Tallest High-Rise West of Mississippi is Ready for Its Close Up
It is the first modern high-rise in Los Angeles without a flat roof.
By Associated Press ••
The tallest building west of the Mississippi River celebrated its grand opening in downtown Los Angeles. Beverly White reports on the NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on Friday, June 23, 2017.
The tallest building west of the Mississippi River opened its doors on Friday in once-stodgy downtown Los Angeles, which is sprouting a crop of new skyscrapers.
Here are some things to know about the Wilshire Grand Center:
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HOW TALL IS TALL?
The 73-story building has a huge spire that brings its height to 1,100 feet (335 meters), topping the nearby U.S. Bank Tower by more than 80 feet. The Bank Tower had held the height record since 1989.
Critics might argue that a spire rising nearly 200 feet above the top of the building should not count, but it meets the criteria of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, which lists the world's tallest buildings based on the "architectural top of the building." A 2-foot lightning rod at the very top, however, doesn't count.
AP
A light show illuminates Wilshire Grand Center, center left, to celebrate its grand opening, Friday, June 23, 2017, in Los Angeles. The 73-story, 1,100-foot-high structure is the tallest building west of the Mississippi. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
AP
A light show illuminates Wilshire Grand Center to celebrate its grand opening, Friday, June 23, 2017, in Los Angeles. The 73-story, 1,100-foot-high structure is the tallest building west of the Mississippi. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
AP
A light show illuminates Wilshire Grand Center to celebrate its grand opening, Friday, June 23, 2017, in Los Angeles. The 73-story, 1,100-foot-high structure is the tallest building west of the Mississippi. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
AP
A light show illuminates Wilshire Grand Center, center left, to celebrate its grand opening, Friday, June 23, 2017, in Los Angeles. The 73-story, 1,100-foot-high structure is the tallest building west of the Mississippi. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
NewsChopper 4
NewsChopper 4's aerials of the grand opening of the Wilshire Grand Center on Friday, June 23, 2017.
NewsChopper 4
NewsChopper 4's aerials of the grand opening of the Wilshire Grand Center on Friday, June 23, 2017.
AP
Cho Yangho, chairman and chief executive officer of Korean Air, chairman of the Hanjin Group, left, joins architect Christopher Martin after cutting a ribbon to mark the opening of the Wilshire Grand Center, the tallest building west of the Mississippi River, in Los Angeles, Friday, June 23, 2017. The 73-story Wilshire Grand tower has a huge spire that brings its height to 1,100 feet, topping the nearby U.S. Bank Tower by more than 80 feet. (AP Photo/Robert Jablon)
AP
Officials cut a ribbon to mark the opening of the Wilshire Grand Center, the tallest building west of the Mississippi River, in Los Angeles Friday, June 23, 2017. From left, Herb Wesson, Los Angeles City Council President, Elie Maalouf, CEO, The Americas, InterContinental Hotels Group, Cho Yang-ho, Chairman and CEO, Korean Air, Kevin De Leon, California Senate President Pro Tempore, and Key Cheol Lee, Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Robert Jablon)
AP
A photographer is seen on the 70th floor floor of the Wilshire Grand Center, the tallest building west of the Mississippi River, in Los Angeles Friday, June 23, 2017. The 73-story Wilshire Grand tower has a huge spire that brings its height to 1,100 feet, topping the nearby U.S. Bank Tower by more than 80 feet. (AP Photo/Robert Jablon)
AP
The Interstate 110 freeway is seen from the 70th floor of the Wilshire Grand Center, the tallest building west of the Mississippi River, in Los Angeles Friday, June 23, 2017. The 73-story Wilshire Grand tower has a huge spire that brings its height to 1,100 feet, topping the nearby U.S. Bank Tower by more than 80 feet. (AP Photo/Robert Jablon)
AP
The nearby U.S. Bank Tower, center window, is seen from the 73-story Wilshire Grand Center in Los Angeles Friday, June 23, 2017. The Wilshire Grand Center metal antenna brings its height to 1,100 feet, topping the nearby U.S. Bank Tower by more than 80 feet, making it the tallest building west of the Mississippi River. The Bank Tower had held the height record since 1989. (AP Photo/Robert Jablon)
AP
People walk by the newly build Wilshire Grand Center in Los Angeles on Thursday, June 22, 2017. The 73-story, 1,100-foot-high (335.3 meters) Wilshire Grand Center, the tallest building west of the Mississippi, opens Friday, celebrating with lights and fanfare in a once-stodgy downtown that has erupted in new skyscrapers. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
AP Photo/Richard Vogel
The newly built Wilshire Grand Center stands in Los Angeles on Thursday, June 22, 2017. The 73-story, 1,100-foot-high (335.3 meters) Wilshire Grand Center, the tallest building west of the Mississippi, opens Friday, celebrating with lights and fanfare in a once-stodgy downtown that has erupted in new skyscrapers. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
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The skyscraper is still dwarfed by buildings on the East Coast and overseas. In the United States, One World Trade Center is 1,776 feet tall, making it the sixth-largest completed building in the world. The tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, rises 2,717 feet, or more than a half-mile high.
