List of tallest buildings in Los Angeles facts for kids

Downtown with the San Gabriel Mountains in the background

Bunker Hill in downtown Los Angeles

The tallest buildings in Los Angeles

The tallest building in Los Angeles, California is the Wilshire Grand Center, which is 1,100 feet (335.3 m) tall and became the tallest building in 2017. It is also the tallest building in the state, the tallest building west of the Mississippi River, and the 11th-tallest building in the United States. Seven of the ten tallest buildings in California are located in Los Angeles.

The 75-story U.S. Bank Tower, which rises 1,018 feet (310 m) in Downtown Los Angeles and was completed in 1989, is now the second-tallest building in Los Angeles.

The history of skyscrapers in Los Angeles began with the 1903 completion of the Braly Building, which is often regarded as the first high-rise in the city; it rises 13 floors and 151 feet (46 m) in height. The building, originally constructed as a commercial structure, has since been renovated into a residential tower and is now known as the "Continental Building".

In 1904, Los Angeles imposed height restrictions throughout the city, prohibiting the construction of any building taller than 150 feet (46 m). An exception was made for the Los Angeles City Hall, built in 1928, which stands at 454 feet (138 m). This effectively limited the height of non-government buildings to 13 stories, and was intended to address local concerns about growing congestion and over development at the time. That height limit was lifted in Downtown Los Angeles by the city government in 1957.

Los Angeles (and especially Downtown) then went through a large building boom that lasted from the early 1960s to the early 1990s, during which time the city saw the completion of 23 of its 30 tallest buildings, including the U.S. Bank Tower, the Aon Center, and Two California Plaza. Modern skyscrapers are difficult and expensive to construct in Los Angeles due to the city's high rate of earthquakes and position near the San Andreas fault line, as well as the resulting difficulty of adhering to the city's rigorous engineering standards. Nevertheless, a number of successful and iconic skyscrapers dot the Los Angeles skyline from Downtown Los Angeles through Koreatown, along the Wilshire Corridor and Miracle Mile, and in Century City and other areas of the city's west side. Other skyscraper hubs in LA include Century Boulevard by LAX, the Hollywood district in central L.A., and Warner Center, NoHo, and Universal City in the San Fernando Valley. LA's west side has so many skyscrapers, often Wilshire Boulevard in the Westwood District and Century City's skyscrapers are often confused with being DTLA by visitors arriving from LAX.

As of February 2021^[update], Los Angeles has over 806 high-rise buildings over 100 feet (30 m), many new low rise apartment buildings, 45 buildings over 400 feet (120 m), and 18 buildings over 600 feet (183 m), including two supertalls over 1,000 feet (305 m), the Wilshire Grand and U.S. Bank Tower. Its skyline is ranked 1st in the Pacific coast region and 5th in the United States, after New York City, Chicago, Miami, and Houston.

Los Angeles skyline during sunset as seen from behind the Griffith Observatory in Griffith Park in October 2006

Tallest buildings

Buildings in the height range.

This lists ranks Los Angeles skyscrapers that stand at least 400 feet (122 m) tall, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. An equal sign (=) following a rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings. The "Year" column indicates the year a building was completed.

