Design and Architecture
The $1.2 billion Wilshire Grand finally set to open
The tallest building west of the Mississippi River will officially open for business on Friday. The Wilshire Grand Center has been years in the making. It rises 73 stories, or 1,100 feet with its spire at the top, and includes a near-900 room InterContinental Hotel. And its architecture tells the story of a changing Los Angeles.
By Frances Anderton • • 3m ListenThe credit of "tallest building west of the Mississippi River" goes to Wilshire Grand Center because of its spire. For years, the U.S. Bank Tower (the old Library Tower) held that title. LA City Hall, built 1928, was the tallest building in the city at 32 stories. After the cap on heights was raised in the 1950s, the U.S. Bank Tower became the tallest at 73 stories and a height of 1,018 feet.
On a tour of Wilshire Grand in late 2016, Chris Martin told DnA the building is a tribute to its home.
"Quite frankly the building theme is California itself. If you look at the exterior of this building, think about the Sierras, think about Yosemite Valley," he said.
There’s the curving glass and soaring shape of the roof that design principal David Martin describes as being inspired by Half Dome at Yosemite. That’s a huge atrium on the seventh floor with a curving glass roof that he likens to the Merced River. The pattern in the carpet is inspired by the agricultural grid of the San Joaquin Valley.
There's also a third staircase solely for the use of firefighters. That’s something new in tower fire protection, dating from the collapse of the World Trade Center. But Chris Martin says it was agreed to by the building department in exchange for allowing a non-flat roof.
Photo: The Wilshire Grand Center in downtown LA, which will open Friday after nearly five years of construction. (Gary Leonard)
