List of tallest buildings in Los Angeles

Downtown Los Angeles with San Gabriel Mountains in the background

Bunker Hill in downtown Los Angeles

This list of tallest buildings in Los Angeles ranks skyscrapers in Los Angeles, California, by height. The tallest building in Los Angeles is the Wilshire Grand Center.

As of September 2016, the Wilshire Grand surpassed the 73-story U.S. Bank Tower, which rises 1,018 feet (310 m) in Downtown Los Angeles and was completed in 1989.^[1] It also stands as the tallest building in the state of California, tallest building west of the Mississippi, and the 11th-tallest building in the United States. The second-tallest skyscraper in the city and the state is the Aon Center, which rises 858 feet (262 m).^[2] Seven of the ten tallest buildings in California are located in Los Angeles.^[3]

Skyscrapers are difficult and expensive to construct in Los Angeles due to the city's high rate of earthquakes and position near the San Andreas fault line, as well as the resulting difficulty of adhering to the city's rigorous engineering standards. Nevertheless, a number of successful and iconic skyscrapers dot the downtown Los Angeles skyline. The history of skyscrapers in Los Angeles began with the 1903 completion of the Braly Building, which is often regarded as the first high-rise in the city;^[4] it rises 13 floors and 151 feet (46 m) in height.^[5] The building, originally constructed as a commercial structure, has since been renovated into a residential tower and is now known as the "Continental Building".^[4] Los Angeles went through a large building boom that lasted from the early 1960s to the early 1990s, during which time the city saw the completion of 30 of its 32 tallest buildings, including the U.S. Bank Tower, the Aon Center, and Two California Plaza. The city is the site of 25 skyscrapers at least 492 feet (150 m) in height, more than any other city in the Pacific coast region. As of July 2011, there are 505 completed high-rises in the city.^[6]

The most recently completed skyscraper in Los Angeles is L.A. Live Ritz-Carlton Hotels & Condominiums, which rises 653 feet (199 m) and 54 floors.^[7]

The Wilshire Grand Center, a hotel and office tower which is under construction, is expected to rise 73 stories and 1,100 feet (335 m) in height.^[8] Once completed in 2017, it will surpass the U.S. Bank Tower to become the tallest building in the United States west of Chicago.

As of May 2011, there are 60 high-rise buildings under construction, approved for construction, and proposed for construction in Los Angeles.^[6] 37 of these 60 buildings are over 100 meters tall.

Los Angeles skyline during sunset as seen from behind the Griffith Observatory in Griffith Park in October 2006

Tallest buildings

This lists ranks Los Angeles skyscrapers that stand at least 400 feet (122 m) tall, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. An equal sign (=) following a rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings. The "Year" column indicates the year a building was completed.

