Thom Mayne, this year's Pritzker winner, is designing two towers adjacent to the Herald Examiner building which is going to become residential. A 37 story tower and a 23 story.

www.downtownnews.com


If anyone is wondering, this what a 37 story tower looks like:
http://www.skyscraperpicture.com/kaohsiung24.jpg

or look at what we're more familiar with.

TCW tower

http://you-are-here.com/skyscraper/1990_tcw.jpg

but a 37 story office tower is different from a residenital

not horribly different

Did you know, that back in 1963, when the Occidental Petrolium building (we know it today as SBC center.) was built, it was believed that the area its in, was going to be the new highrise development area for Downtown, the 12 floor, or 150' height limit, (unless the upper areas where not rentable space) having been lifted a few years before. (if you notice, it's in an area where if development where to continue, it would be a natural extention or direction of development that the historic core was building outward from.

Enter Bunker hill, an area, once upon a time, the location of the Los Angeles elite and the most wealthy people of the city, including there grand victorian homes. Which by the end of the 50's had become LA's skid row. (as the historic core was, at that time the CBD.) Not only was everything within the boundery's of the 110 fwy to Olive st. and 1st to 5th steets, torn down, but they actually lowered bunker hill itself, or regraded it by some 100' or so..!!!

So becouse of its proximity to the civic center, this was the area chosen by developers, for highrise buildings, the first tower, the Union Bank building, was the first 40 story building in Los Angeles. completed in 1966.


My point with this, is that 40 years later, the Oxy tower will lose its prominace as the single tall building marking the gateway to downtown, from the south or westside, to be absorbed into a sea of residential towers. Something that i personally did not think i would see in my lifetime.
And I would add that, personally, I think its kind of a sad irony that buildings, that where once proud office headquarters, of a bank, corperation, or firm, fall from grace so to speak, and become class "B" buildings, become redesignated as far as usage, or even worse, be found unprofitable, and razed. Don't get me wrong i think it's great that former office buildings get a second life as residential buildings. It just sucks that they can't remain office buildings, like for instance the 611 Grand ave. building (or the former Crocker Citizens Bank HQ, when this tower went up in 1967, as one of LA's first 40 story bank HQ (and at first, most of LA's first true skyscrapers, had New York architects involved) with its high ceiling, and large ground floor banking area, and elevator banks, and lets not forget lunch and cocktails, at the lounge and bar up on the 41st floor, in every way a classic international style corperate office tower of the 60's. I'm hoping that the redesign architect will preserve some of these things, as i believe that history is the single most important subject one can know, when one asks "where am i going".

The funny thing about the SBC Center is that it was going to be the city's tallest but it fell 21 feet shorter than the 455 LA City Hall.
[COLOR=Indigo][SIZE=3[B]LA'S TALLEST BUILDINGS...

NAME OF BUILDING HEIGHT FLOORS YEAR
LA City Hall 455 ft 28 1927
Union Bank Building 567 ft 39 1968
City National Plaza 1 699 ft 52 1973
City National Plaza 2 699 ft 52 1973
AON Building 859 ft 62 1974
US Bank Building 1017 ft 75 1992

US Bank Building:tallest building west of the Missisipi and east of Taiwan
US Bank Building:tallest building situated near an active fault line
US Bank Building:tallest building in the western coast of the North and South
American coastline
:eek2:

And where is it going to build the two towers???? In Hollywood? Century city? Downtown LA?

And where is it going to build the two towers???? In Hollywood? Century city? Downtown LA?
saying that it's gonna be next to the Harold Examiner Building pretty much gives it away doesn't it?

saying that it's gonna be next to the Harold Examiner Building pretty much gives it away doesn't it?
No, I dont know. I dont live in California but i would like to

No, I dont know. I dont live in California but i would like to


AWESOME. Where do you live now?

I live in Spain ;)

I live in Spain ;).......then why is your username Santa Monica, CA?

.......then why is your username Santa Monica, CA?
cause I went to Santa Monica two years ago and I liked a lot.... I love it