Aon Center
Los Angeles, USA

HEIGHT: 262m/858 feet
FLOORS: 62 floors
COMPLETION: 1974
ARCHITECT: The Luckman Partnership Inc.

http://tinypic.com/bx89l

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On May 4, 1988 a fire broke out on the 12th floor. One person was killed and 40 injured. 5 floors were destroyed.

http://www.lafire.com/famous_fires/880504_1stInterstateFire/050488_interstate_fire_lg.gif

hey . i remember that fire photo from a National Geographic article on skyscrapers back in 1989! cool .. . i think this tower had an effect until Library popped up .. . 6/10 for simplicity

6/10 -another box (yawn) - OK, it's slim enough to have pretty impressive height, and there's a good contrast between glass and trim, but the facade doesn't seem to dance with the light well at all...
Aon seems to have had a real knack for boxes - this reminds me of the Aon center in Chicago, except for color.
The facade could use more detail, and the building could use some setabacks - badly!

even though it's boxy, It's truly amazing. 9/10

Eh...boxy. Even though it's pretty tall (I didn't realize it was so high up on the top 100), for me, this building is easily overlooked. I never really noticed this building after about the second or third time I went to downtown L.A. 6/10.

yeah it's a box but I like boxes...in the 2nd. pic the windows resemble those of the Seagram building in NYC...and it's pretty tall & sleek but still it does have a dated look to it...7.5/10

Quite tall, but not impressive enough to get me over the fact that it is a box.

6.5/10

7/10

It gets this much due to its powerful vertical effect...nothing else.

OMG What is it's true color?

Anyway, I like the dark colors of this one in the 1st and 3rd pics with its white borders.

A tall and sleek box and great for an early 70s structure.

8.5

It's just a box but its far from being the worst box around.

6/10

to all they guys who were paying out the 63 building,... this is what u call a real box!

but that dont mean i disslike this building!
its slim and tall.. and has a nice colour scheme:D

8

yes i do like boxy buildings!:D

I don't mind boxes, but this thing is hideous. It is sooooo '70s. When I see it, I think of white guys with afros and periwinkle suits driving up in their Rivieras.

3/10. Of the top 100, this is definitely in the bottom 5 for creativity.

Ehh... Not my cup of tea.

I don't understand the "statement" that they are making by omitting all corner offices, which are traditionally the most valuable offices in a tower. What's the point? That they are so rich that they don't need the money? This concept seems like corporate bling bling or something... (hopefully, the corner office weren't omitted for the same reason as the Aon building in Chicago, which was due to petty egoism among execs, who wouldn't stop fighting over who got which corner office)


The facade is bland, and by the time this building was constructed, dated as well. The building also had an impressive aspect ratio for its time, especially considering that it is in LA, a major earthquake zone. Surviving a serious fire like that is big brownie points in my book, but still...

6.5/10

IMO a tall box, not more! It could be better. 6/10

An very huge box ;) 8.5/10

i think it is ugly .it just looks like a huge box:D

This building is a great box building because it looks taller than what it really is.

NOt my favorite building for sure, but its slimliness gives it some redemption quality, I will give it a 7.5

6.5/10

tall but it doesn't impress me

7/10

I like the colors and it is sleek. It is hard to believe that this was the tallest building in the 2nd largest city in the USA.

7/10. While it is after all a box, I like the contrast between black and white. Maybe it could be a different color, like if the black was shiny silver, and the white was black. It would look a little more modern then, and not so 80's. Come to think of it, that would look pretty sharp, I might Photoshop that.

Never knew that there was a fire in tha building!Was quite big..
But that isn't where we are talking about.
I think it's just another box,but a high box!The colours ain't that nice.... 6.5/10

I reaaalllllllllllly don't like that building. Very ugly box in my opinion. Some of LA's glass buildings are beautiful, but this simply sucks. 3.5/10

5/10 Totally unremarkable except for it's height.

Aon ... Argon ... aargh!!! :eek:

Practically the box per se, somewhat redeemed by its slimness & height. I truly would like to know the color: black or olive green? Considering the building sits in LA, I assume it's black! :cool:

Btw, I'm grateful that many people expect just a wee bit more variety from architects these days in terms of shape & fassade design. ;) 6.

Nice box in my eyes...
8/10.

It's not that it's a box, it's just that it isn't a very attractive box.

7

Blech! This might be the ugliest skyscraper in the world. I will actually DETRACT points for it being so tall! A building this bland should be 350-400 ft tall max! It's amazing that this was L.A.'s (and the western U.S.'s) tallest building for years! TEAR THIS MONSTROSITY DOWN!

6/10

A boring but huge box

A design like this needs at least some more interesting color-schemes.....to express it's been designed.