Rank	Name	Image	Height ft (m)	Architect	Floors	Year	Primary Purpose	Notes
1	Wilshire Grand Center[A]		01.01,099 (335)	AC Martin Partners	73	2017	Office/Hotel	Topped-out. The tower will become the tallest building in Los Angeles and the West Coast of the United States as measured by structural height. When measured by roof height, the tower is 934 ft. tall, which is 84 ft. shorter than the US Bank Tower roof.
2	U.S. Bank Tower		01.01,018 (310)	Henry N. Cobb	73	1989	Office	11th-tallest building in the United States, tallest building on the West Coast of the United States, tallest building in California; tallest building in the world with a helipad on its roof; tallest building constructed in Los Angeles in the 1980s; formerly known as Library Tower; at the time of its completion, the building was the tallest structure in a major active seismic region (Taipei 101 now holds this title).[1][9][10]
3	Aon Center		02.0858 (261)	Charles Luckman	62	1973	Office	31st-tallest building in the United States; tallest building constructed in Los Angeles in the 1970s[2][11]
4	Two California Plaza		03.0750 (229)	Arthur Erickson	54	1992	Office	Tallest building constructed in Los Angeles in the 1990s[12][13]
5	Gas Company Tower		04.0748 (228)	Richard Keating	52	1991	Office	77th-tallest building in the United States[14][15]
6	Bank of America Center		05.0735 (224)	Albert C. Martin	55	1974	Office	92nd-tallest building in the United States; formerly known as Security Pacific Bank Plaza, ARCO Plaza, and BP Plaza[16][17]
7	777 Tower		06.0725 (221)	César Pelli	52	1991	Office	98th-tallest building in the United States[18][19]
8	Wells Fargo Center		07.0723 (220)	Skidmore, Owings & Merrill	54	1983	Office	103rd-tallest building in the United States[20][21]
9	Figueroa at Wilshire		08.0717 (218)	Albert C. Martin	53	1990	Office	107th-tallest building in the United States; formerly known as the Sanwa Bank Building[22][23]
10	City National Tower		09.0699 (213)	Albert C. Martin	52	1972	Office	Formerly known as the Bank of America Tower; this building and Paul Hastings Tower stand as the tallest twin towers in Los Angeles.[24][25]
11	Paul Hastings Tower		10.0699 (213)	Albert C. Martin	52	1972	Office	Formerly known as ARCO Tower; this building and City National Tower stand as the tallest twin towers in Los Angeles.[26][27]
12	LA Live Hotels & Condominiums		10.1667 (203)	Gensler	54	2010	Hotel/Residential	Tallest building constructed in Los Angeles in the 2010s[28]
13	Citigroup Center		11.0625 (191)	Albert C. Martin	48	1979	Office	Formerly known as the 444 Flower Building[29][30]
14	611 Place		12.0620 (189)	William Pereira	42	1969	Office	Tallest building constructed in Los Angeles in the 1960s[31][32]
15	One California Plaza		13.0578 (176)	Arthur Erickson	42	1985	Office	[33][34]
16	Century Plaza Tower II		14.0571 (174)	Minoru Yamasaki	44	1975	Office	This building and Century Plaza Tower I stand as the tallest buildings outside Downtown Los Angeles.[35][36]
17	Century Plaza Tower I		15.0571 (174)	Minoru Yamasaki	44	1975	Office	This building and Century Plaza Tower II stand as the tallest buildings outside Downtown Los Angeles.[37][38]
18	KPMG Tower		16.0560 (171)	Skidmore, Owings & Merrill	45	1983	Office	[39][40]
19	Ernst & Young Plaza		17.0534 (163)	Skidmore, Owings & Merrill	41	1985	Office	[41][42]
20	SunAmerica Center		18.0533 (163)	Johnson & Fain	39	1990	Office	[43][44]
21	TCW Tower		19.0517 (158)	Albert C. Martin	39	1990	Office	[45][46]
22	Union Bank Plaza		20.0516 (157)	Albert C. Martin	40	1968	Office	[47][48]
23	10 Universal City Plaza		21.0506 (154)	Skidmore, Owings & Merrill	36	1984	Office	Tallest building in the San Fernando Valley[49][50]
24	1100 Wilshire		22.0496 (151)	Albert C. Martin	35	1987	Residential	Tallest residential building in the city[51][52]
25	Fox Plaza		23.0493 (150)	Johnson & Fain	34	1987	Office	[53][54]
26	Constellation Place		24.0491 (150)	Johnson & Fain	35	2003	Office	First high rise to be completed in the 21st century in Los Angeles[7][55]
27	The Century		24.0478 (146)	Robert A. M. Stern	42	2009 (completed in 2009, opened in 2010)	Residential	[56]
28	ARCO Tower		25.0463 (141)	Gin Wong	33	1989	Office	[57][58]
29	Los Angeles City Hall		26.0454 (138)	Austin, Parkinson & Martin	32	1928	Office	Tallest building constructed in Los Angeles in the 1920s; tallest base-isolated structure in the world[59][60][61]
30	Equitable Life Building		27.0454 (138)	Welton Becket	34	1969	Office	[62][63]
31	AT&T Center		28.0454 (138)	William Pereira	32	1965	Office	[64][65]
32	AT&T Switching Center		29.0450 (137)	The Parkinsons	17	1961	Office	[66][67]
33	5900 Wilshire		30.0443 (135)	Gin Wong / William Pereira	32	1971	Office	[68][69]
34	Warner Center Plaza II		31.0417 (126)	Ware & Malcomb	25	1991	Office	[70][71]
35	MCI Center		32.0414 (126)	Charles Luckman	33	1973	Office	[72][73]

Under construction buildings

This lists buildings that are under construction in Los Angeles and are planned to rise at least 76 meters (249 ft).

Approved and proposed buildings

Timeline of tallest buildings

Los Angeles City Hall, shown here in 1931, was built in 1928 and was the tallest structure in the city until 1968. In 1964, height restrictions were removed from new construction.

This lists buildings that once held the title of tallest building in Los Angeles.

Name	Image	Street address	Years as tallest	Height ft (m)	Floors	Reference
Braly Building[B]		408 South Spring Street	1903–1907	151 (46)	13	[5]
Security Building		510 South Spring Street	1907–1911	165 (50)	11	[95]
A.G. Bartlett Building		651 South Spring Street	1911–1916	190 (58)	14	[96]
Park Central Building	00 !—	412 West 6th Street	1916–1927	N/A[C]	14	[97]
Texaco Building		929 South Broadway	1927–1928	242 (74)	13	[98]
Los Angeles City Hall		200 North Spring Street	1928–1968	454 (138)	32	[60]
Union Bank Plaza		445 South Figueroa Street	1968–1969	516 (157)	40	[48]
611 Place		611 West 6th Street	1969–1972	620 (189)	42	[32]
City National Tower[D]		555 South Flower Street	1972–1974	699 (213)	52	[25]
Paul Hastings Tower[D]		515 South Flower Street	1972–1974	699 (213)	52	[27]
Aon Center		707 Wilshire Boulevard	1974–1989	858 (262)	62	[11]
U.S. Bank Tower		633 West 5th Street	1989–2016	1,018 / 310	73	[9]
Wilshire Grand Tower		Figueroa and 7th	2016–present	1,099 / 335	73	[9]

Notes

A. ^{^} Because of its more elevated position upon Bunker Hill, the U.S. Bank Tower rises higher above the surrounding area

B. ^{^} This building was originally known as the Braly Building, but has since been renamed the Continental Building.

C. ^{^} Official height figures have never been released by this building's developer.

D. ^ ^{a b} The City National Tower and the Paul Hastings Tower are twin towers, both rising 699 feet (213 m). As both buildings were completed in 1972, Los Angeles had two tallest buildings until the completion of Aon Center in 1974.

References

General

• Emporis.com - Los Angeles

Specific

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Skyscrapers in Los Angeles and High-rises in Los Angeles, California.

External links

• Diagram of Los Angeles skyscrapers on SkyscraperPage

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