Posted Oct 3, 2016, 2:04 PM
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NYC/NJ/Miami-Dade
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Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Riverview Estates Fairway (PA)
Posts: 45,919
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Two new observation decks atop prominent DTLA skyscrapers will vie for visitors — and dollars
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When tourists envision Los Angeles, they typically imagine Venice Beach, Beverly Hills mansions and the iconic Hollywood sign. Few of them think of the Downtown Los Angeles skyline. But the developers of DTLA’s tallest buildings are working hard to change that, adding sky-high amenities that simultaneously raise their profiles and their bottom lines.
The Harry Cobb-designed 1989 U.S. Bank Tower has a gleaming new 43,000-square-foot observation deck, dubbed Skyspace LA, with a first-class restaurant and a quirky amenity called the Skyslide. Since this attraction opened, in June 2016, visitors have been sliding from the building’s 70th to 69th floor, whooshing along a thick composite of Italian chemically tempered twisted glass and Chinese flat-tempered glass. On a recent afternoon visit, a reporter for The Real Deal took a ride on the Skyslide, traversing the single floor (smartphone video camera in hand) in a matter of seconds.
“L.A. is a world city, and should have the cultural amenities you see in so many cities around the world,” said John Gamboa, a senior vice president of the Singapore-based OUE, which purchased the 1,018-foot tower in 2013. “We’ve been a city where the office skyline isn’t as highly regarded as the Hollywood sign. Not anymore. The sky’s the limit!”
Not to be outdone, the developers of the Wilshire Grand Center have planned an observation deck for the building’s grand opening, which is slated for the spring of 2017. The 73-story, 1,100-foot tower will become the tallest building west of the Mississippi — stealing that title from the nearby U.S. Bank Tower.
The Wilshire Grand’s new three-floor “sky lobby” will include a 20,000-square-foot glass lobby, a 6,800-square-foot, five-star French restaurant and an 18,000-square-foot glass-walled observation deck.
“L.A. already has high-rises, but the public could never go up them and enjoy them until now,” said Chris Martin, lead architect of A.C. Martin Partners, which is designing the Korean Air-owned building.
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http://therealdeal.com/la/issues_art...ing-into-view/
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