U.S. Bank Tower (Los Angeles)

The U.S. Bank Tower is a very tall building in downtown Los Angeles, California. It is also called the Library Tower and used to be named the First Interstate Bank World Center. The building is 1,018 feet tall, making it the third-tallest building in California and the second-tallest in Los Angeles.

Construction of the tower began in 1987 and finished in 1989. It was designed by architect Henry N. Cobb from the firm Pei Cobb Freed & Partners and cost $350 million to build.

Because of its height and modern look, the U.S. Bank Tower is one of the most famous buildings in Los Angeles. It often appears in movies and TV shows when they want to show the city. The tower is the 24th-tallest building in the whole United States.

Ownership

The U.S. Bank Tower in Los Angeles was sold to a real estate company in 2013. In 2020, a new company bought the building and finished updating it in 2023 with new features for people working there.

History

The U.S. Bank Tower in Los Angeles was first called the Library Tower because it was built near the Los Angeles Central Library. The city sold air rights to help pay for rebuilding the library after fires in 1986. Later, it was called the First Interstate Bank World Center, but the name changed back to Library Tower and then to U.S. Bank Tower when a new company leased it.

The tower has a special glass top that lights up at night. In 2004, large signs for U.S. Bank were added there. There were also reports that the building was a possible target in plans related to the September 11 attacks, but these were stopped by safety officials.

In 2014, new owners added an observation deck and a restaurant on higher floors. Visitors could even slide down a clear glass slide outside the building. However, this attraction closed permanently in 2020, and the space will become office areas again. Plans continue to update the building to attract more workers.

Major tenants

The U.S. Bank Tower has many important companies in it. Some help with advising businesses, like McKinsey & Company. Others work with money, such as U.S. Bancorp. There are also law offices, like Jenner & Block, and media companies, including Thomson Reuters.

Tallest rooftop helipad

The U.S. Bank Tower used to have the tallest rooftop helipad. Then the China World Trade Center Tower III in Beijing was built in 2010 and took that title. Later, in March 2018, the Guangzhou International Finance Center became the new tallest building with a rooftop helipad.

In popular culture

In 1994, the U.S. Bank Tower was in an episode of Visiting... with Huell Howser.

The building has appeared in many disaster films, like Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, D-War, (/wiki/2012(film))_, and San Andreas.

You can see the tower in the Grand Theft Auto video games, where it is called the "Maze Bank Tower" in a pretend version of Los Angeles named Los Santos. It is in Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. The tower is also in the 2023 game Starfield.

The roof of the building was used in the 2001 movie Rush Hour 2.