I remember the fire all too well, being in town at the time.

I bet one day they'll reglaze the tower in glass and we'll all find new respect for the tall slender box, eh? 7.

Not much better than AON in Chicago.. Very boring looking but it's slimness is cool :)

7/10

I love that building!!!!
9/10

Since this was the tallest in CA for so long this has a lot of nostalgic meaning for me. 8.5/10

10

I can't take my eyes off that building while going to school...
Its neat.
I was born in '88 so I didnt know there was a fire.
Shocked me to see that picture

7.5/10.A bit boxy but impressive..

nice and clean looking, i give this one an 8

This building is the second tallest building in Downtown L.A. my home town and i love it, but i think that it is boring and i wish that it is shaped differently to match along such giants as the Library Tower and the 777 Tower. Besides that i think that it is a dizzying hieght even though it isn't close to its brother in chicago. I love it and that is why i gave it a 9 for height and orginanality. :eek:

This tower SCREAMS LA to me because It was dominant on the skyline for much of my life. Amazingly enough I can recognize it instantly even though it's not terribly distinct, too many 70's and 80's Hollywood movies I suppose.;)

There's nothing really special about it though and I really despise most signage on a tower top, especially on this one. It's got that ugly white/brown 70's color scheme, although LA haze makes it look better from a distance. It's a landmark though for sure.

6/10

7/10

A nice, slim black box.

I like slim boxes, 7.5/10

7.5
still a nice box

Nice box

8/10

6/10
The green colour in the 2nd photo looks very ugly, but in the 1st and 3rd photos it doesn't look too bad. It's a fairly boring design, but it looks huge because of it's simplicity.
:)

6,5/10
Too boxy. The height of the building compensates it a lot, though

4.5/10 ! :)

6/10 it's just to plain another mistake

7/10

5/10


Sorry, but this is one of my lowest scores, I really doesn't like it.

6/10
Simple boxy, looks good enough for a box.

6/10

Black, boxy and uninteressting, yek... 4.5/10

is the typical black American box 5,5/10

i gave it a 7, that building is massive! The fire picture is quite intimidating

BOXXXXY!

4/10! I don't like anything about this one exept the height.

It looks nice in the first picture, but in the 2nd the white rims seem to stand out too much.

7/10

9

I'm sick of people being babies about boxy scrapers, WHO GIVES A RAT, the building is simply awesome, nice verry TALL looking cause it's so sleek, 10/10 nice simple design, gotta love it.

i know, this building's quite underrated, or that la's never been heavily looked upon... good thing that it doesn't have that green facade anymore. it makes the building look old. strange how aon seems to like boxes that are #2 in height in a city.

i saw that building burning pic in that natl geo magazine too when i browsed through some old issues i found in a classroom. pretty weird, considering that i saw the pic a few days before a way bigger and deadly fire happened at the wtc.

8/10

6.5/10

5/10 (my avg score = 5)

An average building even if it is tall. I like boxes, but this one bugs me a bit, the color scheme, shape, etc, but not an eyesore. On a related note, I think LA needs more variety in its skyline

Slender, but boxy. It appears to have black glass instead of the blue I thought it had. 6.5/10.

EEEW, It's very tall but I find it very ugly looking and too boxy. I gave it a 4.

It's slim and tall, but the cladding is yucky. It looks rather dated.
6.5/10

I prefer Chicago's Aon. 5.

ugly, because old! 4

9...I love sleek TALL black towers...mucho pretty

7/10. Tall, boxy but one of a few beautiful tall boxes too. I didn't know there was a fire at then First Interstate Bank. But if the Library Tower wasn't built Aon Center would still make the skyline suck.

- Tallest building in the United States west of the Mississippi River from 1974-1982; surpassed by JPMorganChase Tower in Houston.
- May 4, 1988 a fire on the 12th floor ended in one person dead and 40 injured with five floors destroyed.
- Tallest in Los Angeles until the completion of *US Bank Tower in 1989.
- Also called 707 Wilshire Tower.

Don't normally like big black buildings but this one looks good. 8/10

7

Basic but attractive

Not as cool as it's brother in Chicago
7.5/10

I love this building so much!

10/10!

I may sound creepy, but I'm a sucker for Post Modern, International, and Modern Styles... This Tower does it all for me. I love looking at pictures of LA in the 70's and seeing this building.

It would usually be a 7, but I give it an 8 for being on fire

It's a tall box! : 5/10!!

Its ok, but its not my Favorite building in the city

8/10. I don't know what it is but I like this building.

7/10

8/10 due to it's sheer height. It looks taller than 858 fee.

