and property company run by Indonesian billionaire Stephen Riady, acquired the tower and other related assets for $367.5 million. OUE, which last year lost out in a bidding war with Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi for Fraser and Neave, will acquire the 72-floor office building, the adjacent Maguire Gardens park, and a car park from a unit of Los Angeles-based real-estate investment trust MPG Office Trust Inc.
History
The building is also known as Library Tower because it was built as part of the $1 billion Los Angeles Central Library redevelopment area following two disastrous fires in 1986, and its location across the street. The City of Los Angeles sold air rights to the developers of the tower to help pay for the reconstruction of the library. The building was also known for a time as First Interstate Bank World Center but the name Library Tower was restored after First Interstate Bancorp merged with Wells Fargo Bank. In March 2003 the property was leased by U.S. Bancorp and the building was renamed U.S. Bank Tower. Residents, however, generally continue to refer to it as Library Tower.
The tower has a large glass crown at its top that is illuminated at night. The crown is lit with red and green during the Christmas holiday season and lit red around Saint Valentine's Day. It is also lit with purple and gold when the Los Angeles Lakers are playing in the NBA Playoffs and blue and white on Opening Day for the Los Angeles Dodgers and when the Dodgers are playing in the playoffs. The crown is also lit during the Independence Day holidays as Red White and Blue; which returned in 2014 after an eleven-year hiatus.
On February 28, 2004, two 23 m (75 ft) "U.S. Bank" logo signs were installed on the crown, amid controversy for their effect on the aesthetic appearance of the building, much like the previous First Interstate Bank logos were placed on the crown between 1990 and 1998. First Interstate Bank's "I" logo on the crown was in the 1993 Guinness Book of World Records for highest placed logo.
In July 2014, Overseas Union Enterprise Ltd., the new owners of the skyscraper, announced construction of an observation deck on the 69th and 70th floors and a restaurant on the 71st floor, the first of its kind in Los Angeles. Construction is expected to cost roughly $50 million and will include a makeover of the lobby as well as a separate entrance for tourists, since the tower will still be primarily offices. Access to the observation deck will cost $25 per person.
Terrorist target
On June 16, 2004, the 9/11 Commission reported that the original plan for the September 11 attacks called for the hijacking of ten planes, one of which was to be crashed into the building.
On October 6, 2005, House officials stated that the government had foiled a previously undisclosed second plot to crash a plane into the building in mid-2002. In his televised 2006 State of the Union Address, President George W. Bush asserted that American counterterrorism officials foiled a plot to fly planes into the tower, which he erroneously identified as "Liberty Tower". According to President Bush, Al-Qaeda leader Khaled Sheikh Mohammed's plan was to use Asian confederates from Jemaah Islamiyah recruited by Islamic militant Hambali for the hijacking. President Bush asserted the hijackers were going to use shoe bombs to breach the plane's cockpit door. Some counter-terrorism experts have expressed doubt that the plot was ever fully developed or likely to occur.
Major tenants
- Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld
- Cornerstone Research
- Gordon & Rees LLP
- Jenner & Block
- McCormick & Schmick's
- Thomson West
- U.S. Bancorp
- White & Case
- Littler Mendelson
In popular culture
- The building made a notable appearance in the Independence Day film, in which the tower was the first structure to be destroyed during the beginning of a massive alien invasion.
- In Disney's The Kid (2000), Bruce Willis' character, an image consultant, works in the building.
- The 2007 film, Dragon wars features a giant monster dragon that first destroys and rampages through the city and then climbs the tower.
- In the 2007 movie Southland Tales, The building stands for US-IDENT, a Big Brother surveillance agency that is under the guise of a national security think-tank.
- In the 2009 disaster film 2012, it is one of the many buildings in Los Angeles being destroyed by a major earthquake.
- In the 2004 movie The Day After Tomorrow, the U.S. Bank Tower is severely damaged by the super tornado, but ultimately still standing.
- In the History Channel series Life After People, the US Bank Tower is shown withstanding a giant fire that consumed nearly all Los Angeles, and "The Big One", an earthquake measuring 8.0 in the Richter scale. Finally, it collapses 600 years after the disappearance of people.
- The 2002 music video for "Thug Lovin'" by Ja Rule and Bobby Brown was filmed on the roof of tower.
- The building was featured as the Los Santos Tower in the 2004 game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and then also features in the 2013 game Grand Theft Auto V as the Maze Bank Tower.
- In the 2015 disaster film, San Andreas, the tower is among the buildings in Downtown Los Angeles that collapses due to the 9.1 earthquake striking the city. In one scene, protagonist Ray Gaines (played by Dwayne Johnson) barely drove his helicopter past the collapsing tower.
Gallery
See also
- 50 Tallest buildings in the U.S.
- List of tallest buildings in Los Angeles
- List of tallest buildings by U.S. state
References
External links
- U.S. Bank Tower website
- Building Profile on Emporis
- List of Tenants @ U.S. Bank Tower - Companies located at 633 W 5th Street, Los Angeles, CA
Interesting Informations
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