Recently, the Wilshire Grand Center became the tallest building in Los Angeles at 1099 feet. Since 1989, the tallest has been the U.S. Bank Tower (which, by the way, just opened up their SkySlide attraction on the 70th Floor this summer).
L.A. now has the tallest building west of the Mississippi.
Once open, the Wilshire Grand Center will host an observation deck, office space, a 900 room hotel, restaurants, a 73rd floor rooftop pool, and retail shopping malls. Gone but not forgotten, the old Wilshire Grand Hotel from 1952 was demolished to make way for our new giant. This old hotel played host to dignitaries like Pope John Paul II and John F. Kennedy.
During our private guided downtown L.A. tours, we are often asked about our skyline and why we don’t have more skyscrapers. This is partly due to L.A. sitting close to the San Andreas, a major fault line running through California.
Look forward to a Spring 2017 opening. In the meantime enjoy other nearby landmarks such as The Biltmore Hotel, The Bradbury Building, L.A. Live and The Walt Disney Concert Hall. On foot and working up an appetite? Some of our favorite restaurants in DTLA include Bottega Louie, Little Sister LA, and Clifton’s Cafeteria. A short subway ride away to the north, grab a French dip at the famous Philippe’s. The subway can take visitors directly to Union Station which has been used as a backdrop for hundreds of popular movies, TV shows, commercials and music videos.
Our Downtown is getting better and better and is a constant work in progress. Another recent change is Grand Park — A Park for Everyone, which runs between our Los Angeles City Hall and The Music Center.
Enjoy an introduction to this area during Glitterati Tours Essential LA, Plus Downtown tour.