Rank	Name	Image	Height ft (m)	Architect	Floors	Year	Primary Purpose	Notes
1	Wilshire Grand Center		1,100 (335)	AC Martin Partners	73	2017	Office/Hotel	15th-tallest building in the United States, tallest building on the West Coast of the United States, tallest building in California; tallest building constructed in Los Angeles in the 2010s. Topped-out in 2016. When measured by roof height,the tower is 934 feet (285 m) tall, which is 84 feet (26 m). shorter than the U.S. Bank Tower roof. The building held its grand opening on June 23, 2017.
2	U.S. Bank Tower		1,018 (310)	Henry N. Cobb	73	1989	Office	22nd-tallest building in the United States, third tallest building on the West Coast of the United States, third tallest building in California; tallest building in the world with a helipad on its roof; tallest building constructed in Los Angeles in the 1980s; formerly known as Library Tower; at the time of its completion, the building was the tallest structure in a major active seismic region (Taipei 101 now holds this title).
3	Aon Center		858 (262)	Charles Luckman	62	1973	Office	Tallest building constructed in Los Angeles in the 1970s
4	Two California Plaza		750 (229)	Arthur Erickson	54	1992	Office	Tallest building constructed in Los Angeles in the 1990s
5	Gas Company Tower		749 (228)	Richard Keating	52	1991	Office	77th-tallest building in the United States
6	Bank of America Plaza		735 (224)	Albert C. Martin	55	1974	Office	92nd-tallest building in the United States; formerly known as Security Pacific Bank Plaza, ARCO Plaza, and BP Plaza
7	777 Tower		725 (221)	César Pelli	52	1991	Office	98th-tallest building in the United States
8	Wells Fargo Center		723 (220)	Skidmore, Owings & Merrill	54	1983	Office	103rd-tallest building in the United States
9	Figueroa at Wilshire		717 (219)	Albert C. Martin	53	1990	Office	107th-tallest building in the United States; formerly known as the Sanwa Bank Building
10=	City National Tower		699 (213)	Albert C. Martin	52	1972	Office	Formerly known as the Bank of America Tower; this building and Paul Hastings Tower stand as the tallest twin towers in Los Angeles.
10=	Paul Hastings Tower		699 (213)	Albert C. Martin	52	1972	Office	Formerly known as ARCO Tower; this building and City National Tower stand as the tallest twin towers in Los Angeles.
12	Oceanwide Plaza Tower I		677 (206)	CallisonRTKL	49	2019	Residential	11th & Figueroa St. / Across from Staples Center. Topped off. Interior left unfinished.
13	The Ritz-Carlton Los Angeles		667 (203)	Gensler	54	2010	Hotel/Residential	Tallest building constructed in Los Angeles in the 2010s until the Wilshire Grand Center
14	Metropolis Tower D		647 (197)	Gensler	58	2019	Residential	889 Francisco St.
15	820 Olive		637 (194)	Onni Group	49	2019	Residential	825 S Hill St Los Angeles, CA 90014 \ Tallest residential building in California
16	FourFortyFour South Flower		625 (191)	Albert C. Martin	48	1981	Office	Formerly known as Citigroup Center Formerly known as the 444 Flower Building
17	611 Place		620 (189)	William Pereira	42	1969	Office	Tallest building constructed in Los Angeles in the 1960s
18	KPMG Tower		606 (185)	Skidmore, Owings & Merrill	42	1984	Office
19	One California Plaza		578 (176)	Arthur Erickson	42	1985	Office
20=	Century Plaza Tower I		571 (174)	Minoru Yamasaki	44	1975	Office	This building and Century Plaza Tower II stand as the tallest buildings outside Downtown Los Angeles.
20=	Century Plaza Tower II		571 (174)	Minoru Yamasaki	44	1975	Office	This building and Century Plaza Tower I stand as the tallest buildings outside Downtown Los Angeles.
22	Ernst & Young Plaza		534 (163)	Skidmore, Owings & Merrill	41	1985	Office
23	SunAmerica Center		533 (162)	Johnson & Fain	39	1990	Office
24=	Oceanwide Plaza Tower II		530 (162)	CallisonRTKL	40	2019	Residential	11th & Figueroa St. / Across from Staples Center. Topped off. Interior left unfinished.
24=	Oceanwide Plaza Tower III		530 (162)	CallisonRTKL	40	2019	Residential	11th & Figueroa St. / Across from Staples Center. Topped off. Interior left unfinished.
26	Hope+Flower Tower 1		529 (161)	Gensler	40	2019	Residential	1201 S. Hope Street / Tallest residential building in the city
27	TCW Tower		517 (158)	Albert C. Martin	39	1990	Office
28	Union Bank Plaza		516 (157)	Albert C. Martin	40	1968	Office
29	10 Universal City Plaza		506 (154)	Skidmore, Owings & Merrill	36	1984	Office	Tallest building in the San Fernando Valley
30	1100 Wilshire		496 (151)	Albert C. Martin	35	1987	Residential
31	Fox Plaza		493 (150)	Johnson & Fain	34	1987	Office
32	MGM Tower		491 (150)	Johnson & Fain	35	2003	Office	First high rise to be completed in the 21st century in Los Angeles
33	Ten Thousand		483 (147)	Handel Architects	40	2016	Residential
34	The Century		478 (146)	Robert A. M. Stern	42	2010	Residential
35	ARCO Tower		463 (141)	Gin Wong	33	1989	Office
36=	Equitable Life Building		454 (138)	Welton Becket	34	1969	Office
36=	Los Angeles City Hall		454 (138)	Austin, Parkinson & Martin	32	1928	Office	Tallest building constructed in Los Angeles in the 1920s; tallest base-isolated structure in the world
38	South Park Center		452 (138)	William Pereira	32	1965	Office
39	Metropolis Tower C		451 (137)	Gensler	40	2018	Residential
40	AT&T Switching Center		448 (137)	The Parkinsons	17	1961	Office
41	Metropolis Tower B		442 (135)	Gensler	38	2017	Residential
42	5900 Wilshire		433 (132)	Gin Wong / William Pereira	31	1971	Office
43	Hope+Flower Tower 2		421 (128)	Gensler	31	2019	Residential	1201 S. Hope Street
44	Warner Center Plaza II		417 (127)	Ware & Malcomb	25	1991	Office
45	MCI Center		414 (126)	Charles Luckman	33	1973	Office
46=	Circa Tower I		400 (122)	Harley Ellis Deveraux	35	2018	Residential
46=	Circa Tower II		400 (122)	Harley Ellis Deveraux	35	2018	Residential

