Slip-Slidin' High Above Los Angeles: The Opening of Skyspace and Skyslide

70 stories above downtown Los Angeles, the "Skyslide" -- part of the new "Skyspace" attraction atop the U.S. Bank Tower (a.k.a. Library Tower) offers a quick, 5-second thrill ride where, for a way-too-brief period of time, the only thing separating you from plunging down to the earth, nearly 1,000 feet below, is a thick piece of glass on all four sides. Here's what it's like: It's FAST. You turn a corner, and for a split second your heart beats -- as you wonder if it's going to be YOUR FEET that finally cracks the slide wide open. And then you quickly tumble out.

The Skyspace is now open, and it finally gives Los Angeles its own skyscraper viewing experience, something that was weirdly in short supply in our city. It also opens as the U.S. Bank/Library Tower is still the tallest tower west of the Mississippi. (The Wilshire Grand, still under construction, will soon be the tallest -- and will also boast an observation deck. But because the Wilshire Grand is on lower land, the U.S. Bank/Library Tower will still look taller when you glance at the skyline.)

The "Skyslide" adds a little something extra to the traditional observation deck experience. The trip through the "Skyspace," which includes four floors of attractions, costs $25 for adults over 13; it costs $8 extra to ride the Skyslide. (That's more than $1 per second... but it is something you can say that you did.) Kids are $19 to the top + $8 for the Skyslide, while seniors over 65 are $22 + $8.

Some pics from the experience:


The tagline: "Transform Your View."


A close-up view of the slide. Seriously, who came up with this idea?


Before you get to the 70th floor, there's the "Skyspace" Experience on the 52nd floor. I guess this is meant to make you feel it's worth the money. Cool video screens and visual illusions.


One of the visual effects: Through mirrors, it looks like you're peering into the building's spine.


Meta video screen of the downtown skyline (they'll have to re-do that when the Wilshire Grand tower is completed)


An Australian reporter prepares to slide down. She wasn't happy: Security told her she couldn't hold up her GoPro camera for the spot. Apparently others had been filming while going down, and not paying attention as they landed -- and suddenly it was a safety risk.


Another slider.


My turn!


Preparing the mat -- so you don't slide out on to rough concrete.


The view of someone sliding down from the bottom.


The observation deck is quite classy. This ain't the Empire State Building. Given the fewer tourists likely to cycle through, Skyspace is betting on the attraction for events -- parties, weddings, receptions up high.


View east from the 70th floor


The view north (that's the 110 to the left)


Southwest view (check out the Wilshire Grand, still under construction)


The south view


The northwest view of Hollywood.


Pershing Square from way up high!


Echo Park!


South.


Goodies for sale include miniature U.S. Bank Towers.


T-shirts too. 2016!


Mural on the way out

The U.S. Bank Tower's Agressive Security Guards Aren't Agressive Fans of the Law

Discarted fills us in on the aggressive security guards at the U.S. Bank Tower (fka the Library Tower), who have the reputation for aggressively stopping people from taking photos of the building.

The site notes that a group of photographers set out Sunday to see if "we could exercise our constitutional rights and shoot the array of skyscrapers freely and openly. It turns out we couldn’t.

"As we began photographing the US Bank Tower at 633 W. 5th Street, managed by Maguire Properties, we were approached almost immediately by a United Protective Services (UPS) security guard, and soon there were six (6!). We were told they would call the police and we would be arrested, that no pictures were allowed from their “private sidewalk,” that they actually owned the sidewalk, and that we were idiots and jerks who should quit asking questions."

Check out the video above.

Not Just Any Skyscraper

Nice photo, right? As seen in Sunday's Los Angeles Times. All fine and dandy, until you read the cutline:



"A skyscraper peeks through the fog layer enshrouding downtown Los Angeles on Saturday morning as viewed from the 134 freeway in Glendale."

"A skyscraper"?! Uh, guys, that's "THE skyscraper." As in the defining presence in Los Angeles' skyline, the U.S. Bank Tower (formerly known as the Library Tower).

Can you imagine if a New York paper ran a pic of the Empire State Building, and in the cutline said, "A building..."? No! That would be odd.

How about a picture of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa walking down the street, but with a cutline that said, "A man walks down the street." That would be odd too -- why not just say it's the mayor?

And that's the same thing here. It's the tallest building west of the Mississippi. It's the well-known tower seen in countless movies.

** But perhaps I do know why. And it's been a subject I've brought up from time to time through the years. The U.S. Bank Tower may be the tallest building west of the Mississippi, and the defining feature of our skyline, but no one knows what it's called.

It doesn't help that the building has been renamed several times over its 17-year existence.

I ranted about this at length in 2003; read it here.

Why No U.S. Bank Tower Observation Deck?

Over at Blogging.la, Will Campbell reminds us that the annual Ketchum-Downtown YMCA Stair Climb to the Top takes place this weekend.

As Will notes:

It's not every day one gets the opportunity to climb up the 1,500 stairs of the tallest building between the Mississippi River and New Zealand... although it's probably pretty much every day you get the opportunity not to or to not want to.

But you should. Not only because it's rare to gain access to such a landmark in this post 9/11 world, or that it's quite the feat to do so, but also for the good cause it benefits. The Downtown YMCA's Stairclimb to the Top will raise your heart rate while getting you to the highest point in the city and raising needed funds that will go to support the facility's outreach programs. And while online registration is closed, you can still sign-up the day of the event (for teams it's October 5; individuals October 6).

If you do, plan on arriving at the Y's courtyard (401 S. Hope Street) to register at least one hour prior to your division start time, and bring the fundraising minimum with you ($100 for indivduals; $500 for teams).

Of course, this brings up a big question: Why doesn't the Library... er, U.S. Bank (sorry, I still hate the name change) Tower have an observation deck? Particularly now that Downtown Los Angeles is more of a destination, I'd think that people would be willing to pay to take in the view from the 73rd floor.

After all, we already know Maguire Properties loves to whore out the building for cash -- witness the decision to rename it U.S. Bank Tower after U.S. Bank signed a 12-year lease in 2003. (Check out my rant back then over the skyscraper's identity crisis here.)