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NO FLATTOP, PLEASE
The tower features a 100-foot-tall, sail-shaped crown built of glass and steel. It is the first modern high-rise in Los Angeles without a flat roof. Since 1974, high-rise buildings had to have helicopter pads in case of fires or other emergencies. The Wilshire Center obtained Fire Department permission to use other safety features, including a special landing platform and a dedicated elevator for firefighters. The city ended the flat-roof requirement in 2015.
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LIGHTS, ACTION, ENTERTAINMENT
The building's spine and sail have programmable LEDs that can provide colorful illumination and visuals.
Ripples of rainbow illumination glowed and flowed all the way up the building's 73 stories on Friday night in its inaugural lighting.
The tower also includes an 889-room InterContinental hotel where rooms will go for about $400 a night; some 350,000 square feet (32,516 square meters) of office space; a shopping mall and an observation deck.
Restaurants range from the open-air, rooftop Spire 73 offering "chic fire pits" and signature cocktails to La Boucherie, with stratospheric steak prices and a wine list with 1,200 selections.
Mel Melcon/ Los Angeles Times
A 10-ton spire was attached on the Wilshire Grand Tower, pictured here, on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016, making it the tallest building west of the Mississippi River.
Gary Leonard/Wilshire Grand
The crew sat atop the 10-ton spire that was placed on the Wilshire Grand Tower in downtown Los Angeles making it the tallest building west of the Mississippi River. Photo shared Sept. 7, 2016.
Wilshire Grand (Photographer: Gary Leonard)
A 10-ton spire was placed on top of the Wilshire Grand Tower in downtown Los Angeles, making it the tallest building west of the Mississippi River on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016.
Wilshire Grand (Photographer: Gary Leonard)
A crane lifted the spire so it could be attached to the Wilshire Grand Tower in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016.
Mel Melcon/ Los Angeles Times
A 10-ton spire was attached to the Wilshire Grand Tower, at the spot pictured here, on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016, making it the tallest building west of the Mississippi River.
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CONSTRUCTION
The building, located in the Financial District, cost about $1.2 billion to build. Construction began in 2014.
It reached a milestone that year when 21,200 cubic yards (16,208 cubic meters) of concrete, weighing 82 million pounds (37 million kilograms), were poured over a span of 18 hours to create the foundation. That broke the Guinness World Record for a continuous pour set during the 1999 construction of The Venetian hotel and casino in Las Vegas.
The record was eclipsed again this April when a foundation for a mall was poured in the United Arab Emirates.
Construction work on the tower was shut down for two days last year when an electrician killed himself by jumping from the 53rd floor.
The tower includes a massive, stabilizing central core and braces designed to act as shock absorbers to withstand gusty Santa Ana winds and earthquakes. Southern California has dozens of faults, and the building is designed to withstand about a magnitude-7.5 temblor.
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JOBS, JOBS, JOBS
The building construction provided about 11,000 jobs. Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis says the tower and its many tenants will provide about 1,750 permanent jobs and the tourism and business it may bring could provide another 122,000 jobs indirectly.
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ANOTHER BRICK IN THE SPRAWL
The Wilshire Grand Center is part of a construction boom in the resurgent downtown area that for decades emptied out at night as commuters headed for the suburbs.
The opening of the Staples Center arena in 1999 helped anchor redevelopment projects in the surrounding area. The Walt Disney Concert Hall, an internationally known architectural landmark designed by Frank Gehry, opened in 2003.
Vacant office buildings have become pricey lofts and apartments, a new art museum opened and with changes to density and zoning laws, plans are moving ahead to create gigantic complexes of residences, hotels and shopping districts. About 150 building projects are in the works, including some 20 skyscrapers of 35 stories or more.