5/10

It fits in OK with the rest of LA, but elsewhere it would be ugly. Looks too industrial to me, so I give it a 6.5/10.

Not my favourite box.

5/10

Unimaginative Box,but i like boxes so still a 7/10

Aw...
Well...
The non-glassy part at the corners is not bad. Except at the top. That's about all.
3.5

Like Chicago's but with a worse color scheme. 6/10

10.

blue would be nice :) 7/10

I remember reading about the story of a man and woman trapped on like the 37th floor, and it became a made-for-TV movie with Peter Scolari, I think, I read about that in Reader's Digest. That would be freaking scary! I guess the fire caused $50 million in damage, amazing how they got that repaired! The building, well it's tall, and that is about all I can give you. Nothing really intriguing about it to me. 6.5/10

6.5/10

It's a simple box

7.5

9/10

8/10 The dark side of the Aon Center Force to the Chicago Aon Center's light side.

not LA's best, 8/10

8/10

6/10

I like boxes, but not this one ;) The facade looks really old. 6/10

5/10, very depressing design..

6/10.

Good 4 a 70's tower, although a bit bland 7.

Excellent building..... 10 points..!

:cheers:

9/10

7.5/10

Considering it's nothing more than a box it doesn't look to bad. Though plain, the facade redeems it somewhat. 6.5/10.

8/10. Boxy, but it has a certain flare to it.

I like this simplicity. Looks a bit like a taller brother of 'Marriott' in Warsaw :) 8.5/10

Nice scraper 9/10

8/10

Boxy, but slim, I like it 8.5/10

I love this building eventhough its a box. I dont know why but I do. 8.5

5/10

its a box 6/10

6/10

8/10. Even though it's a relatively simple box it doesn't lack anything astheticly. A very fine skyscraper, my only gripe is the colour of the facade - brown glass seems a little bit, I don't know...dirty.

The design is too simple 5.5/10

9/10

boxy but tall 7/10 :runaway:

6/10

tall but it doesn't impress me

A perfect example of perfectly miserable architecture. Height isn't everything. In this case height is the ONLY thing! Lots of ugly behemouths built in the States in the 1970's. A good example......YUCK~~~

7/10

5/10 dull dated box

7/10.

7/10

8/10.

I give 10 for its wondeful history ...poor building...was it destroyed when the building was on fire?

very style 7/10

very style 7/10

Wait, you give this a 7 for "style" but give Sears Tower a 1? You're certainly entitled yo yor opnion, but could you please elaborate?

7/10

Wait, you give this a 7 for "style" but give Sears Tower a 1? You're certainly entitled yo yor opnion, but could you please elaborate?

Sears Tower is very grotesque, hideous. This bulding looks like A Few blocks glue by child

This building is truly overlooked, the lobby is quite nice. 8/10

It looks ok. I gave it a 7.5. Wow what a fire that was!

8/10

I used to love this building when it was LA's tallest until Library showed up and outdid them all. then this one just seemed quaint and has aged ever since. Good height. Good slimness. bad colors. horrible facade. the trim is cool but the brown facade and ugly windows, come on its LA, this needs a facelift. STAT

5/10

5/10

Average. Its probably the most underrated building in L.A. 7/10.

There was a time when this was the tallest building I'd ever seen. I was living in the desert in Arizona and me and my best friend got in her 66 mustang and drove to La after driving out to the beach, B.H., etc. we had to get out of the big city we drove North via Harbor fwy and passed the then 'UCB' United- Calf- Bank. "Dream On" was playing on the radio and it really set a mood as we passed the huge glittering structure Its a little memory I never forget!! and today from a distance I think it looks modern with all the other newer buildings all around it.

I actually think the building is quite ugly.. 6

I actually think the building is quite ugly.. 6
lol pretty sure you are not the only one
this building kinda reminds me of amp building in sydney.

3,5/10

5/10

6/10

I like it. 8/10

One of the best LA tower 10/10 :cheers:

7/10

Nice box

7.5/10.

nice box nothing more 6.5/10

classic form 7/10

6/10

Boring, as the most of the 70's buildings. 5/10

it's only a box but this is what i love 9.5/10

I dont know why i like its just a box but its a really nice building.
8.5/10

6.

6.5/10.

This building does nothing well, and the black looks really dull in every picture I've seen of it. It does look somewhat cooler at night, which kept the ranking from being embarrasing low.

Another building that I think, how can it be in the top 100?

such a distinctive tower design, the box shape, but looks very unique and modern.
8/10

Not even close to being L.A's best building, only reason people are talking bout it bcoz of its height... to me its just a boring box that hurts my eyes; eyesore ;)

8 - I like the height and shape of the building. It could use some a renovation, cleaning or something to look better. Makes the LA skyline look good too.

