The Building Formerly Known as the Library Tower

I wrote this rant in 2003, when the Library Tower changed its name yet again, this time to "U.S. Bank Tower":

This is L.A.'s tallest building -- hell, the tallest building west of the Mississippi. It's a symbol of our city. It dominates and defines the skyline. It's a part of Jay Leno's set backdrop. It regularly makes appearances in Hollywood features and TV shows. And no one knows what the hell the building is named...

Do an informal poll outside of downtown. Betcha not a single person knows the tower's name. They probably never even knew it as the Library Tower. It was just known as that tall building with the jagged crown on top -- you know. The one the aliens blew up at the start of "Independence Day." Sigh.

Ain't nothing changed. Witness Dubya referring to the building as the "Liberty Tower" in yesterday's boogeyman speech.

Considering how often the administration brings up the plot to take down the building (this is at least the third time it's been dredged up as front-page news), you'd think they'd get the name of the building right.

To remind you: It was born the "Library Tower" in 1989. Then renamed the "First Interstate World Center." Then switched back to "Library Tower" when First Interstate Bank disappeared. Then in 2003, U.S. Bank took the naming rights. And stuck their damn logo on the building's crown.

So technically, it's called the "U.S. Bank Tower." Not that anyone calls it that.

But maybe that's all a part of Homeland Security's plan -- Confuse the terrorists by making the name of L.A.'s tallest building unclear. ("Is it the Library Tower? But wait, you mean the library. Wait, U.S. Bank? Is that even in L.A.? And First Insterstate-- that's the one that caught on fire in 1988 and is now the Aon Tower right? Huh?")

One other thing worth noting in the whole skyscraper confusion: In July 2002 the Aon Tower -- which, like the Library/US Bank Tower was once branded "First Interstate" by the now-defunct bank -- was evacuated after some nutjob called in to KABC-TV suggesting the station train its camera on the ``First Interstate building'' because an aircraft would fly into it.

I remember thinking at the time that I'd bet that the hoax caller was actually referring to the Library Tower and was calling it by the wrong name. Yet the Library Tower wasn't evacuated!

In every report I read, no one seemed to put two and two together and realize that they probably cleared out the wrong building. Luckily, it turned out to be a hoax. But what a perfect, if not bizarre, example of how no one knows those damn buildings' names.

Let's hope the next time the administration attempts to scare up a little fear and loathing in Los Angeles they'll do a little more homework on our town's skyscrapers.