Under construction buildings

This lists buildings that are under construction in Los Angeles and are planned to rise at least 300 feet (91.5 meters).

Approved and proposed buildings

This list is of buildings approved or proposed over 300 feet (91.5 m) throughout the city. The tallest buildings currently proposed are The LA Grand Hotel at 1,108 feet (338 m), Figueroa Centre at 975 feet (297 m), and Angels Landing at 854 feet (260 m).

Timeline of tallest buildings

Los Angeles City Hall, shown here in 1931, was built in 1928 and was the tallest structure in the city until 1968. In 1964, height restrictions were removed from new construction.

This lists buildings that once held the title of tallest building in Los Angeles.

Name	Image	Street address	Years as tallest	Height ft (m)	Floors	Reference
Braly Building		408 South Spring Street	1903–1907	151 (46)	13
Security Building		510 South Spring Street	1907–1911	165 (50)	11
A.G. Bartlett Building		651 South Spring Street	1911–1916	190 (58)	14
Park Central Building	00 —	412 West 6th Street	1916–1927	N/A	14
Texaco Building		929 South Broadway	1927–1928	242 (74)	13
Los Angeles City Hall		200 North Spring Street	1928–1968	454 (138)	32
Union Bank Plaza		445 South Figueroa Street	1968–1969	516 (157)	40
611 Place		611 West 6th Street	1969–1972	620 (189)	42
City National Tower		555 South Flower Street	1972–1974	699 (213)	52
Paul Hastings Tower		515 South Flower Street	1972–1974	699 (213)	52
Aon Center		707 Wilshire Boulevard	1974–1989	858 (262)	62
U.S. Bank Tower		633 West 5th Street	1989–2017	1,018 (310)	73
Wilshire Grand Tower		Figueroa and 7th	2017–present	1,100 (335)	73

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Edificios más altos de Los Ángeles para niños