6.5/10 not bad

7/10

It's like the rest of LA.. sort of cool.. but could be better.. 7/10

6.5/10

7/10

clean, sleek design. it doesn't need to be fancy to look good.

Why mush they all be boxes. The fire looks cool though.. but bad

5/10

6.5/10

Yuck. Boring. Disgusting glass.

6.5/10

FROM GOOGLE EARTH

http://img240.imageshack.us/img240/192/aoncenteruq8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

6/10

10

5/10

6/10, looks dull

7.5/10

its a box and i realy like boxes ^^ so 9.5/10

5/10 Nothing special.

a box but not a bad box
6/10

6.5 / 10

6/10 Not a very smart idea to get rid of the only redeeming quality of box skyscrapers...corner offices. So basically who ever developed this one shot themselves in the foot.

"7.5"
I usually hate boxes, but this one I'm fond of. Maybe I'm biased after living in LA, but I like this building much more than the AON building in Chicago and a lot of the other 60's and 70's high-rises. Part of it is that it isn't as tall and overbearing as its cousin in Chicago and it's more slender giving it more sleekness. Plus the contrast between the dark windows and white edges adds contrast and it looks a bit more modern because it has more window space. Chicago's look like you have look through bars instead of windows; yuck! It is getting dated, as I realised after watching a movie titled "Disco King" from the 70's a while back and seeing this building; along with polyester, afros, and huge Cadillacs.

5/5
so boxy but it's tall

7.5/10.

Another box, although it looks good up close.

very elegant.....tradicional lines

Tall building but nothing special.

10

I love box towers. Aon isn't bad. I don't really like the white corners... or well.

8/10.

3.5

god it's ugly

the Aon in Chicago is way better! 5/10

I love box towers. Aon isn't bad. I don't really like the white corners... or well.

8/10.

The corners are aluminum.

the Aon in Chicago is way better! 5/10

FYI, neither the Chicago nor Los Angeles AON centers were originally built as an "AON" building.

Does anyone have a picture of this building in 1984 when it had the Olympic logo and was known as the First Interstate Tower?

6 - nothing special
i have seen better ones for the boxy style...

the Aon in Chicago is way better! 5/10

Good for Chicago.

8/10

7/10

So-so only. Not much design

err....3/10

Quite tall, a bit boxy but I like this one, the color is great.
8/10.

Not my fav, i give it a 6/10.

Flickr (mike_s_etc)
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/148/358946674_c824263786_b.jpg

Aon after the fire:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/35/72557735_d6bdc28b0e_o.jpg

when was that fire? can't remember

^ May 4th, 1988

8 - bland.

somehow i like it. 7.5/10

Aon after the fire:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/35/72557735_d6bdc28b0e_o.jpg

Sorry about the fire. What did they do to the First Interstate Tower after the fire occurred? Was it in danger of collapse or did they just repair the floors? If so, hot did it get repaired?

7/10

8.5/10

I really like this tower....It's very nice building :) 9/10

7/10 - sorta dull and boxy.

not my favourite 5/10

Sorry about the fire. What did they do to the First Interstate Tower after the fire occurred? Was it in danger of collapse or did they just repair the floors? If so, hot did it get repaired?

I don't think that Aon (then called The First Interstate Tower) was ever in danger of collapsing. Tall buildings rarely collapse from a fire. Although 6 floors were destroyed (and of course later repaired).

Simple, but very nice. 8/10

8.5/10:)

BTW,this is post 400!!

8/10

10 ! nice tower i like this box :nuts:

Old but still but still in shape... 7.5/10

8,5/10

5/10

5/10

5/10

8,5/10

Simple design.

8/10

ewww,4

9.5/10
I like it...
:cheers:

7/10

A boring box, but the height is good 7/10

A slightly above-average box in my opinion.

6

gross. 4

6/10

double post

5.5/10

Love the height, but the design sucks. To be fair, it's over 30 years old. :dunno:

the design is absolutely great, i love it so much :D

not bad 8/10

7.5/10

Don't like it so much 5/10

it seems like another box..but this cuboid is at least better than the same Aon Center at Chicago..this one shorter in Los Angeles..

it is a cuboid...with black surrounding it..a bit better and good looking and suitable for LA anyway.. but it is still a box..not much design and architecture on it...maybe the architect working on it is lazy...

10/10

6/10

5/10

8/10

10/10

5.

7/10

7.5/10

6/10

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3162/3069171067_507dbafce2_b.jpg

8/10. This is a world famous tower, you know.

06/10

6/10

:nuts:

4/10

6/10 Time for a reclad.

6/10