At long last, one can finally see LA from a high vantage point that doesn't involve mountains. Skyspace recently opened on the 69th and 70th floor of the Library Tower (f*ck US Bank) and offers views of the city not often seen.
I was there on Sunday on what had to be the 2nd worst air quality of the year (Saturday being worse). It was also 2pm, which is a terrible time to take pictures.
Nonetheless, take them I did.
One of the unique (read: cheesy) novelties they added to the observation deck was an all glass slide, which takes you from the 70th to 69th floor. Nice idea in theory, but poorly executed. If it was two floors? Now we are talking! It's so short that you don't even quite realize what your are doing and then it's done. Oh well.
The deck itself is $25 and the slide is another $8.
I've been kicked out of this building multiple times in the last 25 years by security (and I'm too lazy to do the yearly stair run) so this was highly amusing for me.
I'm looking forward to going back in the wintertime in clear skies with snow-capped peaks and some nice late afternoon light.
...a little muzak...
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Goodhue respect...
Because this was built long after the building, there is no express elevator. You have to change at the 54th floor, where they have the ubiquitous photo girl and some really cool LED displays to amuse you while in line...
Once you arrive at the 70th floor, you are immediately greeted by the slide guy. You don't have to do it right away, but we did.
There are inside and outside decks on the 69th floor and inside only decks on the 70th. The interiors and floors are white or soft colored finishes, which cause huge glare problems on the glass for pictures.
The slide, again...
And finally...the view...super hazy and smoggy...at least the mountains break up the sea of concrete...
It will be really interesting once the Wilshire Grand is open. It will be similar to the old Prudential/Hancock relationship in Boston.
...I will definitely add to this my to-do list as well, the next time I find myself out in L.A. And it's good to see cities shift away from the post-9-11 paranoia that shuttered so many observation decks and public spaces in skyscrapers over the past decade and a half.
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